For over a century, Audemars Piguet has devised endlessly inventive horological masterpieces. Discover the intricacies of the craft - the ways history influences design, the methods by which components are handcrafted, and the ever-present focus on excellence.
The openworked extra-thin Royal Oak Tourbillon epitomizes the expression of our savoir-faire.
Part I
Designing & Developing
Envisioning the future of a classic.
We set out to evolve the classic Royal Oak DNA through a bold new expression in the Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon.
Bringing visionaries and virtuosos together
Housed under one roof, our design and development teams work in concert over the course of 3-5 years to turn an idea into a perfect, functioning timepiece.
The purpose of openworking is to enhance transparency and aesthetic appeal. Openings are made in certain parts of the watch to reveal the beauty of the mechanism, without touching the vital parts that ensure smooth running.
Beveling is a meticulous finish that greatly contributes to the beauty of the mainplate by highlighting the rim.
This process eliminates the edges between the surface and flanks to form a bezel that will subsequently be polished.
High-end watchmaking employs the process of flanking to ensure the quality of the beveling.
The sides of the mainplate are retouched by hand to eliminate any trace of imperfection.
After
Before
Perlage is a type of decoration used on bridges, bars, plates, recesses and dials. A turning rod marks the surface with extremely close concentric or even overlapping lines to form the motif.
The mainplate is held into place while a slate stick or buff is guided across the surface.
Linear graining creates fine lines and enhances brilliance.
Additional Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon Components —
The CaseMaking a Royal Oak case blends the accuracy of modern machinery with the expertise of meticulous hands.
The BraceletThe bracelet is distinguished by its tapered construction featuring links arranged in decreasing order of size to avoid making the watch too heavy. No two links are identical, and the results are evidenced in the perfect integration and extremely precise fit between case and bracelet.
The HandsThe surface and the bevels of the hands and hour-markers are polished to give them a special shine. Adding the final touch of refinement, the hourmarkers of the Royal Oak dials are riveted, meaning inserted and not stamped onto the dial.
The comfort of the bracelet is guaranteed by the shape of the intermediate links and the mastery with which they are made.
After
Before
The distinctive “bathtub” shape of the hands and hour-markers means the luminescent material may be poured rather than applied, thus ensuring a more attractive finish.
Components
Classic Royal Oak
Tapisserie Dial
The dial’s square and lozenge motif is created by machines which perform guillochage, a highly intricate way to capture the light and accentuate a timepiece’s geometric relief.
The brass dial is engraved by a burin (a precision metalwork chisel) that reproduces the motif on a disc attached to the machine, like a pantograph.
Materials Used in the Royal Oak Collection
Steel
Composed of iron, chromium, nickel and molybdemum, steel boasts excellent corrosion resistance. To perfect the aesthetic appeal of stainless steel, Audemars Piguet has developed an exclusive surface treatment endowing the metal with a luminous appearance.
1972
Audemars Piguet launched the world’s first stainless-steel luxury watch. In an era when gold was considered the only high-end option, it was a gamble. But it paid off with the birth of one our most iconic watches.
Extra-thin Royal Oak
Pink Gold
Precious metal has always been a staple material in fine watchmaking. Pink gold is composed of 75% fine gold, along with 5% silver and 20% copper, the latter proportion varies according to the desired color intensity. Audemars Piguet also uses two other forms of gold: yellow and white.
Selfwinding Royal Oak
Platinum
Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold, in fact it is the most exclusive metal in the field of fine watchmaking. It is also used in its purest form, at 95%. Its malleability makes it particularly difficult to handle.
Openworked extra-thin Royal Oak Tourbillon 41mm
Carbon
No watchmaker uses carbon like Audemars Piguet. Based on an innovative method, 1mm diameter carbon wire strands are molded by extreme pressure and heat. Beyond its lightness, forged carbon offers the advantage of making parts with straight edges and sharp angles.
2007
Audemars Piguet launched the world's first carbon luxury watch, the Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team.
