Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of joining Audemars Piguet on a once in a lifetime trip that included a visit to the AP Manufacture in Le Brassus —which you can read about it here— and Art Basel 2018 in Switzerland. For those of you not quite familiar with Art Basel, this is one of the most renowned art fairs in the world with three shows staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach, Florida; and Hong Kong. Even as excited as we were about visiting Art Basel in its home city, there was a strange eerie feeling about being there when Baselworld wasn't taking place. It was almost like a 'déjà vu' without the usual crowds, the watch brands and the media people.
Posts filed under Audemars Piguet
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Westime Special Edition ref. 26515OR. One of the Nicest Dials Ever Done by AP.
Released without much fanfare and as understated as it gets, comes the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Westime Special Edition. This rare bird in a limited edition of only 25 pieces is dedicated to U.S. watch retailer Westime, a longtime AP partner. Featuring an 18K pink gold case that is fully harmonized by the salmon pink gold-toned dial this watch is sublime, exceptional and elegant. The Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Westime Special Edition we have here is as special as all other Royal Oak tourbillons and almost as rare as the Royal Oak Automatique Tourbillon 25th Anniversary ref. 25831 because of its limitation.
Experience: Visiting the Audemars Piguet Manufacture in Le Brassus. A Longtime Dream Becomes a Reality.
Back in 1998, I purchased my first Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, it was a stainless steel ref. 5402ST A-series that I should've never sold. After buying that first AP, the two-tone Royal Oak ref. 5402SA you see in the picture above was the one that followed. For 20 years as an AP collector and 28 years as a watch collector, I've longed to visit the Audemars Piguet manufacture in Le Brassus, Switzerland. In 2013, right around the launch of Watch Collecting Lifestyle, I was able to visit the Audemars Piguet Museum —which you can read about it here— but couldn’t visit the manufacture at that time.
News: Audemars Piguet Unveils 4th Art Commission HALO by Semiconductor for Art Basel 2018
On June 14th, 2018, Audemars Piguet celebrated the debut of the 4th Audemars Piguet Art Commission with a press conference and cocktail party that we were invited to and with a recap to follow in the next couple of days. At the special exhibition named HALO, guests experienced first-hand the immersive installation, presented as a ten meter wide and four meter tall cylinder-shaped structure, made up of vertical piano wires and a 360-degree screen. This year, the Audemars Piguet Art Commission was conceived and realised by British artist-duo Semiconductor, Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, in collaboration with guest curator Mónica Bello, head of Arts and curator at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT. The Redesigned Version of One of the Most Advanced Royal Oaks.
With a second time zone indication and a flying tourbillon comes the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT ref. 26589IO.OO.D002CA.01 with its asymmetric look and contemporary architecture with redesigned bridges. In a first for the brand comes the fully revealed flying tourbillon at 9 o'clock enhanced by the powerful mix of a sandblasted titanium case and a black ceramic bezel. The first AP Royal Oak Concept was launched in 2002 as ref. 25980AI.OO.0003SU.01 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of the iconic Royal Oak in a limited edition of 150 pieces.
Eye Candy: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 'The Brick'. The Grey Ruthenium Dial reference 26470OR.OO.1000OR.02
Released back in January at the SIHH 2018, the latest iteration of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in 18K pink gold a.k.a. 'The Brick' is now sporting a gorgeous 'Méga Tapisserie' grey ruthenium-toned dial with contrasting ivory-toned counters. The new watch is exactly like the previous iteration of the Royal Oak Offshore ref. 26470OR but with a much more appealing dial. The 18K pink gold case and bracelet harmonize flawlessly against the unique tone of the dial and the inner bezel.
News: Audemars Piguet Releases Book on 20th Century Complicated Wristwatches. A Must Have.
Audemars Piguet announces its first ever book dedicated entirely to the history of the manufacture's complicated wristwatches, following 4 years of Archival research and writing on the part of the Heritage Department. From the world’s first minute repeating wristwatch crafted in 1892 until the revival of complications in the late 1970s, Audemars Piguet produced a grand total of only 550 complicated wristwatches, of which no two are identical: 35 minute repeaters, 188 calendar wristwatches, 307 chronograph wristwatches and 20 double complication wristwatches featuring both calendar and chronograph.
News: Introducing the New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ref. 26584OR Exclusive for Latin America. A 100-Piece Limited Edition.
A new iteration of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Perpétuel returns to the center stage this time with a new dial and a special oscillating weight. The new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar exclusive for Latin America is available in a 100-piece limited edition and cased in a 41mm 18K pink gold case. This new model under reference number 26584OR.OO.1220OR.01 features a gorgeous pink gold toned dial with dark blue subdials.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked Black Ceramic ref. 26343CE. Hands-on with the 25-Piece Limited Edition in Four Different Colors.
Released at the SIHH 2018, the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked Black Ceramic ref. 26343CE continues to capitalize on the expertise mastered by Audemars Piguet when it comes to the use of black ceramic for its watch cases. Available in four different variations with color accents on the minute track, 30-minute chronograph register and the chronograph seconds hand —light grey, blue, green and gold accents— this incredible 44 mm watch features a tourbillon and a 30-minute chronograph. The watch is available in a limited edition of 25 pieces for each color combination and exclusively sold at the Audemars Piguet Boutiques.
