Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked 15416CE.OO.1225CE.02
New for 2024 this is AP’s fresh new take on the venerable Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked, and as well as being HOT, it’s also very legible thanks to a few tweaks to an already successful recipe.
This one is reference 15416CE which is a full black ceramic piece with a pink gold dial and dark rhodium indexes and handset, and it’s very impressive indeed.
Its a limited edition of 150 pieces and shares the same specs as the rest of the crew – 41mm, a cuff friendly 9.9mm high, water resistance of 50 metres and the same brutal geometry of the Royal Oak that we know and love.
I am still always surprised by ceramic Royal Oaks when I pick them up. My brain hasn’t adapted yet and still expects the some reassuring heft of their metal counterparts.
They are ultra lightweight which can register as a little strange initially when you’re used to steel, but, combined with the effortless drape of the integrated bracelet that we all know and love, it is super comfortable on the wrist.
Something to remember here is that weight does not always equate to strength, and the ceramics used in watchmaking are genuinely tough as nails and extremely difficult to scratch or ding.
Equally, ceramic won’t lose material over time, so a ceramic RO will look exactly the same 20 years down the line, which is a relief given that over polishing is the scourge of watch collecting.
AP’s ceramic is a blend of zirconium oxide (ceramic) and yttrium (pronounced itrium) oxide (a stabilising agent) which has been sintered (super heated) to 1400 degrees which, in a short version, turns combined ceramic powders into a solid state ready for some hardcore milling, brushing, and polishing.
When François-Henry Bennahmias took over the helm of Audemars Piguet in 2012, the brand was already manufacturing ceramic cases and bezels for their Royal Oak Offshore range. He said:
“I imagined a ceramic bracelet because I thought it would be ideal. The answer I got was that it was going to be impossible. It’s too complicated; it would take forever. Listen, I’m only 48 years old, so we have all the time to get it done. It’s going to be unbelievable.”
He’s right, they are unbelievable.
The complexities of the bracelet (and case, for that matter) with its micrometer perfect angular shape are phenomenal. The brushed surfaces which are evenly-lined with mirror polish take 30 hours to hand finish in ceramic. The same bracelet in metal takes around 5 hours.
This should give some indication of just what a pig (in the nicest possible way) ceramic is to work with.
The “regular” production DBW Openworks feature NAC treated skeleton dials which are a dark anthracite colour with contrasting pink gold hands.
This limited edition flips that around so that the openworked movement is finished in pink gold and the hands and markers are black rhodium.
As well as creating a fantastic contrast between black ceramic and a lighter dial and bezel bolt assembly, the switcharound really does enhance readability as the dark hands are easily picked out from the dial.
The pink gold treatment picks out some nice contrasts with both the ceramic case and the steel elements of the movement. It also makes the openwork much easier to really get a good look at, as you can easily pick out the finer details, of which there are many to choose from.
The dial finishing is all done by hand, as you would expect, and features a mix of grained brushwork, high polished bevels, some fantastic and complex anglage and a drop of perlage to boot – this really is a nothing spared dial and it is phenomenal.
I hope that AP continue with their paler skeleton dials, as the difference when inspecting (I say inspecting, I mean slavishly gawping at) them is quite literally like night and day.
The movement is Audemars in house calibre 3132, A 35 jewel automatic openworked movement which has a second balance wheel and spring that increases mass and inertia to offer more stability and precision. A technical way of saying “more accurate timekeeping”.
Power reserve is approximately 45 hours so its not going to make it through a weekend on the nightstand.
This is distinctly fresh interpretation of the openworked. I love the contrast between the black and the pink gold and I find it much easier to read.
Architecture, exclusivity and complexity and a right looker to boot – I think it’s a home run for AP.