Audemars Piguet is celebrating the brand’s Royal Oak 50th anniversary in style, by releasing several models. One of these models is the new Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin Openwork. Available in either stainless steel or 18-carat pink gold, not only is this watch incredibly aesthetically pleasing but also houses Audemars Piguet’s latest new dedicated self-winding extra-thin open-worked movement, the Calibre 7124.
The very modern and sleek design that is seen from this latest creation shows the Manufacture’s creative interpretation of the traditional design techniques which is very much in custom with Royal Oak’s uncompromising spirit.
The Royal Oak has evolved quite a lot with each passing decade. The Royal Oak Collection has altogether included more than 50 openwork models, and with the brand’s continuous passion over the decades and growth in knowledge and expertise, the models have all featured different movements, materials, sizes, and subtle design styles.
Design:
Both variants of the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked feature the Manufacture’s signature alternation of satin-brushed and polished surfaces on the casing, bracelet, and folding clasp.
The stainless steel version of the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked has a rhodium-toned open-worked movement, which matches the case and bracelet nicely. The dial is certainly beautiful on this model as it plays with monochromatic contrast. 18-carat pink gold has been used for the hour markers and hands, along with pink gold being used for the toned gear train and balance wheel. As the movement is open-worked, these pink gold elements of the movement can be seen on the dial, peeking through the bridges.
The 18-carat pink gold adds colour and a very aesthetic appeal to the dial. The design of the bridges on the movement makes it appear to be almost web-like, with the pink gold sitting nicely underneath. Although the dial seems quite complex, time can still be easily read thanks to the contrast from stainless steel/ rhodium to the 18-carat pink gold.
The second model is the 18-carat pink gold, which combines two different tones. The model makes use of slate grey open-worked bridges. The watch’s main energy source is the open-worked barrel at 11 o’clock which shows the coiled mainspring, is done in light grey, making it stand out nicely against the surrounding darker tones and the 18k pink gold. The pink-gold toned gear train and balance wheel add to the overall depth of the movement and is a great contrast against the dark bridges. Pink gold has also been used for the hour markers and hands.
When compared to the stainless steel model the 18-carat pink gold version has a more stark contrast, which is thanks to the slate grey bridges. It makes the balance wheel and all the underneath mechanisms of the movement in pink gold stand out well. What these dark-toned bridges also do is also make the hour markers and hands stand out beautifully.
Movement:
The two variants of the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked come with the brand new Calibre 7124 movement. This movement is derived from the Manufacture’s extra-thin self-winding movement Calibre 7121 which has been used for the newly released 16202 models.
Audemars Piguet states that this new movement “makes no compromise, Calibre 7124 brings together precision, performance, age-old open working expertise and extra-thinness. Measuring a mere 2.7 mm in height, this extra-thin self-winding open-worked hour and the minute movement contain more energy than its predecessor Calibre 5122 (3.05 mm), thanks to its larger barrel. Calibre 7124 is equipped with a contemporary slim oscillating weight mounted on ball bearings that utilises two reversers 1 developed in-house to ensure bidirectional winding. In addition, its balance wheel is fitted with inertia blocks that have been directly inserted within the balance wheel to avoid unnecessary friction.”
The movement operates at 4hz (28,800 VpH) and gives out a minimum power reserve of 57 hours. As expected, the timepiece comes with an open case back, in which the beauty of this self-winding calibre can be seen in more detail. The biggest feature of the case back however is the dedicated “50-years” contemporary slim oscillating weight, which is rhodium-toned 22-carat pink gold for the stainless steel version, and for the 18-carat pink gold model, the oscillating weight is made from 22-carat pink gold.
This latest timepiece by Audemars Piguet is a testament to the brand’s design philosophy of continually refining a characteristic and iconic timepiece in the Royal Oak collection. The release of the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked variants shows us that beauty need not be compromised when making technological feats.
