Audemars Piguet Presents the New Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Variant in Coloured and Lumed Forged Carbon

If we look back in history, the Royal Oak line elevated steel to the rank of gold in 1972. In fact, the Royal Oak Offshore (1993) and Royal Oak Concept (2002) models served as a research platform, particularly with regard to the introduction of such elements as tantalum, ceramics, and forged carbon. Born of similar experimentation, the newly launched 43 mm Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date model (Ref. 26650FO.OO.D353CA.01) uses a brand new coloured forged carbon material. Created at Audemars Piguet’s R&D workshops through the deployment of the Chroma Forged Technology (CFT), this deep black material offers a new kind of aesthetics, with subtle touches of colour.

Audemars Piguet last used CFT in a timepiece eight years ago. The R&D team has created the new CFT carbon in-house over a five-year period, combining lightness with resilience to shocks, heat, and humidity. Its production process is now patented. Unlike the method used for earlier generations of carbon, Audemars Piguet's CFT colours the carbon fibres directly, bringing in new creative possibilities. The lower resin percentage in the material thus created (compared with that in standard forged carbon) makes it less prone to scratches.

During the process, carbon fibres are chopped into little pieces and dyed using pigments. These coloured pieces are manually inserted in a mould to create the design desired and then finished with resin. This procedure creates several layers, similar to those found in, say, a mille-feuille pastry. The mould's contents are subsequently squeezed to produce an air bubble-free block. The combination is pressure-cured in an autoclave for 10 hours, resulting in a carbon block that is machined for six to eight hours to generate the final component. Hand-blending creates unique case middles that combine cutting-edge technology with the experience of Le Brassus artisans.

Audemars Piguet uses the Chroma Forged Technology not only to colour the forged carbon in blue, but also to add luminescent pigments, housing all of these in the newly released timepiece. The watch’s 43 mm two-tone black-and-blue CFT carbon case has the signature Royal Oak Concept design and is enhanced with a black ceramic bezel, crown, caseback, and push pieces. Sandblasted titanium push piece guards on each side round off this high-tech, avant-garde case. The case and the crown are slightly curved to follow the natural shape of the wrist. The push-piece guards at 2 o’clock, 4 o'clock, and 9 o’clock are crafted in titanium, echoing some of the lighter components of the dial. 

Conceived like the bridge of a movement, the watch face is openworked in black PVD nickel silver. Circular apertures have been cut into a single sandblasted nickel silver plate and decorated with diamond-polished rhodium-toned bevels to reveal part of the micro-mechanics ticking within. In keeping with the blue highlights of the case middle, the inner bezel and the external zones of the three counters — the 12-hour counter at 3 o’clock, the 60-second counter at 6 o’clock, and the 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock — are finished in an electric blue hue, which contrasts with the grey and black tones of the movement while enhancing legibility. This timepiece doesn’t have the AP logo on the dial.

There are white gold hour markers, and hour, minute and second hands, which, like the hands on the counters, are filled with a luminescent material that appears white during the day but turns blue in the dark. Lastly, the tachymeter scale on the inner bezel and the gradations on the counters are transferred in white. The day/night display located at 3 o’clock shows the time in a second time zone. It is adjusted using the crown’s coaxial push piece at 3 o’clock (one press advances the time by one hour). The GMT system is based on a disc and a hand that rotate at different speeds: the hour hand completes one revolution in 12 hours while the day/night disc makes a full rotation in 24 hours. Two coloured surfaces facilitate reading: white for daytime and black for nighttime. Lastly, the large date at 12 o’clock has a digital look while providing perfect symmetry with the small seconds counter at 6 o’clock.

Unlike a standard chronograph, the flyback function allows the wearer to reset and resume the chronograph without first stopping it. The column wheel operates on a vertical clutch system. When the chronograph starts or stops, the hands respond without leaping. Furthermore, a revolutionary zero resetting mechanism ensures that both the chronograph and split-seconds hands immediately reset to zero. 

The split-seconds mechanism allows for the measurement of intermediate time intervals by adding a split-seconds hand that may be stopped independently of the chronograph hand by pressing the designated pusher. When the latter is pressed again, it catches up with the running hand and they continue around the dial in perfect synchrony. The action can be repeated at will. The push piece at 9 o'clock is a subtle allusion to the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer (2015) model.

To minimise the movement's height, the split-seconds mechanism has been integrated into the thickness of the semi-peripheral rotor's ball bearing, which is now visible through the sapphire caseback, as seen in pocket watches and hand-wound wristwatches. The split-seconds wheel and two actuating clamps are typically hidden from view in self-winding watches. Powering the watch is Calibre 4407, which is based on Calibre 4401, offering a 70-hour power reserve. Turning the watch over showcases the sapphire caseback. The watch is finished on a blue rubber strap with black accent and the interchangeability system. The watch is accompanied by a black-and-blue rubber strap as well.