In 2018, Audemars Piguet replica will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Royal Oak Offshore. The watch made its debut at the 1993 Basel International Watch and Jewellery Show.
Offshore aims to satisfy the tastes of sports enthusiasts and young people. In fact, offshore designer Emmanuel Gueit was only 22 years old when he just completed the task.
The concept behind this model is a “deconstruction” approach to the clock, aiming to reveal its structure and key elements, such as the huge visible black washer on the bezel. The size of the watch case is 42 mm, which is the normal size today, but it was shocking at the time, which made the watch nicknamed the “beast”.
Many purists were disappointed when the new model was introduced (including Gerald Genta, the creator of the original Royal Oak himself), but since then Offshore has been a huge success, launching more than 120 reference books.
As a preview of the novelty that will be shown at the upcoming Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva in 2018, Audemars Piguet will now launch three new editions of iconic sports watches: the original Royal Oak offshore automatic winding The precise revision of the chronograph, as well as two brand new Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon chronographs. These commemorative models will be issued in a limited edition of three, each with only 50 pieces.
The reprint of the first Royal Oak Offshore (ref. 26237ST.OO.1000ST.01) has a 42 mm stainless steel case, blue rubber-covered push rod and screw-in crown to ensure water resistance to 100 meters / 330 feet. The “Royal Oak Offshore” logo is engraved in the center of the sturdy bottom cover.
The AR-coated sapphire crystal glass dial has a small “Petite Tapisserie” pattern, a blue dial, white gold hour markers and Royal Oak hands with luminous coating, and a blue inner ring to protect the blue dial.
The selected movement is the Swiss automatic winding Audemars-Piguet 3126/3840 movement with a speed of 21,600 volts per hour and a power reserve of 50 hours.
After redefining, Audemars Piguet launched a new special series, available in stainless steel (ref. 26421ST.OO.A002CA.01) or rose gold (ref. 26421OR.OO.A002CA.01). These two watches are inspired by the previous Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph (reference numbers 26388PO and 26288OR), with bold design details (bezel first and first) and a completely redesigned movement developed for the occasion .
Although the Royal Oak Offshore watch has a typical material combination, the crown and push rod are now made of ceramic instead of metal and rubber.
The case is 45 mm long, water resistant to 100 meters/330 feet, and has a double anti-reflection coating, sapphire crystal and a sandblasted titanium protective cover.
The two new Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronographs are powered by a manual winding internal movement 2947, beat at 21,600 vph, and have an extraordinary power reserve of 7 days. Functions include: hours, minutes, seconds, timer with 30-minute timer, tourbillon.
