Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Carbon Concept Chronograph Mens Watch 26265FO.OO.D002CR.01

Audemars Piguet once again stuns the world of horology with its Royal Oak Carbon Concept Tourbillon and Chronograph. AP is the only watch company to master forged carbon technology. Following the success of the Alinghi all-carbon case, AP is taking a further step by presenting the first watch equipped with both case and movement in carbon. This model also features an original linear chronograph minute counter. The extremely light timepiece also incorporates the complexity of a 384-part Calibre 2895 tourbillon chronograph movement.

The instantly recognizable Royal Oak bezel, chronograph pushpieces and crown are finely crafted in ceramic. The ring surrounding the case-back is secured by eight newly designed screws, made from black PVD-coated titanium. The mainplate is from carbon and the central bridge from green eloxed aluminium. The bridges are black PVD-coated, while the control and coupling levers are black PVD-coated in relief with a hand-drawn metal-coloured rim. The two power-reserve cones and inserts decorating the open-worked zones at 6 and 12 are carbon-coated. The tourbillon comprises more than 70 parts weighing a mere 0.45 grams and exhibits a two-tone black PVD and steel finish.

The Audemars Piguet Calibre 2895 is hand-wound and comprises 384 parts. It includes a tourbillon, a chronograph and a twin-barrel system with 237-hour power reserve. It features central hour and minute hands, a power-reserve indicator at 12, a selection indicator at 6, a central chronograph sweep seconds hand, and a linear chronograph minute counter.

Calibre 2895 incorporates a rapid-rotation twin-barrel system with a number of turns restricted to 19.75 guaranteeing constant force throughout the 237 hours of autonomy and thus enhancing its timekeeping qualities. The full power reserve available, in thanks to the two series-coupled barrels, amounts to about 290 hours. An ingenious locking system, however, in the low and high winding-level zones, concentrates the running time to a 237-hour period, thereby ensuring optimal operation. The 19.75 winding turns of each barrel which is well above-average, are made possible by the use of a very thin spring.

The power-reserve display at 12 benefits from two other developments that guarantee reliable and accurate display thanks to perfect adjustment. The power-reserve indication with transmission via an inverted double cone was developed by Audemars Piguet in 1885. The Manufacture adapted this system to the wristwatch, thus enabling extremely accurate adjustment of the amplitude of the indicator hand. A beryllium copper cone coated in amorphous carbon moves up and down the barrel-arbor according to the degree of winding of the watch; when the position is low, the barrel is fully wound, and vice versa. In contact with this mobile cone, a second cone, also coated in amorphous carbon, picks up this information to transmit it to the power-reserve indicator hand at 12. The amorphous carbon coating on both cones guarantees the finest tribological properties between the two. In order to ensure a precise indication of the power reserve and perfect security in case of sudden impacts or movements, an unprecedented double rack-and-pinion system guarantees permanent winding of the hand, and thus its precision.

Calibre 2895 also features a selection indicator mechanism. According to the position of the winding stem, the hand positioned on the dial at 6 indicates the function selected. The H, N and R indications correspond to the three positions of the winding stem, meaning neutral (N), winding (R) and time-setting (H).

The Royal Oak Carbon Concept Tourbillon and Chronograph prides itself first and foremost on the avant-garde design of its materials. It reveals only the key components of the movement: the tourbillon carriage and the nerve center of the chronograph, the column wheel.

In keeping with this spirit, the absence of dial provides a spectacular view of the carbon mainplate, itself enlivened by the double symmetry of the tourbillon bridges and minute counter on the one hand (at 9 and 3), the power-reserve and selection indicator dial-bridges on the other (at 12 and 6). The same geometry is revealed through the open-worked bridges on the case-back side, providing a glimpse of the tourbillon and chronograph mechanisms as well as the column wheel. There is a striking contrast between the green color of the central bridge and the black of the baseplate.

In addition to the magic of the constantly moving tourbillon, the Royal Oak Carbon Concept Tourbillon and Chronograph is distinguished by its linear chronograph minute counter. Specially developed by Audemars Piguet, this unprecedented 30-minute chronograph counter consists of a double vertical scale (tens of minutes from 1 to 2; minute units from 0 to 9). The elapsed minutes in the chronograph mode are read off through dedicated openings on the counter bridge. The elapsed time is indicated by these openings shifting from white to black. The dominating overall impression is that of an ultra-modern design combining technical sophistication and resistance, once again reflecting the extreme daring of the Manufacture.
Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet were both in their early twenties when they founded Audemars Piguet in 1875. In 1972 AP launched a line of mechanical watches with hexagonal screws that fastened a porthole-like bezel. Thus was born the Royal Oak, in honor of the British Royal Navy's line of ships bearing the same name. The Royal Oak is among many of the most specialized and complex watches produced by this famous manufactory.

The Same Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Carbon Concept Chronograph Mens Watch 26265FO.OO.D002CR.01