ROYAL OAK PERPETUAL CALENDAR
The Perpetual Calendar is strongly embedded into the core of Audemars Piguet ’ s origins . It is also the reminder that all of time measurement derives from astronomy and naturally occurring cycles .
In 1955 , Audemars Piguet introduced a world first – a perpetual calendar wristwatch with the essential leap year indication , made in only 9 examples , all in 18 carat yellow gold .
Since then Audemars Piguet has launched many more perpetual calendar wristwatches , among which the latest 2016 Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar , combining yellow gold , the iconic Gérald Genta design and the ultra-classic complication in all of watchmaking .
Today , Audemars Piguet enriches its line of Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars with a full black version , made of handfinished black ceramic . Day , date , month , astronomical moon , week of the year displayed on the dial ’ s outer chapter ring and the essential leap year indication hold pride of place on the “ Grande Tapisserie ” decorated dial .
Housed in an assertively sized 41 mm case , the selfwinding watch ’ s larger calibre 5134 is fully visible through the glareproofed sapphire crystal caseback .
Challenging to master but virtually unscratchable , black ceramic withstands high temperatures and thermal shocks , and is consequently extremely resistant to ageing . Numerous operations demanding extreme patience and skill are required to achieve a uniform , compact and ultra-hard material that can then be machined and hand-finished .
Audemars Piguet ’ s specialists required more than 600 hours of research to develop this new wristwatch : whereas it takes six hours to machine , polish , hand-finish , assemble and control a stainless steel Royal Oak bracelet , it takes thirty hours to accomplish these exact same procedures for the black ceramic bracelet ... 5 times longer !
The dial , with “ Grande Tapisserie ” pattern , is slate grey with black counters and displays a photo realistic astronomical moon that contrasts with all of the black components of the piece .
The Gentleman Magazine | 09