Audemars Piguet
Revolution Awards 2018: Best Concept Watch ― Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2 Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin
Audemars Piguet
Revolution Awards 2018: Best Concept Watch ― Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2 Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin
Consider this: the existing Calibre 5134 perpetual-calendar movement is 4.31mm. The RD#2’s Calibre 5133 is just 2.89mm thick. Every wheel, bridge and pinion had to be re-thought in order for Audemars Piguet to shave off 1.42mm and still retain all of the 5134’s functionality, minus the week indicator.
When the two schools of watchmakers finally came to understand that the concept would work, they didn’t just discover a new way to do perpetual calendar movements. Learning points from the exercise of producing the RD#2 has brought about discoveries that have forever revolutionized how Audemars Piguet conceives movements henceforth.
For the very reason that the Le Brassus-based watchmaker was bold enough to challenge its own norms — to the point of internal strife — it’s only right that we confer our 2018 Best Concept Watch award to none other than the RD#2 Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin.