The first Royal Oak Offshore launched a sporty and expressive collection in the Audemars Piguet range. Now the Manufacture is presenting a further development of this first model from 1993. This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Automatic comes with either a steel, titanium or pink gold case. The dials are based on the original. Inside, however, the state-of-the-art manufacture calibre 4404 with integrated chronograph and flyback function is at work.
Audemars Piguet presents three versions of the new Royal Oak Offshore. There is a stainless steel case, a titanium case, and a 18-carat pink gold case. All variants have the same diameter of 42 mm and height of 15.2 mm. The pushers and crowns of the stainless steel and pink gold models are made of blue rubber. The sealing ring under the bezel is also made of blue rubber. In the titanium version, these rubber parts are in black. Meanwhile, on the back, the sapphire crystal case back allows you to see inside the watches. All models are also water-resistant to 10 bar or 100 metres.
Inspired by the original, a “petite tapisserie” motif adorns the dial of the three new chronographs. In the stainless steel version, it appears in the typical blue of the Royal Oak collection. The pink gold model has the same dial, but here it is combined with pink gold-coloured counters. The titanium version, meanwhile, comes with a light grey dial from which black counters stand out. This version also has a black inner bezel on which the tachymeter scale has been placed. On the other two watches, the inner bezel is blue.
The counters are arranged vertically as in the 1993 archetype, but the hour counter has been swapped with the small seconds. Now the 12-hour counter is at 12 o’clock, the 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock and the small seconds at 6 o’clock. In addition, there are the applied gold “AP” initials and the “Audemars Piguet” signature at 3 o’clock. Last but not least, the watchmakers placed a date window at 3 o’clock. Like the original, it has a magnifying glass that enlarges the numerals.
Inside the Royal Oak Offshore 42 mm is the in-house calibre 4404, which is based on the calibre 4401 that is also used in the new Royal Oak Offshore with 43 mm cases. The difference lies in the arrangement of the counters, which are located at 12 and 9 o’clock. The movement consists of 433 individual parts and offers an integrated chronograph. The latter uses a column wheel together with a vertical clutch, which results in a lag-free start. In addition, the time measurement can be restarted instantaneously by means of the flyback function.
As usual in the Offshore collection, this calibre also has automatic winding. A skeletonised rotor made of 22-carat pink gold winds the barrel up to a maximum power reserve of 70 hours. Through the sapphire crystal case back, the Geneva stripes, the satin finishes and the hand-polished edges can be admired.
The watches are also equipped with Audemars Piguet’s quick-change system for the wristbands. For the first time, the metal bracelets can also be exchanged by quickly snapping them in and out. Thanks to a double push system, the watches still sit securely on the wrist. Each model comes with an extra rubber strap in addition to the metal bracelet made of case material. This extra strap is blue on the steel and pink gold versions and black on the titanium version.
The three variants of the new Royal Oak Offshore 42 mm are available now. The watch with a steel case costs 37,400 euros, just like the titanium version. The Offshore 42 mm in pink gold costs 75,900 euros.
