The latest and greatest from Audemars Piguet is the new Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked ref. 26587TI.OO.D031CA.01. First unveiled on Instagram by one of the founders of the Shanghai Watch Gang, watch collector Mr. Chu a.k.a. @horoloupe —the first watch collector to own this watch before it was even officially released by AP—, the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is the first Royal Oak Concept selfwinding model since the collection's introduction in 2002. It brings together an ingeniously designed chronograph mechanism, a visible peripheral oscillating weight in platinum, a highly crafted, hand finished movement and pioneering case aesthetics. Currently available with light blue accents, red accents or white accents, this is one of those watches that turns watch dreams into watch grails.
Things to Know About the Watch
Fitted with a baby blue rubber strap that matches the dial accents in the same color, the watch features a fully skeletonized dial with black 30-minute counter with white indications at 3 o’clock, openworked white gold hands, black inner bezel with blue transfers, blue central chronograph seconds hand and a prominently placed tourbillon at 6 o’clock. The dial is openworked to the max with angular and clearly delineated bridges. And just as if the rest of the dial and the tourbillon weren’t impressive enough, the peripheral oscillating weight in platinum is visible on the dial side.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked ref. 26587TI features a massive 44 mm case that is feather-light thanks to its titanium construction and which despite its thickness of 16.15 mm, it can still be tucked under your shirt’s cuff —see picture at the bottom of this article.
Its sandblasted titanium case is endowed with black ceramic pushers, screw-down ceramic crown, sandblasted titanium pusher guards and a satin-brushed and highly polished titanium bezel. Despite its display case back, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is water resistant to a depth of 100 meters.
The watch is delivered on a baby blue rubber strap with sandblasted titanium AP folding clasp that is fully integrated into the case like a seamless element that flows with the architecture and ergonomics of the case construction. Alternatively, one could always switch the strap and wear this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked with a different color strap from the many options that AP offers for this particular case design.
The Movement
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is powered by the automatic AP calibre 2949. This movement composed of 391 parts and 34 jewels, beats at a frequency of 21,600 vph —3 Hz— to provide a power reserve of almost three days at 65 hours. Fully visible via the display case back, one can enjoy unobstructed views of the column-wheel mechanism, the clutch as well as partial views of the mainspring barrel. Exquisitely finished, the movement is a real treat for the eyes.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the watch wears slightly bigger than its actual size and more like a 46 mm watch. Despite its thickness, the watch can still be tucked under the cuff of a shirt, slightly tight but totally feasible. The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is another one of those very special watches from AP that is as much as a statement piece as it is a work of art. And for the price, a lot more watch than many Richard Mille watches out there.
Sticker Price CHF350,000 Swiss Francs —approximately $353,000 USD. For more info on Audemars Piguet click here.
