As a line, the Royal Oak concept has been a place where the brand has introduced new capabilities and innovations since its first presentation in 2002. Now for 2024, a new model joins the collection: in what AP calls Chroma Forged Technology metals are just a part of what you get here in a material sense. CFT has photographed this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date Watch model. Of course, the Royal Oak Concept Split Seconds Chronograph GMT Big Date is nothing new. The news here is that it comes, I’m not a fake, in a new color fake carbon with glitter pigments.
It’s been eight years since AP last released a fake carbon watch, so this is a big deal. Interestingly, phony carbon also debuted in watchmaking in 2007 through AP. The new CFT Carbon developed by a five-year in-house R&D team is thin, antibacterial, shockproof, heat and moisture-resistant. Further, we also need to point out that as CFT has less resin, it is less inclined to scratches when compared to conventional forged carbon.
But the real beauty of CFT is that the carbon fibers can be directly dyed (not resin), and positioned as desired, opening up many possibilities for artwork. These carbon fibers are cut into small particles, pigments are added, then shaped into a mold, and then sprayed with resin. These operations are repeated to form layers (such as lasagna), each item is compressed to expel any air bubbles, and then pressure-cured for ten hours to form a colored patterned carbon block. Can be made which will be cut from six to eight hours. Of course, as you might expect, the Audemars Piguet company has patented chroma forging technology.
The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Big Date watch measures 43mm in diameter and 17.4mm in thickness, its CFT carbon case is enhanced by bright blue hues working through the material. Yes, the fibers of the case glow in the dark – quite a clever thing; It feels like standing in the middle of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night paintings. Sitting at the top is a black ceramic bezel that is of course octagonal and its design is completed with brushed and polished surfaces. The case crown, case back, and pushpiece crown are also made of black ceramics.
The Royal Oak concept models are a classic take on the formal Royal Oak for the future – soft in design as the design logic dictates the wrist line but sharp due to all the faceted elements.
There are openwork dial grates in electric blue with three sub-dial rings, an inner tachymeter bezel, and some ends of a plurality of hands. As in its predecessor, this new model features the usual flyback chronograph, split-second chronograph, GMT function, large date, hours, minutes, and small seconds. The outer date is then placed at 12 and has stencil numerals. The GMT piece is at 3 and is provided with a day/night indicator, which can be set by movement of the crown button, the coaxial pushpiece hand will advance.
On the opposite side of the case, at nine o’clock, there is another pusher with which to either freeze the split-seconds hand bring it up to the running chronograph hand., or return it to a running chronograph hand. The hours and minutes can be advanced quickly through the display case back, locked by an X-shaped bridge in the middle of the platinum oscillating weight with two actuating clamps in the split-second wheel.
All these functions are associated with the movement, named Caliber 4407, first presented in 2023, which belongs to the new generation of the AP brand’s flyback chronograph presented in 2019. 28 has an oscillation frequency of 800 oscillations per hour – 4 Hz and a power reserve of at least 70 hours.
The second blue part is a blue rubber strap provided with black accents and decorated with a folding clasp made of titanium. However, AP may add another black rubber strap with blue markings. The strap is also easily changed using the interchangeability system.
