Audemars Piguet
Revolution Awards 2017: Best Design — Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Black Ceramic
Audemars Piguet
Revolution Awards 2017: Best Design — Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Black Ceramic
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak family has made a name for itself in the “sporty luxury” watch department with its classic steel and precious metal bracelets. To create one with its bezel, case and bracelet in ceramic is a pioneering feat for the brand and most of all, extremely challenging because of the unusual shape of the watch. Separate from what is known as earthenware ceramics, the ceramic used in this watch is composed of very pure materials, including an additional metal that gives it greater strength. The composition contributes to its extreme robustness, making it less susceptible to scratches, heat and wear and tear. Indeed, engineering ceramics are the hardest class of materials known; for a comparison, they’re about four times harder than stainless steel. Naturally, working such a material into a watch takes just as much effort, if not more. The ceramic version requires brand-new molds, including ones fashioned for every single link in the bracelet, and that task in itself is no mean feat. While it takes six hours to complete the bracelet of a Royal Oak in stainless steel, the ceramic version reportedly takes 30 hours, not counting the 600 hours of research and development that brought the concept to fruition.
Within the black beauty, a new self-winding caliber 5134 powers the time function, day, date, moonphase, week of the year and leap year, as well as provides a 40-hour power reserve. Fronting the 41mm case is a Grande Tapisserie pattern in slate gray, which adds depth and contrast to the otherwise black subdials, case, bracelet and all. We’re expecting this watch to be the next all-time classic. And for what it’s worth, you can’t ever go wrong with black, and a Royal Oak at that.