Category: Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2, The World’s Thinnest Self-Winding Perpetual Calendar (SIHH 2018)

As all industries, the watchmaking world is subject to trends. One that we’re not unhappy to see resurfacing is ultra-thin watches. Piaget opened the show in December with the thinnest automatic watch, followed at the SIHH 2018 by the thinnest mechanical ever created (2mm thick, no less). It is now time for Audemars Piguet to come on board and demonstrate, if ever necessary, that they know a bit about watchmaking. Here is the Royal Oak RD#2, which at a staggering 6.30mm thick is the thinnest self-winding perpetual calendar on the market today.

7 years ago

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin 15202IP – Titanium Case, Smoked Blue Dial (SIHH 2018)

As the modern incarnation of the very first luxury-sports watch created in 1972, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin 15202 needs no introduction anymore. Its octagonal shape, its screwed bezel, its integrated chain-like bracelet, its extra-thin automatic movement, its finely guilloched blue dial… Everything in this watch is iconic. Well, for the SIHH 2018, there’s a new version, and don’t be fooled by the familiar look, it has much more secrets than you would expect at first. Please meet the Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin 15202IP – and yes it is titanium and it has a superb and unprecedented smoked blue dial.

7 years ago

Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic vs. the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402ST

Now it makes zero sense to compare the very first luxury sports watch to the very latest in this desirable segment, at least not from a consumer’s perspective (the vintage AP RO Jumbo is of course not for sale anymore.) However, it does, when looking at if and how the luxury sports watch segment has developed over the past 4.5 decades. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 5402ST was introduced in 1972, and the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic was introduced in 2017. Forty-five years, only a handful of competitors in all those years and only one serious competitor survived: the Patek Philippe Nautilus. But will the new Bulgari become a serious competitor for the uncrowned king of the luxury sports watches? 

7 years ago

The Coolest Pre-announced Watches of SIHH 2018 So Far

It’s true… The SIHH 2018 hasn’t started yet. However, as every year, the game of the “pre-SIHH” watches (novelties introduced as teasers for what is to come during the fair) brought its dosage of new watches. In order to prepare yourself for what’s coming in a week, here is a short recap of the main novelties already introduced as part of the SIHH 2018 collections.

7 years ago

Buying Guide – 5 of the Best Luxury-Sports Watches Launched in 2017

All of you here might know the story behind the creation of the “Luxury-Sports Watch”, a long-lasting trend that started back in 1972 when a certain Gerald Genta designed the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. The idea began with a thin, integrated watch in stainless steel, featuring attributes from haute-Horlogerie and sports-watches, and priced over most of the gold watches at that time… Who could have imagined, back in the 1970s, that these watches could become so popular today? Well, as a demonstration that the Luxury-Sports Watch is fully alive, here are 5 of them, all introduced in 2017.

7 years ago

Hands-On – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph 25th Anniversary

As we told you in a recent article, next year will be the 25th anniversary of a modern icon, a watch that simply created the trend for bold sports-luxury watches: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. In 1993, the brand impressed (or shocked) the industry with this watch, and to celebrate this, AP has some commemorative pieces to show. The first one looks at the past, as being a re-edition of the first ROO. The second one, which goes under our loupe today, looks at the future. Aggressive, impressive, complex, architectural… Here is the bold (to say the least) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph 25th Anniversary.

7 years ago

Audemars Piguet Reissues the 1993 Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph… And We Go Hands-On With This 25th Anniversary Ref. 26237ST

Throughout its long history, Audemars Piguet did quite some bold moves. Of course, we all remember the 1972 Royal Oak, a Genta-designed watch that simply revolutionized the concept of the luxury watch. Another of these bold moves should be reminded. Back in 1993, Audemars Piguet presented an evolution of the Royal Oak, a highly-masculine version named the Offshore – a watch that will again create a trend that will later spread over the rest industry. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this modern icon, the Le Brassus-based brand presents, as Pre-SIHH 2018 novelties, two new ROO watches, including this retro-inspired Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Re-edition 25th Anniversary Ref. 26237ST. Slightly vintage, highly iconic.

7 years ago

VIDEO – The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked Fully Explained (and the fun story on how it came to life, by the CEO)

At the SIHH 2016, Audemars Piguet introduced a new version of its Royal Oak Openworked, and this time, it featured a Double Balance Wheel… Why replacing this superb model? And why having two balances? We all know that images are better than words in order to understand, so let’s turn the floor over to the CEO of Audemars Piguet, François-Henry Bennahmias (and you’ll see, there’s a fun story behind the creation of this watch) and Gilles Pellet, Head of Product Quality Department at Audemars Piguet, to discover the superb and technically-advanced Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked 15407.

7 years ago

VIDEO – Aurel Bacs Talks Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona & Highlights From Phillips New York Auction

While Aurel Bacs’ reputation as an auctioneer was not to be done anymore, he recently managed to impress the watch-collecting community again, by being entrusted with the sale of no less than Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Rolex Daytona. So to say, a Holy-Grail in watch collecting. However, that’s not all. Phillips, in Association with Bacs & Russo, managed to create around this watch an entire and fascinating catalogue, which inaugurates the New York auctions for the Maison. Today, we’re pleased to receive Aurel, to talk Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Rolex Daytona and other highlights from the “Winning Icons, Legendary Watches of the 20th Century” that will take place in New York, on 26 October 2017.

7 years ago