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SIHH 2010: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix Chronograph
Jan 27, 2010
The popularity and extreme cult status surrounding certain Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore timepieces is a phenomenon in the world of luxury watches matched by few competitors, and arguably, exceeded by none. In 2010, amidst a bevy of tantalizing new creations, Audemars Piguet presents a model that is likely to ascend to the heights attained by such coveted Offshore special editions as the T3, the Juan Pablo Montoya and the Rubens Barrichello. Like those latter two AP treasures, this new timepiece--the Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix--also takes its inspiration from the high-tech realm of Formula 1 racing. It merges together an exciting recipe of rare materials, contrasting textures, and highly technical shapes to form a truly stunning object of performance haute horlogerie.
For nearly two decades, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore chronograph in its various incarnations has been a virtual synonym for luxury sports watches of the top class. However, the Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix chronograph takes the famous faceted case and octagonal bezel and uses the mechanical structures from high performance race cars to elevate the basic form to new heights of creativity. The list of these elements is long: AP's famous "Mega Tapisserie" dial has been elaborated to an extreme degree, to evoke dashboard instrumentation. The octagonal Royal Oak bezel is manufactured from super-strength low-mass forged carbon and showcases flutes intended to evoke brake discs. The extremely intricate winding crown mimics the form of a gear, and in various sections of the case---the bezel most notably--prominent screws create further instantaneous association with the mechanical systems and assembly structures of supercars.
The movement inside the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix watch collection also hits all the right points where both exclusivity and performance are concerned. The base is Audemars Piguet's manufacture 3120 caliber with a 60-hour power reserve, full balance bridge, and a freely sprung Gyromax-type balance beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour; it is joined to a module with a date display and 3-counter chronograph, resulting in a movement which carries the official designation of AP 3126/3840. Designed especially for the Offshore Grand Prix chronograph and its exceptional stylized case and dial, the 3126/3840's one-piece 22K gold central winding rotor displays a partially blackened finish as well as some distinctive material removal. The high-tech appearance of this winding mass is particularly striking when the eye compares it against the extensive classical finishing lying on the movement structures directly beneath it. These fine touches include elegantly arranged bridges with Cotes de Geneve patterns, a mainplate with circular graining, and screw and jewel settings with gleaming diamond-polished edges. A sapphire crystal window at the center of the caseback encourages frequent enjoyment of these delightful embellishments.
Three versions of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix chronograph watch will be offered, each having a 44mm case and distinctly colored dials manufactured from eloxed aluminum. The most purely sporty model, limited to an edition of 1,750 pieces, features a predominantly red and black dial and a forged carbon case with a crown, chronograph pushpiece guards and caseback all in titanium. Limited to 650 and 75 pieces are the versions with cases in 18-karat pink gold and platinum, respectively. These precious variants both present forged carbon bezels and chronograph pushpiece guards, as well as pushpieces manufactured from a combination of black ceramic and the case material. The inscription "Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix --Limited Edition" stands out proudly on the backs of all three references. Straps are made from alcantara-lined calf leather and feature wide prong buckles in titanium, gold, or platinum according to the model. Water resistance of this exclusive sports watch trio is 100 meters, a specification shared by other chronograph models within the Royal Oak Offshore collection.
More about Audemars Piguet:
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