Thought you might like to see a montage of how one of the world’s most famous and recognizable watch dials is made.

Making of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tapisserie Dial

The Royal Oak Dial:  “Grande Tapisserie” pattern, white gold applied hour-markers with luminescent coating,white gold Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating

A Ref 15202

The 21st edition of the Tour Auto Optic 2000 set off from Paris on April 16th, aiming to reach Nice, France after five days of rally driving on the finest French roads.  The rally this year consists of almost 300 autos — Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin and the like…all vintage cars, mind you!  As partner and official timekeeper of the competition since 2006, Audemars Piguet is again unveiling a special edition “Tour Auto” watch for 2012.   This is the third consecutive year that that I have covered the “Tour Auto” here at Perpetuelle (see previous years below).  The 2012 Royal Oak Offshore Chrono Tour Auto a watch is created in a 150-piece limited edition and comes in a special Tour Auto 2012 presentation box.

FLASHBACK ->>> Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tour Auto 2010, Audemars Piguet Millenary Tour Auto 2011

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tour Auto 2012 Chronograph

150 piece limited edition

42mm stainless steel case, automatic mechanical AP Caliber 3126/3840, blue rubber-clad screw-lock crown and pushers, Caseback engraved with the Tour Auto logo, Royal Oak Offshore logo and “Edition limitée”, Hand-sewn “Hornback” crocodile leather strap with red stitching and AP folding clasp

YEAR OF THE ROYAL OAK

Following my “Audemars Piguet 2012″ overview – here is the new 40th Anniversary limited edition Audemars Piguet Openworked Royal Oak Tourbillon.  Like the Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak 40th Anniversary Limited Edition (non-tourbillon), this watch boasts a platinum case and bracelet.  The dial is slate grey and openworked, or skeletonized.  The applied hour-markers are white gold and the hands are standard Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating.  At 4.45mm thick, the AP Calibre 2924 is one of the thinnest tourbillon movements on the market.  A true AP collector’s piece.

Audemars Piguet Openworked Royal Oak Tourbillon 40th Anniversary

41mm platinum case and bracelet, manual wind AP Calibre 2924 with tourbillon and 70 hr power reserve

YEAR OF THE ROYAL OAK

Following my “Audemars Piguet 2012″ overview – here is a new 41mm tourbillon model added to the Royal Oak collection.  Equipped with the new hand-wound Calibre 2924, it is one of the thinnest tourbillon watches on the market.  It features a dial with a “tapisserie” motif, thereby reflecting the original identity of the Royal Oak.   Shown here in pink gold (Ref. 26510OR), a steel case model is also available.

Audemars Piguet Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon

41mm pink gold case, Blue dial with “Petite Tapisserie” pattern, pink gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating; on pink gold bracelet with AP folding clasp

movement is the manual wind AP Calibre 2924 with tourbillon and 70 hrs power reserve

YEAR OF THE ROYAL OAK

Following my “Audemars Piguet 2012″ overview – Audemars Piguet presents its famous Royal Oak Chronograph in a new 41mm case size, suited to current trends.   The applied AP initials placed just above the logo are more discreet than on other models.  A double hour-marker appears at 12 o’clock, inspired by the first Royal Oak watches launched in 1972.   The subdials and their inner graduated scales have been redesigned so as to further improve their readability.

The new 41mm Royal Oak Chronograph is also available in several steel or pink gold versions with a choice of black, silver-toned or blue dial (the latter being reserved for the steel version).  It is fitted with a steel or pink gold bracelet or a leather strap.

 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 41 mm (Ref. 26320OR)

41mm pink gold case, AP Caliber 2385, black dial with ‘’Grande Tapisserie’’ pattern, pink gold applied hour-markers, Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating

AP Calibre 2385

mechanical selfwinding movement driving hour and minute hands, small seconds, a date display and the chronograph functions. 304-part Calibre 2385 has a 40-hour power reserve and a frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour (3 Hz).

The monobloc oscillating weight is made of 18-carat gold.

YEAR OF THE ROYAL OAK

Following my “Audemars Piguet 2012″ overview – here is the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Ref. 15400.  This watch is given a new case size of 41mm, up slightly from the 39mm models of the past.  The applied AP initials appearing just above the logo are more discreet than on the previous 39 mm version.  They leave ample room at 12 o’clock for a double hour-marker inspired by the first Royal Oak watches launched in 1972.  Like the Ref. 15300 series, this reference will retain the AP automatic mechanical Calibre 3120 (also shown below).   The new Ref. 154000 Royal Oak Selfwinding 41mm model also comes in two other steel versions with a blue or silver-toned dial.  It is also available in pink gold with a choice of black or silver-toned dial, fitted with a pink gold bracelet or a leather strap with AP folding clasp (not pictured).

