Enigmatic in design, iconic for its important heritage to the firm and widely regarded as the quintessential luxury sports wristwatch, the Royal Oak is with no doubt one of the most important line of wristwatches ever produced by any manufacture. Over the decades, the octagonal-shaped legend has evolved featuring various complications showcasing the horological ingenuity of Audemars Piguet.

First introduced by the firm in 2012, Audemars Piguet released their first Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Openworked model in platinum to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak featuring the firm’s manual cal. 2924 with its tourbillon escapement featured at the 6 o’clock position and its mainspring visible at 12 o’clock. Limited to 40 pieces in platinum, the firm also released a yellow gold version limited to 25 pieces. Upgraded with new dimensions and catering to contemporary demands, the reference features a larger 41mm diameter case compared to other extra-thin openworked Royal Oak models from the past measuring 39mm in diameter. While the art of openwork timepieces has traditionally been about two major things including the degree of transparency achieved and at the same time preserving the structural integrity of the timepiece, Audemars Piguet has achieved just that with their Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Openwork models. Opting for a vertical architecture of the movement, it allows to compensate for a rather pronounced area of negative space to the left side of the dial allowing the wearer to admire the intricate skeletonization of the timepiece whilst allowing light to shine through the small openings.

With the successful inception of the previous limited edition models in platinum and yellow gold, the firm released two examples of the model in stainless steel and pink gold, limited to 100 pieces in stainless steel and 50 examples in pink gold, bringing the total production of the reference to 215 examples across all four metals.

The present example Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin Openworked in pink gold is perhaps one of the most handsome examples out of the four metals, as many collectors do believe that pink gold Royal Oak timepieces are among some of the most attractive due to the unique sheen of the pink gold case. Offered in excellent overall condition, the present example from circa 2018 is further complete with its full set of accessories.