March 28, 2024
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

If there’s one watch that still haunts the collective dreams of the watch lover community since SIHH 2017 it’s the blancpain chinese calendar Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. In ceramic. In the 40-ish years since the Royal Oak’s conception, Gerald Genta’s avant-garde masterpiece has seen it all. Cases made of steel, gold, platinum, and forged carbon, married to nearly every type of complication under the sun in haute horology – but never in full ceramic, both case and bracelet. It’s this fresh addition to the legacy of variety combined with one of the most iconic designs in watchmaking that have made this Royal Oak in particular one for the ages.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

For this year’s edition of SIHH, Audemars Piguet introduced the all-black Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar watch ref. 26579CE in ceramic – as aforementioned, marking the first time the Swiss watchmaker has paired this case material to this particular complication. However, unlike previous ceramic case offerings which usually came fitted with rubber or exotic leather straps, Audemars Piguet is also introducing a brand new ceramic bracelet, hand-finished to the watchmaker’s signature staggering degree of detail to perfectly complement the Royal Oak case.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

From titanium and forged carbon to ceramic itself, Audemars Piguet has championed the use of exotic case materials for the better part of the last decade, so it should come as little surprise that the brand’s expertise finally gave birth to a matching ceramic bracelet for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. But the bracelet didn’t come easily – some 600 hours of research and development were invested into its production, largely because the true signature of an Audemars Piguet isn’t just the employment of exotic materials, but a mastery of finishing them with traditional high-end techniques usually reserved for metals like steel or gold. And because of ceramic’s notorious difficulty to produce and manipulate, it takes a highly trained technician over 30 hours to machine, polish, hand-finish, assemble, and control this particular ceramic bracelet – over five times longer than executing the same production procedures on a standard Audemars Piguet Royal Oak stainless steel bracelet.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Occasionally one can get lost in the enchanting illusion that more is achieved by hand than, in fact, is possible with certain strategies and contemporary expectations for tolerances. The frosting gives the gold a shiny effect similar to that of getting diamond powder onto the surface, just less reflective. The bezel edges are polished and case edges beveled for a few additional pop in involving the frosting, and also the caseband is brushed (perhaps there is such a thing as a lot of bling). The “frosted” completing is not often seen in instances (motion parts and dials, more frequently), which makes this an intriguing and unusual appearance that should probably be viewed in person to determine exactly how attractive/wearable/masculine/blingy or otherwise it is. Besides the use of this frosted gold, this is basically the blue-dial version of the time-only Royal Oak that we’ve come to know from various versions over the years since Gerald Genta designed it.While the previous smaller variants were offered in white and rose gold, this 41mm Royal Oak will only be available in white gold. It has the blue tapisserie dial with a matching blue date window. I always thought the Royal Oak shined best using a blue (not white) dial. The hands and applied markers are gold, clearly, and stuffed with a sliver of Super-LumiNova to create the watch legible at night. The bracelet is your familiar and very comfortable design. Like the 37mm frosted gold god, it is powered with the automated standard 3120, which provides 60 hours of power reserve, beats at 3Hz, also contains the customary, solid 22ct gold, decorated monobloc rotor — every one of which can be visible through a screen caseback.Those wanting to stock up on some bling might have to hurry as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold 41mm is limited to 200 pieces just. If you happen to overlook you could always console yourself by purchasing a set of Royal Oak cufflinks that the brand introduced together with the watch. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold 41mm is available at retailers and boutiques for $55,000 and a pair of this cufflinks will set you back $4,200 for the gold and $1,600 for steel.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

The end result is both seamless and sinister – delivering the same singular, unbroken aesthetic between case and bracelet we’re used to seeing on other Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar offerings in steel and gold, and quite frankly, the way the watch has always been meant to be worn. In ceramic, however, the watch remains lightweight, yet just assertive enough to lend the feeling of an ultralight titanium sport watch, but one whose finishing goes to eleven.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Since it sprung to life for the first time in 1955, Audemars Piguet’s perpetual calendar movement has been another hallmark for the brand, and while the self-winding Caliber 5134 fitted to this blancpain tribute to fifty fathoms mil-spec Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar still bears the less-than-subtle recessed adjusters on the 9:00 side of the case, it’s still a highly modern movement deeply connected to the brand’s origins, bearing the reminder that the source of all time measurement ultimately begins and ends in the stars. To be more specific, though, the 5134 is sized specifically for the 41mm case and yields a three-register layout with month and leap year indicators at 12:00, a moonphase display at 6:00, and the day of the week at 9:00. Running the circumference of the dial on the rehaut is a central-mounted 52-week pointer. Even at that level of complication, the 5134 runs a svelte 4.31mm thick, which helps maintain the Royal Oak’s classically thin silhouette.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

It just wouldn’t be a Royal Oak without the textured “Grande Tapisserie” guilloche dial, nor would it be one without the applied white gold hour indices, or octagonal bezel – all of which are mandatory signatures that have collectively made this watch a joy to behold through the ages. The blancpain bathyscaphe titanium Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar edition gets one other neat flourish – a photorealistic rendering of the moon, as sharply contrasted against the inky black case as the real thing beaming down from a dark winter sky.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Watch In Ceramic Hands-On Hands-On

There’s a lot to love about Audemars Piguet finally delivering a bracelet in ceramic – and while the Perpetual Calendar makes the most sense for the bracelet’s debut, we’re holding out hope that a ceramic bracelet for the ROO Diver is soon to follow. The price for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (reference 26579CE) in full ceramic is $93,900, which is comparable to the asking price of the gold variants introduced in 2015. audemarspiguet.com