AUDEMARS PIGUET – ROYAL OAK “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked 39 mm - 2022
THE ROYAL OAK "JUMBO" EXTRA-THIN OPENWORKED
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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Like 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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*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 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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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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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.
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Openworking 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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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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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Model: ROYAL OAK “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked / 39 mm
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Movement
Selfwinding Calibre 7124
Total diameter 29.6 mm (12 ¾ lignes)
Total thickness 2.7 mm
Number of jewels 31
Number of parts 211
Minimum 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
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.
- 18-carat pink gold bracelet with AP folding clasp
- Stainless steel bracelet with AP folding clasp.
New Product Overview 2021
Price: $ 90,400 Steel 💰
Press Release - 2022
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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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