AUDEMARS PIGUET – ROYAL OAK “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked 39 mm - 2022
THE ROYAL OAK "JUMBO" EXTRA-THIN OPENWORKED
COMES BACK WITH A NEW CALIBRE
AND A CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
Le Brassus, January 2022 – Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet introduces a brand new generation of Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked (ref. 16204) on the occasion of the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary. Available in either stainless steel or 18-carat pink gold, this watch houses the Manufacture’s new dedicated selfwinding extra-thin openworked movement, Calibre 7124, as well as the Royal Oak’s “50-years” anniversary oscillating weight visible through the sapphire caseback.
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The
watch’s highly contemporary design reflects the Manufacture’s ever-more
creative reinterpretation of age-old techniques attuned to the Royal
Oak’s uncompromising spirit.
CALIBRE 7124
MICROMECHANICS AND HANDIWORK
The two new timepieces premiere Calibre 7124, the openworked derivative of the Manufacture’s extra-thin selfwinding movement, Calibre 7121, which powers the newly released 16202 references. Both calibres were developed in parallel, which means that the position and geometries of the different components equipping both movements have been meticulously conceived from the start to obtain a harmonious and well-balanced openworked version.
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Making no compromise,
Calibre 7124 brings together precision, performance, age-old openworking expertise and extra-thinness. Measuring a mere 2.7 mm in height, this extra-thin selfwinding openworked hour and minute movement contains more energy than its predecessor
Calibre 5122 (3.05 mm), thanks to its larger barrel.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTOLike
Calibre 7121,
Calibre 7124 is
equipped with a contemporary slim oscillating weight mounted on ball
bearings that utilises two reversers
*1 developed in-house to ensure
bidirectional winding. In addition, its balance wheel is fitted with
inertia blocks that have been directly inserted within the balance wheel
to avoid unnecessary friction.
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Its openworked architecture requires artisans’ manual dexterity and attention to detail. Introduced at
Audemars Piguet in the
1930s, the art of openworking consists of removing as much material as possible from the movement bridges and plate without impairing its functions. Light passes through, revealing the mechanism’s finesse and purity. The preliminary geometries of the mainplate and bridges are cut through computer numerical control (
CNC) machining, before being perfected by electric discharge machining (
EDM). This manufacturing process enables to remove small amounts of material with extreme precision to reach the desired shape. Each component is then finished and decorated with age-old techniques. The
324 polished V angles that can be admired on both sides of the watch reflect the meticulous handiwork that went into their realisation as this level of craftsmanship can only be done by hand.
*1 In a selfwinding movement, reversers convert the oscillating weight’s bidirectional swings into a unidirectional rotation to wind the mainspring.
HIGHLY CONTEMPORARY AESTHETICS
The case and bracelet of the two Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked timepieces have been finished with the Manufacture’s signature alternation of satin-brushed and polished surfaces all the way down to the bracelet folding clasp.
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The stainless steel version is complemented with a matching rhodium-toned openworked movement offering a unique play of light. The rhodium-toned
22-carat pink gold “
50 years” oscillating weight – that can be found on
Royal Oak anniversary models throughout
2022 – similarly blends with the movement’s grey shades on the caseback side. The 18-carat pink gold hour-markers and hands, as well as the pink-gold toned gear train and balance wheel peeking through the openworked bridges offer a subtle contrast, while reinforcing the watch’s contemporary monochromatic aesthetic.
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The 18-carat pink gold timepiece marries different tones: the slate grey openworked bridges and mainplate are complemented with a light grey openworked barrel at 11 o’clock, which reveals the coiled mainspring – the watch’s main source of energy. The barrel subtly echoes the white gold hexagonal screws securing the bezel onto the case. In addition, the pink-gold toned balance wheel and gear train, further accentuated by the 18-carat hour-markers and hands, add depth and light to the watch.
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The
22-carat pink gold anniversary oscillating weight offers a similar contrast on the caseback side.
