“To break the rules, you must first master them.”
Audemars Piguet’s inspiring motto has helped the watch manufacturer achieve the highest standards of Haute Horlogerie. And in 2015 the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar returns to center stage with four different versions (two in steel, two in pink gold). Continuing the shift in watch case sizes that began in 2012, the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is now 41 mm, yet still extremely thin.
The enlarged size has resulted in a “Grande Tapisserie” dial design that greatly increases the overall aesthetics, balance and legibility of the perpetual calendar indications. The layout of the dial includes all of the traditional indications of a perpetual calendar watch: day, date, highly detailed astronomical moon, month and leap year. In addition, the 52 weeks of the year are indicated by an outer chapter ring with corresponding central hand, adding another layer of time measurement.
The new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar series features an updated selfwinding caliber 5134 that is based on its predecessor, calibre 2120. The latest caliber 5134, however, has been enlarged in accordance with the updated 41mm case size. The highly finished 4.31 mm thick movement is fully visible through the glare-proof sapphire crystal caseback. The thinner the movement, the more complex it is to adjust and assemble its parts as it requires extraordinary skills to work on components which are sometimes as thin as a human hair.
The suspended barrel, which helps to achieve added thinness, is adorned with circular Côtes de Genève, and the wheels are circular satin-brushed. The mainplate is circular-grained while all bridges are bevelled and adorned with Côtes de Genève, the flanks are satin-brushed and all bevels are polished. Each of the new timepieces also sports a 22K gold monobloc oscillating weight that is engraved with “Audemars Piguet”. The external segment is adorned with a “tapisserie” motif echoing the iconic pattern of the Royal Oak dials.
