Achieving everything is never enough. Audemars Piguet reformulated fine watchmaking in the 1970s, when he introduced the silhouette of his legendary Royal Oak, a steel prodigy treated with the care of a precious metal. It was an innovation that made an epoch, that set a trend and that today continues to be an object of desire and cult for customers and collectors. As always happens with classics, he knew how to reinvent himself. Over the years, different versions, sizes and complications arrived, as well as numerous gold alloys. And in 2024, the Le Brassus watchmaker raises the bar with a feat within the reach of very few: it is called sand gold and it is an 18-karat gold alloy, halfway between white and pink, whose appearance changes depending on the angle and lighting.
It is, according to the brand’s Heritage and Museum director, Sébastian Vivas, a recovery of “the creative vision of gold alloys and shades that lasted for thousands of years until the 1960s.” It is not a casual gesture: in recent years, the auction fever has once again put the focus on classic, iconic or forgotten models, which have also shown that their designs are still current. But there is nothing nostalgic about Audemars Piguet’s choice, because the timepiece he has chosen to debut it also deserves attention in itself and is pure avant-garde: a new 41-millimeter Royal Oak Automatic Flying Tourbillon Skeleton.
In it, the skeletonized bridges and plate of the caliber 2972 have been treated to recreate a three-dimensional effect due to the contrast between rhodium-plated and galvanized elements. The same happens on the bracelet and case, which alternate satin-brushed and polished chamfered surfaces. Or with the oscillating weight, the component intended to “charge” the winding of automatic watches, and which on this occasion is made of 22 carat rose gold and underlines that two-tone scheme. On the skeletonized dial whose intricate shapes reflect the complexity inherent to high-end watchmaking, the brand’s signature appears inscribed directly on the sapphire crystal.
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