Audemars Piguet

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Complication shown here, ref 26571RO.OO.A010CA.01, features a pink gold case with black ceramic bezel, on white rubber strap.  It joins the earlier previewed ROO Grand Complication with titanium case and black ceramic bezel.  The movement is the AP cal 2885 selfwinding with perpetual calendar indicating the day, the date, the week, the moon phases, the month and the leap years, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph and small seconds at 9 o’clock.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Complication 26571RO.OO.A010CA.01

44mm pink gold case, automatic AP Cal 2885

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Here’s a first look at a new piece that will be launched officially in Geneva at SIHH 2013:  the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grande Complication.  The Royal Oak Offshore was born in 1993 as a sportier extension of the model designed two decades earlier by watch designing icon Gérald Genta.  This model with its minute repeater, split-second chronograph and perpetual calendar complications is the first Royal Oak Offshore to be designated as a grande complication.  Just three pieces will be made which is not surprising for such a highly complicated watch.   The price tag will easily run into the six-figures, if not more.  More details and looks, on the jump>>>

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Titanium Grand Complication

Limited edition 3 pieces

Ref. 26571IO.OO.A002CA.01

The watch has a 44mm titanium, black ceramic bezel, crown and chrono pushpieces.  Inside is the 648-part manufacture caliber 2885 with minute repeater, rattrapante (split seconds) chronograph and perpetual calendar functions (previously used in pieces such as this).   The Grande Complication movement features hand-finished cut-out parts (polished bevels, beadblasted, matt surface underneath) and hand-finished bridges (rounded-off and polished bevels, satin-brushed flanks, circular-grained recesses).  To reveal the exceptional nature of this model, the parts composing this exceptional art are partially visible through the transparent sapphire dial and by a fitted exhibition back.

The watchmakers have clearly chosen to give this model an overall contemporary look, as evidenced by the choice of case and bezel materials, and also the solid gold oscillating weight which I am told is black-coated (sorry no pic right now).  As well I find the font choice for the subdials to be not only of a contemporary nature but highly legible and quite attractive.  Lucky is the man who owns a watch such as this!

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In addition to the Royal Oak Offshore Grand Complications (ROO titanium or ROO rose gold) I’ve already shown you, AP is introducing a high complication this year in its Tradition line.   The Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph is powered by the super (and superbly finished) hand-wind AP Caliber 2874.  This triple complication caliber features column-wheel chronograph (30 min counter on dial), tourbillon and Minute repeater on two gongs.  The case here is 47mm titanium, with a display back.  The silvered opaline dial has pink gold appliques (Arabic numerals and hands).  Limited to just 10 pieces and priced at US$471,300.  Nice.

Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph (Ref 26564)

AP Cal 2874 (manual wind)

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Great video…

Hodinkee’s recent run down of the AP Caliber 2120 caught my attention last week and I wanted to follow it up with some more looks at this spectacular movement and the watches it sits inside — the new Audemars Piguet “Jules Audemars Extra Thin” and Extra Thin Perpetual Calendar models.  Actually, Audemars Piguethas produced a very good video which does just this — points out the finer details of the movement — so I’ll let it do the talking.  Enjoy a few pics of the watch, too.

Audemars Piguet Caliber 2120 Overview Video

Audemars Piguet Caliber 2120

28.4mm diameter, 2.45mm thick, 214 components, 19,800 frequency, nicely decorated!

Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Extra Thin Watches

41mm pink gold case, silver (Ref 15180OR.OO.A088CR.01) or black (Ref 15180OR.OO.A002CR.01) dial,

Finally, here’s a look at the perpetual calendar model (also available in brown dial) — it is the Caliber 2120 with the perpetual calendar module on top of it (again, I encourage you to read Hodinkee’s post for the comparison):

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Another new one from Audemars Piguet – the Millenary Chronograph.  The design of this watch is one that I have not and still do not like.  Is this a dress watch?  Or a sport watch?  Now we seem to see a combination of both with the addition of chronograph counters, one of which is larger than the other two.  There are way too many circles on this dial for me.  In other words, the addition of a chronograph to this watch design seems awkward to me.  Because there is so much more to like from AP this year, on this one I’ll pass, thanks.