Royal Oak Carbone Concept
Titanium
Grade 5 titanium, the most resistant and robust variety on the market, is ultra-rugged and twice as light as steel. Titanium boasts strong chemical stability and is hypoallergenic.
Designed virtually overnight by the brilliant and experienced stylist Gérald Genta, the Royal Oak was a bold response to a request for an “unprecedented steel watch.” Initially met with a blend of astonishment and contempt, the Royal Oak soon established itself as an iconic model that was to change the face of modern watchmaking.
The first Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar caliber 2120/2800 was designed to be the world's thinnest model of its kind. Endowed with a mechanical memory taking account of all calendar variations including months and leap year, it requires no manual intervention before the year 2100.
Hours, minutes, Perpetual calendar with day, date, moon phases, months
Case
Stainless Steel Case
Dial
Opaline rhodium plated dial, applied hour-marker, white gold hands
Bracelet
Stainless Steel Bracelet
Calibre
Type
Selfwiding Calibre 2120/2800
Diameter
28.4mm
The Original Platinum-Iridium Selfwinding System
When launching the first Royal Oak selfwinding tourbillon watch, Audemars Piguet introduced a larger and lighter titanium tourbillon cage ensuring additional precision and a larger 54-hour power reserve. This model has a caseback-side winding crown and a platinum-iridium hammer-winding system to guarantee full visibility of the tourbillon at all times.
Hours, minutes at 12 o’clock, pointer-type date display at 3 o’clock, tourbillon at 6 o’clock, power reserve at 9 o’clock.
Case
18-carat pink gold case
Dial
White dial with "petite tapisserie" pattern
Bracelet
18-carat pink gold bracelet
Calibre
Type
Selfwinding Calibre 2875 with hammer system
Diameter
32.6mm
The Perfect Blend of Performance and Sophistication
The Royal Oak Concept was an avant-garde tribute to Royal Oak's 30 years of defining a watchmaking revolution. It was an authentic "lab watch" embodying absolute performance through a blend of technical sophistication and extreme resistance. The case was the first ever to borrow a superalloy from the aeronautical industry: alacrite 602, the hardest material available at the time.
Hours, minutes, power reserve in units around the barrel circumference at 3 o’clock, function selector via an additional pushpiece at 4 o’clock and function indicator at 6 o’clock, tourbillon at 9 o’clock and dynamograph at 12 o’clock.
Case
Case-middle and caseback in 602 alacrite, bezel in titanium
Dial
Dial composed of the mainplate, inner bezel ring with minute track and hour-markers
Bracelet
Kevlar® strap
Calibre
Type
Hand-wound calibre 2896
Diameter
29.9mm
An Evolved Equation of Time
Ten years after releasing the first Equation of Time watch, Audemars Piguet presented this exceptional timepiece combining four celestial high complications: a perpetual calendar, a precision display of the lunar cycle, the equation of time (which displays the difference between “true” solar time and conventional time), and civil sunrise and sunset times.
Silvered dial with "Grande Tapisserie" pattern, gold applied hour-markers with luminescent coating, gold Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating
Bracelet
Brown strap, hand-stitched "large square scale" crocodile with 18-carat pink gold AP folding clasp
Calibre
Type
Selfwinding Manufacture Calibre 2120/2808
Diameter
28.4mm
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Part III
Assembling The Watch
The final touch.
Several hundred parts come together under the eye of a skilled watchmaker. Putting them together is just the beginning of this precise and meticulous finishing effort.
Meticulous Attention to Detail, Defined
Each watchmaker starts by putting the timepiece together, testing it, taking it apart, polishing the sections, putting it back together and then doing it all over again until it is worthy of leaving the factory.
Only highly skilled and dedicated watchmakers achieve unparalleled results, like assembling the Royal Oak Grande Complication or Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon.
Hand Design
Computer Design
Prototyping
Openworking
Beveling & Flanking
Perlage
Linear Graining
After
Assembling the Movement
Casing The Watch
View the gallery
See the layers of Calibre 2924
Watch Details
