Originally introduced to mark the 30th anniversary of the iconic Royal Oak in 2002, the Concept has been Audemars Piguet's most prestigious platform for experimentation with innovative materials, avant-garde designs and micro mechanics. We look back at its illustrious history and key milestones over the last two decades
The world of horology is ever-changing and it doesn't take the most feverish collector to look back through the watchmaking history to understand this. However, to appreciate the most defining moments in horology, you need to dig deeper and go beyond the evolution in design — right from the mechanics and engineering to innovation that has gone into the making of our most beloved timepieces.
Spend some time on Instagram these days and you'll see a plethora of Gerald Genta-esque Royal Oak inspired timepieces with integrated bracelets, angular cases and predominantly blue dials, as is today's zeitgeist. However, this wasn’t the case through the early 2000s when the world of horology was at a point of metamorphosis. The 1990s had ushered in the era of the large sports watch and independent watchmakers like George Daniels, Richard Mille, Philippe Dufour, F.P. Journe and Daniel Roth, who were focussing on aesthetically unique designs while also shining a light on their mechanical excellence.
So, how did traditional watchmakers adapt? Well, plenty of watchmakers continued to do their thing and remained steadfast in offering what they always had but one watchmaker took the bull by the horns and created a watch that would tie everything together. In 2002, Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Concept – a modern-day icon combining the latest in material science and mechanical excellence in an aesthetically fresh design.
A Revolutionary Concept
Often when we look at a watch, its functionality is often understood by its aesthetics, especially the case. We can understand which watches are for divers or for pilot's watches and so on but the Royal Oak Concept is different. What kind of watch is it? It’s an instrument used by Audemars Piguet to showcase their horological excellence. A vehicle to drive forward their understanding of watchmaking and showcase the future, at least in Le Brassus.
Featuring a space-age design, the Royal Oak Concept is aesthetically futuristic and immediately distinctive, as it should be. On its 20th anniversary, we look back at this modern-day icon and explore its journey throughout the years.
The Beginnings
Exactly 50 years ago , Audemars Piguet reinvented the luxury watch industry with the Royal Oak Ref. 5402. Built upon a totally unique aesthetic code designed by Gerald Genta, the Royal Oak was unapologetically avant-garde and redefined what a traditional watchmaker was expected to create. AP's first foray into the world of sports watches, it was only the beginning. Thirty years later, in 2002, to celebrate the Royal Oak's 30th anniversary, Audemars Piguet launched the Royal Oak Concept, another step away from the Royal Oak's blueprint (the first step was the introduction of the Royal Oak Offshore a decade earlier) and the dawn of the modern hyperwatch.
While Richard Mille might have beaten AP to the punch with the debut of the RM001, it is worth noting that Audemars Piguet's high-end watchmaking division – the Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi (APR&P) – was Richard Mille's technology partner and well, the first Royal Oak Concept put the hyperwatch on the map, so let's dive into it.
The Royal Oak Concept CW1
Launched in 2002, the first Concept was a huge break away from the Royal Oak's original blueprint. While the Offshore had already stepped away from the RO aesthetics, the CW1 retained only the octagonal bezel and crown with the trademark exposed screws – it was all new.
Creating new metal alloys is all the rage in today’s world but in 2002, this was not so common. In typical AP fashion, the CW1 introduced a completely new alloy to watchmaking. This new metal, Alacrite 602, had never before, and has never since, been used in watchmaking. A cobalt-based super-alloy used almost exclusively in the aerospace and medical industries, it’s incredibly light and strong. Made of 57% cobalt, 31% chromium, 5% tungsten, and trace amounts of carbon, silicon, and iron, it boasts a Vickers hardness rating of 430 (steel is around 170, and grade 2 titanium is about 260, for context) and was the perfect material to protect the movement within the CW1's 44mm case, the manual-wind cal. 2896.
Predominately made of titanium, like the CW1's bezel, the cal. 2896 is a high-complication movement by its very definition. Showcasing extreme shock resistance, it boasts a tourbillon that’s resistant to 50Gs and a solid 70-hour power reserve. While those features were undoubtedly new and unique in 2002, the two other complications were even more novel – a dynamographe indicated the amount of torque being supplied by the mainspring and a function selector display at 6 o'clock that showed "R" for remontoir (winding), "N" for neutre (neutral) and "H" for heures (hours, or time-setting). Offered on a Kevlar strap, the CW1 transformed AP into the brand they are today, allowing them to bridge the gap between traditional high complications and sports watches.
The Journey So Far
The Royal Oak Concept has come a long way in the last 20 years with a plethora of incredible references. Not least is the Michael Schumacher Laptimer that I wrote about here or the famous Black Panther that our colleague Randy Lai wrote about here, but the new 2022 Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT ref. 26589IO demonstrates precisely how far the Concept has come since its debut.
Powered by the incredible manual-wind cal. 2954, the ref. 26589IO continues to push mechanical boundaries –something which the Concept is now synonymous with. Featuring a 10-day power reserve, a flying tourbillon at 9 o'clock, the same function selector display at 6 o'clock that the CW1 debuted, and a second time-zone at 3 o'clock that features two disks – one made of sapphire for the numerals and another underneath that indicates day-time in white and night-time in green, in keeping with the use of green throughout its construction.
Made of titanium and boasting a 44mm case like the original Concept, the ref. 26589IO is steadfast in its new-age aesthetic. Featuring an incredibly difficult-to-manufacture hand-finished green-colored ceramic, a semi-skeletonized dial and incredible finishing, the ref. 26589IO is intensely modern.
Final Words
To offer the very best of AP in a singular timepiece wouldn’t have been an easy task but by offering an invincible combination of the latest material technology and avant garde engineering, the ref. 26589IO reminds us exactly why the Royal Oak Concept has evolved as one of the strongest pillars of watchmaking at Audemars Piguet.
