28.07.2021 - Audemars Piguet

Spotlight on: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Openworked

Would you like a sneak peak at a very special watch we have here in stock?

We’re talking about a tourbillon – a mechanism that allows for some of the most accurate timekeeping possible in a watch.

But what makes it really exciting to have an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Openworked in our boutique, is that there are only 100 available in the world.

Tell us more….

Extra-Thin? Just how thin are we talking?

Extremely. Just 8.95mm thick. So quite the aesthetic appeal on this one considering all of the inner workings of the watch are exposed.

The watch has a 41mm stainless steel case with a matching bezel and bracelet. It’s a dramatic timepiece with a rhodium-toned grey dial. The hour markers are 18 carat white gold and the Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating are perfect for dark conditions – handy as the watch is also water resistant to 20 metres.

But it’s the transparent openworked dial that makes this piece. It uses the calibre 2924, a manually wound movement comprising 216 components, with a spinning tourbillon complication at 6 o’clock. The movement alone is just 4.46mm thick.

In this piece, the tourbillon takes up the bottom quarter of the case, the mainspring is at the top, and the wheels of the movement are on the right. The left section is just an openworked mainplate.

It runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, offering a power reserve of 70 hours.

A horlogerie history

The stainless steel’s predecessor first debuted in 2012 at SIHH but it was in platinum, with the yellow gold version making an appearance four years later.

Then in 2017 came two more new watches but with skeletonised movement designs – this stainless steel one and one in pink gold. Only 50 of the brushed pink model exist and it features a pink gold mainplate and bridges with matching pink bracelet, while the movement of the steel version is rhodium-plated in cool, understated tones.

Openworking refers to a movement which has had its actual mainplate and bridges opened up. In yesteryear this would have been done with very fine saws and piercing files but today this can be done with spark erosion machines or other mechanical finishing techniques.

Although Audemars Piguet – which was one of the original brands to specialise in openworking –  proudly states all these elements are created by hand.

Contact us 

If you’d like to get your hands on this rare timepiece, it comes complete with its original box and paperwork. And it’s the last edition of the Extra-Thin Openworked.

To find out more or to see the watch in all its glory, make an appointment to see us today.