Certainly, among those aesthetic issues with automatic movements is that the central rotor hides almost half of their movement’s components — and if there’s ever were a “first world problem” in watch design, then that has to be it. Worry not, however, since Audemars Piguet has engineered the 2897 to have a peripheral winding rotor crafted out of platinum.To offer the wearer an uninhibited view of the movement, the watch is equipped with a peripheral rotor that swirls around the movement rather than sitting along with this movement. This is not the first time we have noticed a peripheral rotor (Jaeger-LeCoultre, for example, used one in their Master Ultra-Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon) however, if one of the primary attractions of high-end watchmaking is your chance of imitating the motion, one wonders why they aren’t used more often. The option of platinum for the rotor is designed to add weight, optimizing inertia to control the mainspring.The semicircular platinum rotor swings around the top portion of this calibre providing the watch among its coolest features… but more about that in a bit. Based on Audemars Piguet, more than 30 percent of the cost of this watch is created by the decoration of the movement. Revealed in all its splendor, the movement is superbly executed with hand-bevelled borders, satin polished flat surfaces along with bevelled and polished borders on the levers and bridges. Particularly eye-catching are the two large bridges with sandblasted centers.
A new Formula 1 driver -based watch from Audemars Piguet is this new Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli. Boy, it sure is nice, but looks very little like where these watches looked as though they have been evolving. It is possible that ending with the AP ROO Grand Prix, designer Octavio Garcia felt that the designs of brands race themed watches was getting too wild. While I liked the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix watch – it is safe to say that it is a controversial design. You can also see the AP ROO Rubens Barrichello II watch here (another F1 driver). Thus, it isn’t hard to see were AP has “scaled back” the look of the design a lot. Emphasis is on the forged carbon case, high-tech cermet (cool metal ceramic hyrbid material) dial, and the titanium crown and pushers. In a sober looking gray, the Jarno Trulli is dressed up a bit with bright red elements on the dial.
Actually quite nice, the watch is more simple and easy to read that its “cousin” pieces. Only gripe I have is that the chronograph pushers are too simple. Yes, I know it is hard to work with forged carbon, and it looks like all you are able to do with it is drill round holes in it. Still, AP usually offers up at least a little flair in this department. Then again, compared the design of the chronograph pushers in previous watches – AP might just be “starting from scratch” here if there are embarking on a “re-imagining AP ROO design” adventure. Price for the limited edition of 500 pieces watch is $28,900.
Read my full article on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli watch here.
