A few months ago, Audemars Piguet presented four new watches for their Royal Oak Lady Collection, but we wouldn’t necessarily call them “exclusively for women”.
As you can see, they all are made from different materials, and each sport their unique colours and features. Let’s discover them together.
Automatic Royal Oak In Black Ceramic
This model features a 34 mm full ceramic case, embellished with 18 karat rose gold details, such as the case screws.
Ceramic has been a huge selling point for the maison lately, and this is thanks to the many years that AP has spent developing the material – most notably on the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.
This material, however, had never been used before for the “smaller” models dedicated to thinner wrists.
Through the anti-reflective sapphire glass, we can admire the beautiful black dial with a “Grande Tapisserie” motif, applied indices, and rose gold hands with a luminescent coating.
Naturally, the bracelet is also in black ceramic, and features the unmistakable AP dèployantè clasp.
The movement, on the other hand, is a self-winding caliber 5800 with a power reserve of 50 hours.
Overall, it looks like a very elegant watch, seemingly perfect for warm summer evenings.
Officially, the watch is for ladies’ wrists only, but if its diameter were 37 mm, it could have attracted a large share of the masculine market. But even so, in my opinion, the 34 mm diameter will not stop a man from choosing this timepiece.
Automatic Royal Oak Frosted Gold
This model sports an 18-karat white gold case with a Frosted Gold finish and a dial with an innovative blue tint.
The aforementioned Frosted Gold finish throughout the watch, including the bezel and bracelet, allows the watch to give off unique reflections.
The white gold case measures 34 mm across and features an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and clear case back.
On this model, the novelty is the unique shade of blue on the “Grande Tapisserie” dial, with standard appearances of applied indices and white gold hands with luminescent coating. But the real star of the show here is that blue tint. Paired with the Frosted Gold finish, it plays with the light like no other watch in the world – so incredibly beautiful.
In similar fashion to the ceramic model, here we can also find the self-winding caliber 5800 with a power reserve of 50 hours.
The 34 mm diameter, as for the ceramic model, does not preclude a possible purchase by men, in my personal opinion, I think the overall look is rather clearly feminine. But, to each their own!
Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked
The saying goes, “fortune favours the brave”, and this was certainly the case for this rainbow themed model, which has been excellently made in great taste.
The double balance wheel openworked catalogue now comprises of various Frosted Gold (white, pink and yellow) models, with dimensions between 37 and 41 mm.
I believe that in this case, they cannot be defined as “strictly for women”, because both the 37 and 41mm versions are appropriate for any wrist size – but again – we go back to the question of personal taste.
That being said, I must admit that the finishes and the chromatic effects on these watches are nothing short of spectacular… I don’t know which one I like best!
On these models, the case and the bracelet have a Frosted Gold finish; the part that stands out immediately is the bezel set with 32 baguette-cut coloured gemstones.
The rainbow effect that they create lights up the whole watch with a unique “wink” that is difficult to miss.
Another detail of the watch, already found on existing models, is the openworked slate gray dial, with applied indices and case-matching hands with a luminescent coating.
From the front and the back of the sapphire crystal, we can admire the in-house caliber 3132, with its double balance mechanism. The power reserve stands at 45 hours.
These watches and their beautifully contrasting colours are the product of insane levels of attention to detail, material selection and finishing – qualities which parallel those found in the haute jewellery and high fashion industry.
Royal Oak Automatic Chronograph
Made entirely from 18-karat rose gold, this model is embellished with a 32 baguette-cut amethyst set bezel.
Atop the dial, the sapphire crystal has been given an anti-reflective treatment, and the case features a screw-down crown.
The star of this timepiece is undoubtedly the combination of the amethyst bezel and the purple “Grande Tapisserie” dial.
Within this dial we have purple chronograph subdials with black markers and hands, applied indices, and case-matching rose gold hands to tell the time.
Entirely developed by the artisans at Audemars Piguet, the purple hue is a first for any watch, ever. It is such a unique and peculiar shade of purple, and it changes ever so slightly each time it interacts with the light, which is then amplified by the amethyst bezel.
This game of reflections and colours has earned the dial the nickname “chameleon”, due to the new colour treatment which consists of applying multiple layers of purple PVD to the surface of the dial.
The result is that, what appears to be an entirely purple dial, actually has shades ranging from pink to purple, and even some shades of blue, depending on how the light hits the watch.
As for the movement, on this model we find the self-winding caliber 2385 with a power reserve of 40 hours.
Retail Prices
To summarize, the prices of these new Royal Oaks are as follows:
€46,300.00 for the Automatic in black ceramic;
€50,600.00 for the Royal Oak Frosted Gold;
€83,900.00 for the Royal Oak Automatic Chronograph in rose gold.
As indicated on the official AP website, the price of the Rainbow Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel openworked is upon request. For more information, please refer to the Audemars Piguet website.
Author: Andrea David
Translated by: Marco Ferrero
