AUDEMARS PIGUET Royal Oak Offshore Carbon Concept Tourbillon
[ via Audemars Piguet ]
Here are a few shots of the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Carbon Concept Tourbillon. I have always liked the Royal Oak models from Audemars and this concept is my favorite one so far. It looks a lot like the TB Buti Carbon concept watch that was featured at Baselworld. Unlike the TB Buti the Audemars has a ceramic bezel and a tourbillon movement. Expect to pay much more for the Audemars name and the tourbillon movement. Both watches have high-tech movements and use a lot of carbon, but the prices should be very different.
The Audemars Carbon watch is ultra-lightweight and may become the first watch to feature a carbon case and movement. I am not sure if the TB Buti will feature a carbon movement, but the all carbon case is still very impressive. Audemars utilizes a pure carbon 384 part Calibre 2895 tourbillon chronograph movement. The bezel is ceramic, the crown features AP intials and the ring surrounding the caseback is secured by eight screws made of PVD blackened titanium.
The Audemars Piguet exclusive hand-wound 34-jewel tourbillon and chronograph movement features a twin-barrel system to provide an astounding 237-hour power reserve. The movement is carbon, while the central bridge is made of green eloxed aluminum. On the caseback there are black PVD coated bridges. The control coupling levers are black PVD-coated. The two power-reserve cones are covered in an amorphous carbon coating, which is the same on the inserts in the openworked zones at 6 and 12 o'clock. The tourbillon carriage is comprised of over 70 parts with a weight of just 0.45 grams and is treated to a two-tone black PVD and steel finish.
The dial of the Royal Oak Carbon Concept has luminescent hour-markers and white minute markers. It has an open luminescent central hour and minute hands. There is a power-indicator positioned at 12 o'clock. It also has a selection indicator at 6 o'clock, a central chronograph sweep seconds hand and a linear chronograph minute counter. The strap is made of hand-sewn alligator and has an AP folding titanium clasp.
This watch is beautiful and complicated and may become one of the first production watches to use pure carbon. I do not know when it will be available for sale, maybe next year, but I do know it will be very expensive and production will be limited.
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