Introducing: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar For Only Watch 2017

By Louis Westphalen

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You most likely remember the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in brushed matte black ceramic from Audemars Piguet as one of the unquestioned stars of SIHH 2017. A perpetual calendar is of course an important complication in itself, but the working of the ceramic material on this piece was an engineering marvel, and a very labor-intensive process, which explains the limited production of this reference. Unsurprisingly, Audemars Piguet chose to offer a new variation of its most recent star for Only Watch 2017, and with a bit more than a new dial too.

Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Only Watch

The “Skylight” dial is the first selling point of this one-off Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.

A new dial, though, is what you’ll notice when you first glance at the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. The new tapisserie dial is a special dark blue color called “Skylight” that is meant to echo the last few minutes before sunset. This also explains why the moonphase is more noticeably orange than on the regular model, to recall the rich color of the disappearing sun. The blue option is, without a doubt, a crowd-pleasing one, especially when paired with the impressive black ceramic. On its own, it would have been quite a conservative move from Audemars Piguet, though here it really pops and takes on a different character. A simple dial change is the least a brand can do for Only Watch, but what else makes this watch unique?

Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Calibre 5134

The all-black theme was kept for the caseback and skeletonized rotor.

When you turn this watch around, you see something that is at once both obvious and subtle. The skeletonized rotor stands out, being much bolder than its gold counterpart found in most other Royal Oaks. It also emphasizes the 4.31mm thinness of the automatic caliber 5134, which allows the watch to remain below 10mm thick, no easy feat for such a complicated offering. Yet, the real change is the see-through caseback itself, made for the first time in ceramic (it is made from titanium in the regular version of this watch). As such, this Royal Oak can be the only one to boast that its case is fully black ceramic, from top to bottom.

Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26599CE.OO.1225CE.01

The brushing on the black ceramic remains as impressive as …read more      

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