It was an unexpected and audacious move in 1972, when Audemars Piguet launched the Royal Oak, in a bid to come up with a winning timepiece to stay float.
Win or die trying, is probably how folks would describe it today.
Back then, the stainless steel watch was the first of its kind, in a time when gold was not only the standard, but the only precious metal used for wristwatches. This sparked off a revolution, itself opening a new and extremely creative chapter for the le Brassus-based manufacture, as it went on to explore traditional and unconventional materials in great depth: platinum, carbon, alacrite, bronze, rubber, ceramic, titanium, tantalum, etc...
Fast forward forty-something odd years later, the Gerald Genta-designed timepiece inspired by the portholes of the British Naval warship, is now one of the most recognizable adornments on the wrist.
But Audemars Piguet is about to break the rules once again, turning convention on its head by returning luxury watchmaking to its most elemental material: yellow gold.
The new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar celebrates the timeless allure of yellow gold by combining it with the most classic and romantic complication.
On the "Grande Tapisserie" decorated dials — a subtle pattern of three-dimensional squares— the traditional displays of a perpetual calendar timepiece are given pride of place: day, month and date are displayed at nine, noon and three o'clock.
The essential leap year indication, an Audemars Piguet innovation first introduced to wristwatch design in 1955, takes centre stage at noon. An astronomical moon finds it place at six o'clock, and the week of the year is displayed on the dial's outer chapter ring, adding yet another layer of time measurement.
Inside, the self-winding watch's new calibre 5134 is fully visible through the glareproof sapphire crystal caseback. Calibre 5134 is based on its predecessor, calibre 2120, now enlarged to perfectly fit the updated 41mm case size.
Part of the inspiration for this new edition is the first Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (reference 5554, later renamed 25554), designed by Jacqueline Dimier in 1984. Of the 279 pieces in that original launch, 229 were sumptuously cased in yellow gold.
Audacious and visionary, the 2016 Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar leads luxury watchmaking back to the rarest, more cherished prize: yellow gold, as brilliant and warm as the sun.
