Audemars Piguet Unveils a New Black Ceramic Version of its Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition

This selfwinding Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition black ceramic model in 37 mm displays a powerful visual contrast that pays tribute to the world of music. © Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

A TRIBUTE TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC

Since its establishment, Audemars Piguet has constantly built bridges with the music world, particularly through its pioneering role in the development of chiming watches. The Royal Oak Offshore collection has featured collaborations with various artists, drawing on their inspiration and inspiring them in turn. The Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition line, launched in 2022, celebrates this long-standing relationship with a brand-new aesthetic: a Tapisserie dial reproducing the motifs of an equaliser, knurled-textured studs reminiscent of jack plugs and crown guards inspired by the fader on mixing consoles. Featuring a sapphire crystal curved along the 6 to 12 o’clock axis and enlarged bevels, these selfwinding hours, minutes and seconds models radiate a colourful, pop-inspired style that is both bold and refined.

BLACK CERAMIC MEETS BRIGHT COLOURS

The 37 mm Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition model, launched this year, features a case, bezel and screw-locked crown, all crafted in black ceramic. Titanium elements bring contrast to the piece’s design, such as the studs reminiscent of the pattern on jack plugs, the fader-inspired crown guards and the strap’s pin buckle. A material that is extremely hard and difficult to work with, ceramic goes through a painstaking finishing process to highlight its nuances and the complex shape of the Royal Oak Offshore case, in line with Audemars Piguet’s quality requirements. The ceramic used contains Zirconium Oxide powder combined with a binding agent. It achieves its final uniform colour once it has been sintered at a temperature of over 1,000 °C. Each component is then pre-polished and pre-satin-brushed before being meticulously finished by hand to achieve the Manufacture’s trademark alternation of polished and satin-brushed surfaces. The equaliser, made up of 10 different colours printed onto the Tapisserie motif, cut through the piece’s understated design. Dispensing with the date aperture, it lights up the dial while giving it a highly contemporary appearance. The dial is completed by the AP monogram in polished white gold at 12 o’clock, and by the 18-carat white gold hour-markers and hands enhanced with luminescent coating for maximum visibility, notably in dark concert venues. Ideal for slimmer wrists, this modern timepiece is teamed with an interchangeable black rubber strap decorated with a “Mosaic” motif that matches the colour of the dial. Three additional straps, in turquoise, yellow and green rubber, also decorated with the “Mosaic” motif, allow the wearer to change their style to suit their mood.

A LATEST-GENERATION SELFWINDING CALIBRE

This new 37 mm variation is driven by the latest-generation selfwinding hours, minutes and seconds movement, Calibre 5909. The absence of a date allows the coloured pattern of the dial to shine through. Based on Calibre 5900, which made its debut at Audemars Piguet in 2022 on 37 mm Royal Oak references, this movement has the added advantage of being slimmer and providing a greater frequency than its predecessor, Calibre 3120. It also has a 60-hour power reserve. The titanium and sapphire crystal caseback, which shows off the hand-finishing that goes into the piece’s movement, is engraved with the words “Limited Edition of 250 Pieces”. The caseback displays iconic Haute Horlogerie decorations, such as Côtes de Genève, satin-brushing, circular 3 graining, traits tirés and polished chamfers, as well as the collection’s dedicated oscillating weight made of 22-carat pink gold with a NAC coating.