Hands-On with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin Limited Edition in Yellow Gold Replica Trusted Dealers

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 7

What is left of the “dial” is essentially a satin-brushed, ruthenium-toned ring around the edge and both anthracite sub-dials. There is a rehaut printed with a second chapter ring too. In my experience, legibility is not the strongest suit for a skeletonized watch, but that is less of an issue in the case of the watch. The usage of pink gold applied hour markers and pink gold baton-shaped hands, both filled with lume, should provide sufficient legibility in most light conditions. The “Audemars Piguet” logo is printed on the surface of the sapphire crystal on the front, and this gives it a pleasant floating effect.The sub-dials are easy with white printed text and white baton-shaped hands. The sub-dial at 3:00 suggests chronograph minutes and the one at 9:00 shows constant moments. 1 possible issue with legibility must do with the chronograph seconds hand, which is black with a lumed white hint. Between how thin the seconds hand is and the color, studying the chronograph elapsed time may be more awkward than individuals may like. It’s hard to say for sure until we get our hands on a physical example of this watch.I’ve left the case and bracelet description for the last because those are some of the most recognizable aspects of the watch. This is the exact same Gerald Genta design that’s so popular among many collectors but with 44mm by 13.2mm case measurements. This is a fairly large watch with a wide bezel on both the front and back. All the straight lines and sharp angles also give it a bigger appearance. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph can be obtained in two case substances — titanium and rose gold. There are the obvious visual differences in both materials but what I find more intriguing is that titanium is generally a light material with high tensile strength, while gold is a compact but soft substance. What this means is that the expertise of wearing every variant should be substantially different, and I find this intriguing.

Most of the gold watches sold are 18k rose, pink or red gold. A quick once-over of a catalogue proves that. Yellow gold is slightly out of fashion. Audemars Piguet is the first amongst established, high-end watchmakers to emphasise the metal, with a full range of yellow gold Royal Oaks presented at SIHH 2016, including a chunky chronograph.

Last year, however, Audemars Piguet announced arguably the most interesting yellow gold Royal Oak of all, a limited edition made for Singapore retailer The Hour Glass. It’s Royal Oak Extra-Thin ref. 15202 – the model that’s closest to the original 1972 Royal Oak “Jumbo” – in bright yellow gold, with a dark green dial.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 7

In the regular collection, the only precious metal the Royal Oak Extra-Thin is offered in is rose gold, giving it an ostentatious, contemporary look. The yellow gold limited edition instead harks back to the original Royal Oak “Jumbo”, which was available only in yellow gold, the de rigueur colour of gold back then.

Typical of a Royal Oak, the surfaces and edges of the case are gorgeously finished. The mirror-polishing is lustrous while the brushed surfaces are fine and precise. No doubt the finish is a scratch magnet, but fresh off the production line there are few watch case as tangibly sexy as a Royal Oak.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 3

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 4

The bezel and case are covered in clear protective stickers, hence the grainy surface

It’s still loud and flashy, but the colour of gold makes it that much more different from the numerous, run of the mill rose gold watches. The feel is slightly retro, accented by the green dial, another unusual colour. Green pairs with yellow gold very well, but it’s not often found in modern watches. The shade brings to mind British racing green, and is slightly glossy; a marginally less glossy finish may have been more suited to the shiny case. The dial motif is the chequerboard tapisserie that’s a trademark on the Royal Oak.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 2

The movement inside is identical to the ordinary version of this watch, the slim, automatic calibre 2121 that is still regarded as one of the most sophisticated automatic movements despite being just shy of 50 years old. Today the movement is exclusive to Audemars Piguet (which makes it in-house, having bought the rights) and Vacheron Constantin; though decades ago Patek Philippe also used the same calibre in the original Nautilus ref. 3700 “Jumbo”.

Originally developed as the Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 920 in 1968, the movement is very thin, just 3.05mm high, but with a full rotor, instead of the micro-rotor common in slim automatics. That called for some clever engineering, most obvious being the metal ring on ruby rollers that supports the rotor. In The Hour Glass edition the 18k gold rotor – which ironically seems to be rose gold – features an open-worked hour glass and hand-engraved limited edition lettering. While appropriate for the edition, the logo looks somewhat uninteresting relative to the rest of the watch.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Yellow Gold 6

Pricing and availability 

Available only at The Hour Glass, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin The Hour Glass Edition (ref. 15205BA.OO.1240BA.01) is priced at S$79,600 including seven percent local tax. That’s equivalent to US$58,800, and about five percent more than the regular production rose gold model. While the premium over the ordinary model is modest, it’s still stiff for a time-only wristwatch.