Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Skeleton Ultra-thin Rose Gold Watch
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Skeleton Ultra-thin Rose Gold Watch
My fondness for the ultra-thin Royal Oak that most people call "Jumbo" is well documented. This is my first truly high end watch and I truly believe it is both one of the great designs of 20th century watchmaking and probably the most balanced watch ever made. The way it sits on the wrist? what. that is really good. So, while the focus of this year's AP is on the new 42mm Royal Oak Offshore, my personal highlight in the new release is the new(ish) take on the Jumbo.
AP's skeleton strategies are the best, and we rarely see them applied to the Jumbo, the purest watch from the Le Brassus maker. There have been some limited edition, highly ornate skeleton Jumbos over the past few years, and then in 2012 we saw a new version of the skeletonized Royal Oak, a limited edition 40th anniversary watch in platinum. The watch is fantastic. Still, it's no more retro AP than the Skeleton Jumbo, which I've always thought was a watch they should have produced in a more approachable metal, in more quantities. This year they did just that with a new solid rose gold version of the ultra-thin Royal Oak cutout.
Audemars Piguet ROYAL OAK DOUBLE BALANCE WHEEL OPENWORKED
From the sides of this new RO, you can see how much hand AP has put into the skeletonized 2120 movement, which has been skeletonized in slate grey and is known as the 5122 movement. The look of this watch is spectacular. Of course, this watch retains the perfect size of the 15202 Jumbo, so you're looking at a 39mm case that's only 8.04mm thick. This is on my wrist:
43mm Royal Oak Offshore New with in-house calibre 4404
The beating heart of the beast came from Audemars Piguet for the first time.
The Royal Oak Offshore is a controversial watch, and it has been since its first day in 1993. Offshore watches have always been a love-hate watch – the Gérald Genta, the original Royal Oak, was recorded as an immediate dislike for it. Its size, weight and unapologetic aggressiveness to his original designs, ranging from a brilliant rendition of the Royal Oak to a terrifying near-parody, has not only remained a mainstay of the Audemars Piguet collection over the years, it has also been a Extremely versatile platform for further experimentation in design, materials and complexity.
However, the one thing that the offshore model has never had - which may come as a surprise to those who are a little bit new to fine watchmaking or new to Audemars Piguet - is an in-house movement. Conversely, offshore models typically rely on the base caliber with added timing modules. The first models used Jaeger-LeCoultre's automatic base movements (calibres 888 and 889/1), and more recently the 3126/3840, which is AP's own in-house calibre 3126, but again with a chronograph module. AP also used the F. Piguet 1185 movement (now Blancpain 1185 because F. Piguet has been included in Blancpain), an integrated ultra-thin chronograph movement, but again not manufactured in-house.
This year, however, The Associated Press has created new versions of the Royal Oak Offshore, all with an in-house movement. The watch is available with a 42mm case with 6, 9 and 12 subdials and a date of 3 (the layout on the original 1993 model), or a 43mm case with a 3, 6, 9 subdials layout, and a date at 4:30 . The 43mm model uses the 4401 movement first introduced in the Code 11.59 chronograph, and the 42mm model uses the 4404, which is basically a 4401 but reconfigured to support the sub-dial and date layout of the original offshore model.
The change in design is noticeable next to one of the models from the 1990s (in this case the 1999 model 25721SA). In addition to the change in dial layout, the modern 43mm version has more straight buttons and, perhaps most notably, no Cyclops for the date window (though the window's placement at 4:30 just shows that the Offshore is ready as always) disputes).
However, in terms of the presentation of the new movement, perhaps the most notable difference is the absence of a date Cyclops. Due to its modular construction, the Modular Royal Oak requires a magnifying glass to display the date. The date wheel is on the base movement, and if you put the chronograph module on top, the date wheel ends up being quite far behind the dial. This year's 42mm model retains the magnifying glass, although since the movement is a one-piece chronograph, you don't really need it (though you can make the same argument for any Rolex with a date Cyclops).
Two-tone reference. By the way, the 25721SA shown above is an interesting example of how complicated Offshore's history has been over 25 years. This particular watch belonged to a friend and watch lover who bought it in 1999 by his father (he's 6'3" and obviously, happy to finally find a watch big enough to fit his large frame ). There are said to be only four of this reference known on the market, and he more or less forgot he had it until he found it in the back of a closet a few weeks ago. The bezel is rose gold.
I find it very charming, but then again, when I finally get a 36mm yellow gold Rolex Day-Date (as my friends and family keep reminding me, the ultimate grumpy old man's watch), there's no doubt about it , Ref. 25721SA is a powerful 90's watch. There is no doubt that the presence of a modular chronograph movement in AP Watches, one of the most famous complication manufacturers in all of fine watchmaking, seems increasingly out of place as the 2000s slowly creep into the 2010s and 2020s. Since the release of Caliber 4401, AP observers have been waiting for the caliber to launch into watches other than the Code 11.59 chronograph,
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Of the two options offered by the 4401/4404, the new 43mm Royal Oak is certainly more modern in look and feel, by design, of course. Although 25 years in the making, the new movement is a very welcome update to the design, and at least for me, the use of a modular movement has been a bit of a letdown for its bear weight. With a diameter of 32mm and a thickness of 6.8mm, the movement definitely fits into a timepiece that is still quite large and eye-catching.
In addition to appearing to fit through the back of the display, the new movement has an overall design and layout that is perfect for a 43mm Offshore. It is clearly intended to impress the wearer with a contemporary movement, rather than an exercise in horological nostalgia. At this point, it was very successful.
As we discussed in the Code 11.59 Chronograph Practice, the modernity of the movement is more than superficial. This is a vertical clutch design with a 70-hour power reserve, column wheel toothing to minimize friction, ceramic bearings on the rotor and a single integrated reset hammer. There is a balance bridge, instead of a balance cock, the balance is a free-hanging, adjustable mass type.
While the 42mm model may be more of a purist take on the Offshore in-house movement, I really like the fact that the 43mm model really leans towards its more advanced design, and, I also give it a reservation compared to the 42mm model The original configuration of the 4401 caliber was not altered as a tribute.
The three watches shown here are available in stainless steel with a black dial and titanium with a blue or grey dial. The titanium models keep the Offshore as low a weight as the Offshore is possible - they're very comfortable - but the steel model with the black ceramic bezel has something very nifty about it because there's no added mass penalty for the bracelet, which could be my choice. After all, what is an offshore company with no weight at all?
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