Swiss fine watchmaker Audemars Piguet is a firm favorite with collectors, especially when it come to its iconic sports watch collections, the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore. In particular, the Royal Oak Offshore has been at the forefront of the “power” or “muscle” watch trend since its launch in 1993. With the new Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph, the La Brassus-based watchmaker has stamped its authority on the complicated sports watch yet again.
Some of you might recall an earlier version of this model that was manual-winding so the appearance of an automatic version will not be too surprising. What is important to note though is that Audemars Piguet has not simply tacked on a rotor and a winding system and called it a new watch. The Selfwinding Tourbillon Chronograph is powered by calibre 2897 is a 335-part wonder that made its debut at the recently concluded Watches & Wonders in Hong Kong (we will have more to say on this later). While calibre 2897 shares much in common with the older calibre 2912, there are a great many differences, even visually.
The tourbillon, for example, is aesthetically different – with bridges in titanium instead of aluminum – and positioned differently on the dial. At the same time, the free-sprung balance oscillates at 3Hz in both calibres and both chronographs are equipped with column wheels so there is some common ground. Limited to 50 pieces, the watch is offered in a 44mm forged carbon case (a staple material for the brand) with Méga Tapisserie decoration on the dial.
Audemars Piguet