News: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Unique Piece Sells for $240,000 USD at the One Night One Drop Charity Auction
Last Friday, March 2, 2018 a special charity auction took place as part of the 6th annual One Night for One Drop event imagined by Cirque du Soleil, raising funds and awareness to benefit critical water issues worldwide. Held at the Michael Jackson ONE Theater at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, one of the highlights of the live auction was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Unique Piece in 18K rose gold with blue dial and rose gold subdials that sold for $240,000 USD. This very special unique piece bears the following reference number 26584OR.OO.1220OR.01.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 "Combat" ref. 26400SO.OO.A054CA.01. Hands-on Review Under Natural Light.
Perceived as a controversial watch by many and nicknamed by us as the 'Combat' because of its color scheme and unique camouflage pattern rubber strap, the recently released Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 26400SO.OO.A054CA.01. in 44 mm is a watch that is definitely better appreciated under natural light. When we perused this new watch at the SIHH 2018, the bezel didn't seem to be as bright green as the stock images suggested and even our pictures captured it...
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph ref. 26421OR 25th Anniversary. Hands-on with an Incredible Timepiece.
When Audemars Piguet announced the release of two new Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronographs to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Royal Oak Offshore, we were not thrilled by the stock images that accompanied the press release and decided to wait until the SIHH 2018 to see the watch in person and then provide our thoughts and honest opinion about these two new references in 18K pink gold and in stainless steel. Well, we have to say that it was well worth waiting to see this new model in the metal and we are pleased to say that we were blown away by it.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph QEII Cup 2018 ref. 26474TI. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Referred to by Audemars Piguet as a thoroughbred to celebrate one of the world’s great horse races. This year’s new Royal Oak Offshore QEII Cup 2018 sports a full titanium construction with a winning blue and grey color combination. Slightly inspired by the first Titanium Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721TI comes the new Royal Oak Offshore QEII Cup 2018.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2 ref. 26586PT. Hands-on with the World's Thinnest Automatic Perpetual Calendar.
This SIHH 2018 was a great one for Audemars Piguet as most of their novelties were absolutely on point and the brand was able to show how they master the rules and how they can break them. One of the most special watches at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2018 was the new Royal Oak RD#2 —where the RD stand for Research & Development— ref. 26586PT.OO.1240PT.01 in platinum. This watch presented as a concept is now the world’s thinnest automatic perpetual calendar at just 6.30 mm thick, marking a new watchmaking record for the brand.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Havana' Brown Dial. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Another brand new dial for the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in stainless steel, this time with an eye-catching 'Havana' brown Méga Tapisserie dial with navy blue subdials, white Arabic numerals and white chronograph hands. This new watch is exactly like all other Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm with ceramic pushers and redesigned crown guards in black. Presented as ref. 26470ST.OO.A099CR.01, this new watch will be sold with a non-hornback large square scale brown alligator strap with blue contrast stitching.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Funky Colors ref. 15710ST. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Last week we announced the release of a new set of colorful Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Divers ref. 15710ST. Today, we bring you our live pictures of the new watches and after reviewing them in the metal, we can tell you that our favorite ones are the beige, turquoise blue and the khaki green. While the purple is not as bad a everyone thinks, it is definitely not our cup of tea and a color that maybe just a handful of ultra cool ladies out there or perhaps our friend on Instagram @TheHorophile would be able to pull off and get away with wearing it.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42 mm with Ceramic Bezel a.k.a 'Dark Knight' ref. 26470SO. Live Pictures & Pricing.
After the release of the new generation of Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm at the SIHH 2014, when the watches were fitted with a display case back, ceramic crown and pushers, new dials, beefier crown guards and new straps, two new models made their appearance at the SIHH 2018. This time, two 42 mm Royal Oak Offshores have been fitted with ceramic bezels. The two new models are reference 26470IO.OO.A006CA.01 in titanium with grey ceramic bezel that here at WCL we have nicknamed the 'Monochrome' and a...
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 18K Pink Gold Case and Titanium Bezel ref. 15711IO. Live Pictures & Pricing.
After the success of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba Bartorelli that combined a black PVD case with a bronze bezel and the Royal Oak Offshore Diver QEII Cup 2014 Limited Edition that featured a tantalum case with 18K pink gold bezel —featured here—, it was about time that AP launched a similar combination in one of our favorite metals. The new AP Royal Oak Offshore Diver is fitted with an 18K pink gold case and a titanium bezel, titanium plots, a very light grey dial and a matching grey rubber strap
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Indigo Blue Dial. Live Pictures & Pricing.
A brand new dial for the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in stainless steel, this time with an eye-catching Indigo Blue Méga Tapisserie dial with red chronograph accented hands. This new watch is exactly like all other Royal Oak Offshores in 42 mm with ceramic pushers and redesigned crown guards but this time the pushers match the Indigo Blue color of the dial. Presented as ref. 26470ST.OO.A030CA.01 this new watch will be sold with a color matching rubber strap with pin buckle.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Extra-Thin ref. 15202IP. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Without a doubt one of the best releases at the SIHH 2018 by Audemars Piguet. After the huge success of the Titanium and Platinum Royal Oak Chronograph released at the SIHH 2017, Audemars Piguet has added a new iteration of the Royal Oak Extra-Thin with the same combination of metals. In person the watch is simply incredible and very special and one that exceeded our expectations far beyond.