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding (Ref. 15400ST)

As is typical of the Royal Oak collection, the black dial of this new 41mm Royal Oak bears a “Grande Tapisserie” pattern that now becomes a signature for all Royal Oak selfwinding models.  This motif is crafted by Audemars Piguet using historical machines according to the ramolayé or pounced ornament technique.  This process enables simultaneous cutting of squares interspersed with a gridwork pattern of fine grooves.

AP Calibre 3120

mechanical selfwinding movement driving hour, minute and seconds hands as well as a window-type date display. 280-part Calibre 3120 has a 60-hour power reserve and a frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour (3 Hz).

The monobloc oscillating weight is made of 22-carat gold.

YEAR OF THE ROYAL OAK…

In 2012, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the collection, Audemars Piguet is presenting eight new models all in-tune with the design codes of the original 1972 collection.   Launched in 1972 by Audemars Piguet, the Royal Oak was a breakthrough creation right from the start.  With the launch of the Royal Oak, designed by the late Gérald Genta, nothing would ever be the same.  The advent at that particular time of this prestige sports watch, representing a complete break with traditional watchmaking codes, would result in a complete paradigm shift — a prestigious extra-thin mechanical movement housed inside a steel case and sold for the price of a gold watch.    40 years later, the Royal Oak has become an authentic contemporary watch icon.

Audemars Piguet is returning to roots in 2012 with the presentation of eight new Royal Oak versions in keeping with the spirit of the first prestigious sports watch that has become a legend since its launch in 1972, and here they are:

CLICK THROUGH TO VIEW HIGH-RES IMAGES AND SPECS ABOUT EACH WATCH:

Within the Extra-Thin Royal Oak line:

• Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon 40th Anniversary Limited Edition (Ref. 26511)
• Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon (Ref. 26510)
• Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak 40th Anniversary Limited Edition (Ref. 15203PT)
• Extra-Thin Royal Oak (Ref. 15202)

Within the Royal Oak Selfwinding and Quartz line,

• Selfwinding Royal Oak (Ref 15400) – 41 mm, upsized from 39mm
• Selfwinding Royal Oak Chronograph Ref 26320 – 41 mm, upsized
• Royal Oak Quartz (33 mm) – available in steel and pink gold versions; all versions are fitted with diamond-set bezel
• Selfwinding Royal Oak (37 mm) – available in steel and pink gold versions with diamond-set bezel

Sketch + Photo of the Original Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, circa 1972

Royal Oak Print Ad, circa 1972

More looks at the simply splendid new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202 in steel.  Man, oh, man, what a watch.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo (Ref 15202ST.OO.1240ST.01)

39mm steel case, automatic mechanical AP caliber 2121

Very nicely done, the new AP Royal Oak Jumbo, celebrating 40 years of the Royal Oak this year.  As Hodinkee points out, AP connoisseurs will notice that the “AP” logo has been moved from the 12 o’clock position back down to 6 o’clock, and the tapisserie is also smaller, just like it was on the original.  As well, this watch will retain the reference 15202 despite the cosmetic changes, and it will only be available with a historically inspired blueish grey dial.  What a beauty.

via:  Hodinkee.

2012 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo

39mm stainless steel or rose gold case, AP caliber 2120

A brand Ambassador for almost three years now, the talented Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi gets his own Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore.  Although Buemi does not carry the name recognition of past AP racing Ambassadors (for example, drivers such as Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jarno Trulli), Buemi’s ROO certainly does not fall short in terms of its attractiveness.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Sébastien Buemi

Limited Edition 250 pieces

42mm titanium case, water resistance 100 meters, automatic mechanical AP Caliber 3126/3840, black rubber strap with titanium pin buckle

Ref. 26207IO.OO.A002CA.01

Case back with transferred Buemi logo:

AP Caliber 3126/3840

The Manufacture Audemars Piguet Calibre 3126/3840 is developed on the basis of the legendary Calibre 3120.  It is an automatic mechanical chronograph with an anthracite colored 22k gold oscillating weight mounted on ceramic ball bearings; a cross-through balance bridge; as well as a stop-seconds time-setting mechanism. For user-friendliness, the in-house made Calibre 3126/3840 is also fitted with an ingenious fast-date adjustment system serving to avoid any risk of the date disc blocking if a correction is made at midnight.

Did You Know?

Sébastien Buemi in 10 dates

1988: born in Aigle, Canton Vaud, Switzerland
1997: Swiss Karting Champion
2000: Swiss Super Mini and KIA Cup Junior champion
2002: European Karting Champion
2005: European Formula BMW vice-champion
2007: Formula 3 Vice-Champion, 1st test drive with Red Bull Racing
2008: GP2 Asia Vice-Champion, test driver with Red Bull Racing
2009: Scores 2 points in his 1st race in Australia with Toro Rosso
2010: 8th place in Canada (Toro Rosso) – His best result to date
2011: Best season with Toro Rosso