March 29, 2024
Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition Watch Watch Releases

Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition Watch Watch Releases

Audemars Piguet has honored LeBron James with a Limited Edition timepiece named after him. This view comes in the exceptionally successful Royal Oak Offshore line. LeBron James was an ambassador for Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Limited Edition Arnold Schwarzenegger because 2011. Considered one of the best basketball players of all time, King James, as he is known, collaborated with AP to produce this modern masterpiece. The Royal Oak Offshore LeBron James is limited in production to only 600 bits globally.Royal Oak Offshore watches are large and the LeBron James Limited doesn’t disappoint in that area. The situation diameter stands in 44mm, while this view rides high on the wrist with an instance height of 17mm. The case of this LeBron James is crafted from 18kt pink gold using a fixed octagonal titanium bezel. The pushers for your chronograph and main crown are made from black porcelain, together with the pusher at 2 o’clock encrusted with diamonds. Surrounding the main crown and pushers is grey rubber. The case back also includes a sapphire crystal using the LBJ signature in blue.The dial can also be gray with a ‘Mega Tapisserie’ guilloche design that’s hand engraved on each and every dial. The dial also carries hand applied pink gold hour mark in both indexes and oversize Arabic numerals. Also in pink gold are the hands that are coated with lume for nighttime readability. In the 3 o’clock position is a rounded date aperture. The subdials show the true seconds, and chrono moments and hours in three separate registers. The chronograph moments are indicated using a central hand.

Now here is a watch that is going to be a pain for people to buy who want one. Little guys like this get wooed over when announced, a year or so seems to go by before any are actually released for sale, and then the wars begin about availability because they are so limited. With just 40 pieces to be available, expect a small fraction of that number to find their way into the United States. This is the Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition 40th Anniversary watch (ref. 15203PT.OO.1240PT.01) with a beautiful skeletonized movement and platinum case. Happy 40th anniversary Royal Oak (1972-2012).

About two years ago Audemars Piguet released a watch that for me was the predecessor to this timepiece. It was the Royal Oak Skeleton watch that I discussed hands-on here. A very cool watch, the Royal Oak Skeleton was offered in steel and rose gold. It was highly esteemed and hard to get. Price was from about $30k – $45k. Now there is a much more limited and much more exclusive version that will be available in 2012.

2012 is the 40th anniversary of the original Royal Oak watch designed by Gerald Genta for Audemars Piguet. In addition to some other special models that I anticipate AP releasing, this watch is a fun tribute to the history of the iconic luxury sports watch. It is also a beautiful execution of skeletonization and mechanics.

Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition Watch Watch Releases

Inside the AP Royal Oak Extra-Thin Royal Oak is a delicately cut in-house made Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Italy Limited Edition calibre 5122 automatic movement. Compared the previous skeletonized model this one offers a different dial. The skeletonization is again mixed with a high degree of legibility and function (not the lumed hour markers, hands, and minute scale). No trade-off here between function and aesthetics. This model also has the date, and a thin movement that is 3.05mm wide. The rotor is in 22k gold with a lovely AP initials engraving.

Audemars Piguet makes a statement about how thin the case is. Though unfortunately they don’t publish the case thickness. Though even the standard Royal Oak is a thin watch as it is. The Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak is 39mm wide just like the original 1972 Royal Oak. The bracelet is lovely as always and the design looks as pleasing today as it did 40 years ago. Talk about timeless.

Offered in platinum the case is an interesting contradiction to the original. Why? Well think about it. AP is much credited with creating the luxury steel sport watch segment. Selling a steel watch at gold watch prices and having it somehow make sense was a revolution at the time. They, along with other brands such as Patek Philippe, made steel the new gold in a lot of segments. So it is interesting that the 40th anniversary tribute model be in luxurious platinum. Still cool, and makes for a good conversion topic. You know how AP lover’s like to chat.

As a platinum watch the AP Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Limited Edition 40th Anniversary watch will be a pricey specimen. We don’t know the exact price until early in 2012 though. 40 pieces only and I can’t wait to try one on.

Tech specs from Audemars Piguet:

Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak, Limited edition of 40 pieces for the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak’s model.

MOVEMENT:
– Selfwinding Manufacture Calibre 5122
– Total diameter : 28.40 mm (12 1/2 lignes)
– Thickness : 3.05 mm
– 36 jewels
– 247 parts
– Power reserve : approx. 40 hours
– Cadence of balance : 19’800 vibrations/hour
– Finishings: manual finishings of the bridge (polished bevels, satinbrushed edges, perlage on
the recesses), 22K gold monobloc oscillating weight stamped with the raised inscription “ AP
Royal Oak 1972-2012 and with “tapisserie” motif on it external segment.
CASE: 950 platinum case, glareproofed sapphire crystal and caseback
Water-resistant to 50 m
DIAL: Openworked slate-grey dial, white gold applied hour markers
Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating
BRACELET: 950 platinum bracelet with AP folding clasp
FUNCTIONS: Hours,minutes, date
REFERENCE: 15203PT.OO.1240PT.01

A brand new Formula 1 driver -established watch from Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Limited Edition Singapore Gp 2008 is this brand new Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli. Boy, it’s fine, but looks very little like these watches seemed as though they have been evolving. It’s likely that ending with the AP ROO Grand Prix, designer Octavio Garcia believed that the designs of brands race themed watches was becoming too wild. While I liked the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix watch – it is safe to state that it is a controversial style. You can even see the AP ROO Rubens Barrichello II watch here (another F1 driver). Therefore, it isn’t hard to see AP has “scaled back” the expression of the design a good deal. Emphasis is on the forged carbon case, high-tech cermet (cool metal ceramic hyrbid material) dial, and the ceramic crown and pushers. In a sober looking gray, the Jarno Trulli is dressed up a bit with glowing reddish components on the dial.Actually fairly fine, the watch is more simple and easy to read that its “cousin” pieces. Only criticism I have is the chronograph pushers are too simple. Yes, I know it’s hard to work with carbon, and it looks like everything you are able to do with it is drill round holes inside. Still, AP usually offers up at least a little flair in this section. Then again, in relation to the design of the chronograph pushers in previous watches – AP might just be “starting from scratch” here in case you’re embarking on a “re-imagining AP ROO style” adventure. Cost for its limited edition of 500 pieces watch is $28,900. Audemars Piguet are world renowned for their impeccable skill in watchmaking, and use a nutritious equilibrium of glistening aesthetics with scarily good watch mechanisms. In this weeks Time Journal see review, we focus on the hugely popular Royal Oak Offshore ‘Queen Elizabeth II Cup 2016’. The watch is limited to only 200 pieces worldwide, and is really a spectacular timepiece has now been discontinued.