Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak has been seriously upgraded.
The company is already one of the flagship timepieces of Swiss watchmakers and will launch two new versions made of precious metals: platinum and rose gold. The “super-large” versions of these designs have extremely thin varieties and limited editions, only 70 pieces in 950 platinum and 30 pieces in 18K rose gold are produced. Even more rare is that only Tokyo retailer Yoshida offers many such scarce numbers.
Audemars Piguet fake has a 39mm, 8.1mm thick case, so decided to abandon its normal face, and instead chose a black and agate dial with 11 bright-cut white diamonds as hour markers – This situation is becoming less and less in high-end watches. The interval time is also marked by Royal Oak hands with luminous coating. Both versions are powered by a proprietary self-winding 2121 movement, with a 40-hour power reserve and a water resistance of up to 50 meters.
The watchmaker recently adopted a strategy different from the traditional one before the official press release. Taking a page out of the streetwear manual, it chose instaafd to put the latest products directly on its website. This is how these two models are released. For serious collectors (or collectors who want to join them), it can represent a brand new and definitely not-so-formal way to learn about the latest products.
Designed by Gerald Genta and released in 1972, fake Royal Oak was a last-minute effort to maintain its practicality, as the quartz watch had the potential to disrupt the entire industry in the early 70s. Its octagonal profile (inspired by deep-sea diving helmets) was a fundamental change at the time, and it was the first stainless steel timepiece sold as a luxury watch, thus pushing the boundaries further.