Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet Year: 2017 Reference No: 26579CE Movement No: 961'316 Case No: J43170 Model Name: Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Material: Ceramic Calibre: Automatic, cal. 5134, 38 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Ceramic Audemars Piguet bracelet, max length 190mm Clasp/Buckle: Ceramic Audemars Piguet deployant clasp Dimensions: 41mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed Accessories: Accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity dated April 21, 2017. Furthermore accompanied by Audemars Piguet and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo co-signed Royal Oak 50th Anniversary Attestation.
Catalogue Essay
Audemars Piguet has developed, in recent years, a groundbreaking tradition of experimenting with novel materials. For example, in 2007 they launched the Offshore Alinghi Team ref. 26062 which was made out of forged carbon, at the time a highly uncommon proposition (and daunting to produce). One of the most recent - and arguably most attractive - watches that represent this trend is the present perpetual calendar Royal Oak in ceramic. Released in 2017, the watch was an immediate success (and was followed in 2019 by a white ceramic version with blue/white dial). One could write rivers of ink about the technical complexity of realizing not only a case but also - and maybe especially! - a ceramic bracelet, but such an intellectual debate would not do justice to the most obvious quality of the timepiece: its undiluted, nearly brutally powerful aesthetic impact. An ideal synthesis of the current trend in watchmaking - this is a piece devoted to its heritage but groundbreaking in its execution - it is no surprise that to date it is one of the most coveted, collectible and even wearable recent Royal Oak creations, a piece that would fit with equal ease the wrist of Bruce Wayne and that of Thomas Crown.
A specialist in the manufacture of complications since it was established in 1881, Audemars Piguet never ceases to impress with a rich history of creating bold, even audacious, timepieces underpinned by traditional watchmaking at its finest. This Le Brassus-based Swiss manufacturer is one of only two major manufacturers still owned by the founding family. Since its earliest days, AP is considered a leader in the field of minute repeaters and grande complication pocket and wristwatches. The brand is devoted to preserving the history of watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux, showcased at their superb museum in Le Brassus.
Today, the brand is best known for its Royal Oak models, a revolutionary luxury sports watch launched in 1972. Other key models include early minute repeating wristwatches, vintage chronograph wristwatches, such as the oversized reference 5020, perpetual calendar watches and the Royal Oak Offshore, first introduced in 1993.
