Audemars Piguet Royal Oak automatic winding perpetual calendar ultra-thin
When a concept becomes a reality, the world of the perpetual calendar will never be the same.
Ultra-thin watchmaking can make headlines, but breaking into it can be a tough game. First, it requires a lot of expertise-the genre is sometimes referred to as its own independent form of complex watchmaking, on par with the handmade split-second chronograph or minute repeater. Although all of this will bring challenges, it is not just a matter of smoothing everything out. As the gap between parts is almost reduced to zero, part alignment errors (which would be trivial in a thick movement or watch) can become a factor that disrupts transactions. The components are also more refined (in watchmaking, they are usually very delicate) and require more attention during assembly. The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak automatic winding perpetual calendar ultra-thin watch is an exciting new member in the field of ultra-thin watchmaking-it has both attractive aesthetics and some very primitive solutions to solve the basics of ultra-thin watchmaking. problem. .
The lens that really catches people’s attention in the ultra-thin or ultra-flat watchmaking process (by the way, these two terms are often used interchangeably, although “ultra-thin” always seems to have a little more va- in my ears. voom), you have to start constructing the movement in a different way from the traditional watch movement. In the watch industry of the past five hundred years, there were two particularly important moments that made the watch slim. The first is the development of the escapement to make the escapement thinner-first the cylindrical escapement, then the lever escapement, which allows you to make a flatter escapement than you Watch (this is the first known escapement. European watchmaking).
Another important development was the evolution of the so-called “Lépine” movement, which was developed by Jean-Antoine Lépine in the 18th century, which eliminated the bulky but ubiquitous fusée at the time. In this way, the balance wheel can be kept on the same plane as the rest of the train, and combined with the use of the current standard bridge frame instead of the early pillar and flat structure, a real flat watch can be made. the first time.
Audemars Piguet has a long history of making ultra-thin watches, including the “knife” pocket watch movement with a thickness of only 1.32 mm in 1921, and limited-time watches produced after World War II, based on the blank 13- by Valjoux. ligne movement. Of course, its 2.45mm thick caliber 2120, released in 1967, set the highest record ever. However, one of the most proud moments in the field of ultra-thin watchmaking was in 1986, when it launched the tourbillon calibre 2870. This excellent watch, number 25643, has only recently become the flattest automatic tourbillon in the world, with a thickness of only 4.8mm, and adopts a revolutionary case structure, in which the back of the case plays the role of the upper movement effect. The same
It is said that the record was broken, and after a long and apparently impeccable rule, the number of the world’s flattest tourbillon watch was passed to Bulgari with the release of the Octo Finissimo automatic tourbillon watch in 2018. At that time, Audemars Piguet’s watch development work has been very smooth, and it will reiterate the company’s expertise in ultra-thin watchmaking: Royal Oak automatic winding perpetual calendar ultra-thin watch.
The initial stage of the Royal Oak self-winding perpetual calendar ultra-thin watch is different from the final production watch-Jon Bues (Jon Bues) published the introduction of the watch on SIHH in January last year. The watch adopts Sturdy platinum case with brushed bezel. As well as the classic Royal Oak splicing dial, despite its impressive technical achievements, it is also very much like a prototype, especially when compared with a production watch. Jon pointed out that despite all its extraordinary dimensions (41mm x 6.3mm, which is the size of a production watch), it feels a bit heavy. After all, no matter how solid platinum luxury watches on a solid platinum bracelet are insufficient Is odd plane).
