In 2002, Audemars Piguet launched its first Royal Oak Concept in honor of the iconic model’s 30th anniversary. The release was limited to 150 pieces and featured a futuristic aesthetic and aeronautic-grade metals. Eventually, the idea of a concept edition turned into a full-blown collection. In the past 20 years, the line has been inhabited by watches that experimented with both function and materials.
While it’s far from the first Royal Oak Concept watch to take the form of a Flying Tourbillon GMT (it was first introduced to the line in 2018), the latest model in the collection is trimmed with pink gold hands and tourbillon cage, black bridges and inner bezel, green CVD-colored inserts, and a first-ever green ceramic bezel. Glareproof sapphire crystal covers both the front and back to show off all this timepiece has to offer.
The watch errs somewhere between the high-end luxury of a traditional Royal Oak and the robustness of a tool watch. Housed in a 44mm titanium case with a 16.1mm thickness, the AP caliber 2954 is a hand-wound movement with a whopping 10 hours of power reserve and is made up of 348 parts. The second timezone subdial at the 3 o’clock position is read numerically and the push-crown indicator at 6 o’clock informs the wearer which function the crown is currently controlling.
Given a green rubber strap, the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT has only been given animated renders at the moment, but the watch is expected to be released in unspecified quantities from Audemars Piguet for around 198,900CHF (~$205,707).
