Audemars Piguet Introduces Royal Oak Collection in Dimple Dials

The Royal Oak collection from Audemars Piguet and tapisserie dials are, of course, synonymous. Now, moving away from its signature tapisserie dials, Audemars Piguet has unveiled two new versions of the Royal Oak – Ref. 26730BC.GG.1320BC.01 that comes in a 41 mm 18 kt white gold case with a blue dimple dial and 26730OR.GG.1320OR.01, which is available in a 41 mm 18 kt pink gold case with a brown dimple dial. Each gets a self-winding flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock and a frosted bezel.

Even though the collection may not be commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet has kept all the bits and pieces intact and those still make the watch easily recognisable. It should also be noted that the collection uses the same tourbillon – the same cage, the balance wheel, the escapement and the upper tourbillon bridge from its previous Royal Oak collections. Just like its predecessors, the bridge has an inverted V-shaped layout while the cage has three arms with an independent sprung wheel with timing screws on its outer edge.

For the watches to give out maximum visibility of the movement and the tourbillon, Audemars Piguet has managed to make the balance wheel arms thicker with titanium; these give more stability with rotation. The overall aesthetics of the watch is reminiscent of a typical Royal Oak with its signature octagonal bezel with eight visible screws and an octagonal crown carrying an ‘AP’ engraving. 

The watches come with glare-proof sapphire crystals on the front and on the caseback. There are all-new dimple dials, along with bathtub-shaped hour markers in either white gold or pink gold with luminescent coatings. The Audemars Piguet logo sits below a dual bar at 12 o’clock.

When the watch is turned over, it reveals an octogonal caseback, with eight visible screws and under the sapphire glass lies the 22kt pink gold oscillating weight. This oscillating weight doesn’t have the engraving of ‘50 Years’ and ‘Royal Oak’ signatures as we see them in the previous models. Each watch is completed either on an 18kt white gold bracelet or an 18kt pink gold bracelet with an AP folding clasp.

Both versions are powered by Audemars Piguet’s in-house self-winding Calibre 2950 movement with a 65-hour power reserve. The watches have water resistance of just 50 m. It is pretty evident that these watches will be competitively priced as well.

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