Description

The ‘Royal Oak’ overturned the prevailing codes in 1972 during a period of existential crisis for the watch industry due to the boom of the cheap Quartz watches made in Asia.

The company had to come with a bold, solid stainless sports steel luxury watch, they gave the mission to Gerald Genta to design it.
He got the inspiration from a deep-sea-diving helmet, the result was an octagonal bezel, visible mounting screws, a large case of 39mm with an integrated bracelet, a very futuristic design for the seventies.
Within 2-3 years they sold about 1000 watches establishing a new segment within the industry and pioneered the popularity and desirability of the steel sports luxury watch.

The first model released was the reference 5402 known today as the “Royal Oak A series”, with a thin automatic calibre 2121 movement that is still made today.

Since they treated steel as gold, the level of finishing was remarkable and so was the retail price, for comparison purpose a similar Rolex sport watch was 10x cheaper.

Today, Audemars Piguet still produces a range of Royal Oaks in different sizes (33 to 41mm) for ladies and men, from titanium, rose gold, yellow gold and platinum metals, various dial colours and with different complications.

The present reference is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Titanium 26534TI.OO.1220TI.01, it combines cutting-edge technology with classic design. The use of titanium in the case and bracelet make it both lightweight and durable.

Coming in a very limited series of 50 timepieces, this present reference continues in the line of the selfwinding tourbillon Royal Oaks, which started with the 26530TI and its sandblasted slate grey dial. This time, Audemars Piguet opted for a beautiful green sunburst dial in the “Evolutive Tapisserie” style.

In terms of material, Le Brassus opted for a case – at 41mm – and bracelet made of ultra-light Titanium, bringing down the weight of the watch significantly. While being a much harder material than gold or steel, Audemars Piguet showcases its prowess in keeping the same aesthetic finish with the hand-polished and satin-brushed titanium bracelet.

For its main highlight, this timepiece features a flying tourbillon, which is a type of tourbillon that is not attached to a bridge, making it appear as if it is floating in mid-air. The tourbillon’s cage is clearly visible at the 6 o’clock position, captivating the eye and offering a glance at the movement inside the watch. The central hands and hour markers are applied in white gold while the Audemars Piguet signature is inscribed three-dimensionally using the complex galvanic growth technique.

On the inside is the self-winding Calibre 2950 offering a 65hr power reserve. Composed of 27 jewels and 270 components, it measures 31.5mm in diameter and 6.2mm in thickness. Thanks to the skeletonized rotor, the movement of the watch can be admired from both the tourbillon cage and the sapphire crystal case back.

Audemars Piguet – bio

Audemars Piguet is a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical watches founded in 1875. They began in the Vallée de Joux. Jules Louis Audemars formed a partnership with Edward Auguste Piguet. Audemars created complicated blank watch movements for other manufactures to use. Piguet specialized in the final regulation of watches. They then split responsibilities when they began their own company. Audemars was in charge of production and technical aspects while Piguet focused on sales and management. One of their first achievements was creating the first repeater wristwatch in 1892 and in 1972 the iconic steel “Royal Oak”.