I haven’t even seen the watch yet and already know that it is going to be one of my favorite new releases at SIHH 2016. Combining the majesty of the Royal Oak case and bracelet design with an innovative new movement and the visual splendor of skeletonization, this is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked watch – and it comes in both 18k pink gold and steel.
Pretty skeletonization aside, the “open” view of the movement in this new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked watch makes sense, as Audemars Piguet is using the decorative technique as a means of showing off the guts of their new in-house made calibre 3132 automatic movement.
When we follow-up with a hands-on post later, we ideally will get more information on the operation of this interesting system as well as details on really how much the double balance wheel system improves accuracy and overall performance.The entire point of the 3132 is to increase accuracy, and for this new movement, Audemars Piguet applies a unique concept by producing a double-sided balance wheel structure.
Very attractive in its design, the calibre 3132 is also an automatic with 45 hours of power reserve operating at a frequency of 3Hz (21,600 bph). It is produced from 245 parts and, of course, in this execution is richly “openworked” and hand-decorated. Notice the 18k pink gold balance bridge which is a welcome aesthetic feature. On the dial, both the steel and pink gold version of the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked watches have pink gold hands and hour markers.
For the case, Audemars Piguet uses their 41mm-wide Royal Oak case (water resistant to 50 meters) and I am quite curious as to how thick it is. The Dualbalance system no doubt adds some thickness, but I am not sure how much. My instincts tell me that any added size would be marginal at worst.
As mentioned above, the combination of the appeal of the Royal Oak watch and a beautiful accuracy-focused movement with useful new technology should make the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked watch particularly appealing to watch enthusiasts. This is more of what Audemars Piguet should be doing, and I am sure the brand’s fans will reward the company with lots of interest. My only hope is that deliveries of these models not be too long after SIHH 2016, as it is not uncommon for new movements such as this to experience shipping delays given the testing and production of novel parts and concepts.
For 2016, Audemars Piguet will offer the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked watch in 18k pink gold (reference 15407OR.OO.1220OR.01) with a price of $76,800 , and steel (reference 15407ST.OO.1220ST.01) with a price of $44,100.