Watch Paparazzi

Actor Don Cheadle spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

At the April 2019 world premiere of Avengers: Endgame at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Don Cheadle — who reprises his role as Colonel James Rhodes / War Machine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — showed up on the red carpet with something on his wrist nearly as talked-about as the film itself: the brand-new Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 in 18KT pink gold.

Launched at SIHH Geneva in January 2019, the Code 11.59 represented Audemars Piguet's first ground-up case design in over four decades. The 41mm case is an architectural layering exercise: a round bezel sits atop an octagonal mid-case, itself housing a double-curved sapphire crystal that AP engineered from scratch. The self-winding reference visible here — distinguished by its clean silver opaline dial, applied pink gold Arabic numerals at 3, 6, and 9, and dauphine-style hands — houses Calibre 4302, a 28,800 vph movement with 70 hours of power reserve, entirely developed and manufactured in-house at Le Brassus.

The Code 11.59 collection launched to a genuinely divided collector community. Critics pointed to the price positioning and design language as overly cautious; defenders, including AP itself, argued the case construction represented some of the most technically demanding work the manufacture had undertaken. The pink gold self-winding variant sits at the accessible end of the Code 11.59 spectrum — no complications, no skeletonization — but that restraint is precisely what makes it a wearable, versatile daily proposition for the serious collector.

Cheadle's choice carries context. The premiere was one of the most closely watched red-carpet events of 2019, placing this specific reference in front of a global audience within weeks of its market debut. It signals either a direct relationship with AP or a collector who moves fast on new references — neither interpretation is unflattering.

At retail, the pink gold self-winding Code 11.59 launched at approximately $29,900 USD. On the secondary market in 2024, pink gold examples trade at or slightly below retail, reflecting the broader softening of AP non-Royal-Oak references. For buyers priced out of Royal Oak waitlists, the Code 11.59 now represents genuine value access to Le Brassus manufacture finishing and in-house movement quality.