For many collectors, a perpetual calendar wristwatch could be the crown jewel of their collection. It’s an exercise in functional complexity, and last week Audemars Piguet dropped their latest piece with the impressive complication. That’s right, this new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is almost exclusively reserved for the Japanese market, fresh with an attractive salmon tone dial and titanium case and bracelet.
On its own, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is a relatively well-known quantity. Communicating the day, date, month, leap-year, astronomical moon, and time is impressive for a watch that only measures 41mm in diameter and 9.5mm thick. But what makes this 300-piece limited edition so special is the metal it’s made from and the colour of its dial.
In an extremely unusual move from Audemars Piguet, the brand has released the watch in titanium, with the lightweight metal used for both the case and bracelet. Typically, AP produces the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar collection in different gold or platinum alloys, and occasionally in steel, making titanium a very rare sight.
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Another rare sight is the salmon Grande Tapisserie dial, a tone that is revered among watch collectors for its rarity and delicate subtlety. With the combination of its dial colour and the case and bracelet metal, this is going to be a very collectible watch in the decades to come.
Powering this new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is the Calibre 5134, which contains a mind-boggling 374 components and has a 40-hour power reserve. It remains the thinnest perpetual calendar movement in the world with a full rotor.
Of the 300 pieces that were produced, 150 of them have been reserved for sale in Japan. Of those 150 pieces destined for Japanese shores, 100 will be sold by the legendary retailer Yoshida. Even with a price of CHF78,400 (AU$116,400), this reference is sure to sell out in a flash.
