Audemars Piguet is displaying three new watches from its iconic Royal Oak offshore collection at World Brand Piazza in Hong Kong. They feature small, but numerous improvements and new design elements which, in addition to the choice of materials, make this series a meeting point for force and control. All the familiar elements of the prestigious sports collection are kept, and combined with horological excellence, embodied in an excellent mechanical automatic movement with extraordinary finishing.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch 26400SO.OO.A002CA.01
Three variations of Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph have recognizable elements that are the trademarks of the lineage, namely the oversized octagonal shaped case (44 mm wide and 14.43 mm thick) that created a lot of fuss when it first appeared in 1992. Although some people claimed that its size cannot be associated with a good taste, it arguably set the new trend of large watches which is present up to this day.
Besides, the choice of materials is certainly very interesting. Audemars Piguet has decided to make ceramic bezels, because this is the most exposed part of the watch, and the material being used is known for its toughness. Ceramics is combined with three different case materials.
Steel, Forged Carbon or Pink Gold
The first version with the reference number 26400SO.OO.A002CA.01 is made of steel, the next one (26400AU.OO.A002CA.01) is constructed of forged carbon (Audemars Piguet is the first luxury watch brand which started using the material in its products), while the last one (26400RO.OO.A002CA.01) is made of 18-karat pink gold. The ceramic bezels are with satin-brushed finishes and they additionally underline the strong and masculine octagonal shapes of the cases. As it is usual for timepieces from the series, bezels are screwed with eight hexagonal screws.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch 26400RO.OO.A002CA.01
The innovations are also applied to pushpiece-guards and pushipieces themselves which are both constructed of two separate segments. They also include the array of finishes: the guards are stain-brushed and beadblasted, whereas the pushpieces are beadblasted and have satin-brushed and polished tops.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch 26400SO.OO.A002CA.01
Each of three watches have the trademark “Méga Tapisserie” motif on the dial, and they are constructed to be as readable as possible. The steel version possesses a silver-toned bezel and dial, black counters and anthracite hour markers. The forged carbon version is mostly black, with hour-markers in green luminescent color, while the pink gold variation has a black dial and flange, silver-colored counters and pink gold hour-markers. The first two models have white gold hands and hour markers, while the last one has the matching pink gold on its dial. They all have red accents on chrono counter hands and sweep seconds hands. Besides, the dial includes a date display.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch 26400AU.OO.A002CA.01
The mechanical self-winding movement can be seen through the transparent case-back. It is reliable and shock-resistant Calibre 3126/3840, hand-assembled and decorated in the Le Brassus workshops. It consists of 365 components, and has 59 jewels and a 60-hour power reserve.
Each of the variations includes a black rubber band with two grooves.
I just love watches with this kind of robust cases. That’s great. This watch is an example of, what I like to say, a perfect watch for a real men. The only problem can be the potential price of this watch. I guess that it has a very high price.
You have the point, Alex. The Audemars Piguet watches are really expensive. I don’t know how many dollars this watch costs, but I know that they have huge prices generally. When we talk about the watch, I must say one thing. The model 26400AU.OO.A002CA.01 looks extraordinary. It’s definitely the best model.