Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar: Endlessly Awesome

The 39mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26252OR in 18-karat rose gold might be the ideal first complicated Audemars Piguet for a collector of high horology exemplars.

Its classical Audemars Piguet Royal Oak styling features and quad-complication Jaeger-LeCoultre-based movement provide a pedigree that is beyond reproach.

Gerald Genta designed the original 1972 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak to read as a single metal continuity. The bezel flowed seamlessly into the case, the case merged into the bracelet, and the bracelet tapered into a delicate mailed foil below the wrist. While precious metal Royal Oaks are outstanding showcases for Audemars Piguet’s prowess in metallurgy, the stainless steel models remain the closest descendants of Genta’s opus.

This Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar exhibits all of those virtues, and it also preserves the exquisitely detailed combination of brushed and polished facets that speak to the quality of the watch under close scrutiny.

AP’s famous Royal Oak white gold bezel bolts, octagonal bezel, visible bezel gasket, and integrated alligator leather strap complete the image of traditional craft quality.

In this instance, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar’s iconic look and premier complication set the stage, but the warmth of 18-karat rose gold and a brown alligator leather strap steal the show. While Royal Oak models generally sports a combination of stainless steel construction and an integrated bracelet, the use of rich rose gold and a supple leather strap endow this 26252OR with enough visual warmth to melt the hearts of watch enthusiasts.

The final celebrity chef in this haut-de-gamme dish is Jaeger-LeCoultre of Le Sentier. Long famed as the “watchmaker’s watchmaker,” JLC provided the movement for the very first AP Royal Oak in 1972, and JLC provides a thin automatic base movement for this Audemars Piguet caliber 2120/4-2802. Even with the perpetual calendar module in place, the entire automatic winding quadruple complication measures only 4mm thick; this is a micro-machine par excellence. The complications – a day, date, month, and moon phase – are alternately practical and romantic.

With a movement lineage that includes JLC’s awesome engineering heritage, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar packs serious horsepower in the engine room. And if the engineering isn’t enough to light the hearts of the most jaded enthusiasts, the finishing will. Each winding rotor is hand-engraved with enough detail and visual poetry to make Lange’s finest take note, and everything that sits beneath the winding mass follows suit.

Audemars Piguet. Gerald Genta, and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The roster watch industry superstars with a hand in this Royal Oak read like a laundry list of Switzerland’s watchmaking greats. Want more? This circa-2011 example features a dial crafted by Stern creations… yes, those Sterns. It’s like a one-watch tour of Switzerland’s “watch valley.”

Take a one-watch tour of the horology heartland and see this 18-karat rose gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26252OR in high-resolution images on www.watchuwant.com.