AN EVER-MORE CONTEMPORARY TAKE ON AN AGE-OLD CRAFT
Evolving with each decade, the Royal Oak collection has included more than 50 openworked models to this day, fitted with different movements and coming in a variety of sizes, materials and styles – the result of numerous decades of passion and expertise passed down across generations.
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During the early years of its history, Calibre
2120 and its derivatives, including Calibre
2121 which powered the first
Royal Oak, remained hidden inside watch cases. The arrival of quartz overturned these codes: it was time to highlight and reveal the beauty of mechanical movements and the traditional expertise utilised.
In the early
1970s, a few young watchmakers at
Audemars Piguet set about rediscovering the art of openworking in which the brand had excelled in the
1930s and
50s, abetted by their elders, and the company’s first dedicated openworking workshop saw the light of day. The vision of Managing Director
Georges Golay at the time was ambitious, as the operation kicked off with a hundred openworked examples of Calibre
2120 — a painstaking task amounting to
150 hours of work for a single movement. The first watch (Model
5442) was delivered in November
1973 and some 30 watches were crafted annually until
1976. In
1978,
300 openworked watches fitted with Calibre
2120 were produced within
Audemars Piguet’s walls. By
1984, the workshop counted a dozen artisans entirely dedicated to the art of openworking.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTOOpenworking first appeared in the
Royal Oak collection in
1981 with a pendant version, Model
5710BA, followed in
1986 with Model
25636 equipped with the ultra-thin selfwinding
perpetual calendar Calibre
2120/2800. However, this art truly established itself into the collection in the
1990s – a decade that witnessed many openworked
Royal Oak models in a variety of sizes and styles.
The first
openworked “Jumbo” was launched in
1992 – a one-of-a-kind model (
14811), whose dial was decorated with a finely chased oak motif, auctioned off to support the new
Audemars Piguet Foundation. Several other openworked
“Jumbo” models equipped with extra-thin
Calibre 2120 were introduced in very small series until the year
2000. While some models were graced with gemset hands (e.g.
14789,
14793 and
14814), others featured highly stylised designs, such as Models
14884 and
12518 (a unique 125th anniversary creation) which featured a naval anchor against a background of stormy waves surrounded by ropes.
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Manufacture’s latest hand-wound movement,
Calibre 2121.
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Openworking returned in the “Jumbo” collection in 2010 with Model 15305, this time equipped with selfwinding Calibre 3129 measuring 4.31 mm in thickness. The movement’s galvanic treatment elegantly contrasted with the stainless steel case. Two years later, the Manufacture launched a new slate grey openworked “Jumbo” limited edition for the Royal Oak’s 40th anniversary, powered by the new Calibre 5122 which was framed in an elegant 950 platinum case. In 2014, an 18-carat pink gold version was released.
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This year, the
Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked makes its come back once again with a new movement and a refined aesthetic testifying to the Manufacture’s uncompromising spirit.
“Born in Le Brassus, raised around the world.”
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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Model: ROYAL OAK “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked / 39 mm
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
MovementSelfwinding
Calibre 7124Total diameter 29.6 mm (12 ¾ lignes)
Total thickness 2.7 mm
Number of jewels
31Number of parts
211Minimum power reserve guaranteed
57 h
Frequency of balance wheel
4 Hz
(28,800 vibrations/hour)
Functions
Hours, minutes
Case-
Stainless steel case
- 18-carat pink gold case
Diameter: 39.00 mm
Thickness: 6.10 mm
Glare-proofed sapphire crystal and caseback
Water-resistant to 50 m
Dial
- Slate grey openworked movement, pink gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating, black inner bezel.
- Rhodium-toned openworked movement, pink gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating, rhodium-toned inner bezel.
Bracelet- 18-carat pink gold bracelet with AP folding clasp
- Stainless steel bracelet with AP folding clasp.
New Product Overview 2021
Price: $ 90,400 Steel 💰
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Press Release - 2022
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Audemars Piguet (Marketing) SA
Route de France 16 - Case postale 16
1348 Le Brassus - Switzerland
Phone :
+ 41 21 642 39 00
Fax :
+ 41 21 642 34 02
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