“Hands-On” Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding

Łukasz Doskocz22.07.201228.05.20134 min. of reading

The immortal Royal Oak sculpted by the hand of Gerald Genta is with us for over 40 years. This year’s birthday brought a refreshed line with complications and re-editions, including the ref.15400 with automatic movement and blue dial.

In the watchmaking universe the Royal Oak remains an absolute icon, the cult-object for collectors and passionate watch-lovers for exactly 4 decades. Back in 1972, renowned Swiss designer Gerald Genta presented a vision of luxury, sport timepiece in steel case, formed in a highly technical, industrial way. The watch was a breakthrough, and after firstly rough and unwelcome reception turned into a huge success, timeless icon and a true flagship of the Le Brassus manufacture.

40 years later the Royal Oak is more popular and sought-after than ever before. Even though it didn’t change almost a bit from its birth (which in turn is a proof of Genta’s genius) the line queuing for the new pieces often surpasses the manufacturing capabilities. And such a trend grew even more after this year’s SIHH. Those who expected that its 40th anniversary would bring something new and spectacular, were probably highly disappointed. AP rightly claimed, that you just don’t change what is perfect, and the whole new line-up was designed according to Mr. Genta’s spirit. The refreshed anniversary collection consists of two skeletonised platinum limited editions, extra-thin tourbillon, chronograph and two most anticipated novelties – the Extra-Thin (the legendary Jumbo re-edition) in 39mm case and a Selfwinding piece in enlarged, slightly re-designed version.

The stainless steel Royal Oak Self-winding (also available in pink gold) grew up, compared to the previous model, to a perfect diameter of 41mm. Although two extra millimetres might seem like a significant change, in reality they are almost unnoticed due to the balanced proportions – and for my wrist the new size is more impressive, while still preserving perfect proportions and comfort (side-by-side comparison with the 42mm ROO Diver is shown on the pictures below).

The latter is also due to the phenomenal metal bracelet with perfectly fitted brushed and polished links, fastened with a tree-fold clasp with safety buttons. The watch itself has an immediately recognisable hexagonal ‘personality’, exquisitely finished with mechanically applied polishing and satin-brushing. The only modifications are to be found in the dial. Adorned with the Petite-Tapisserie guilloché pattern, the dial is available in three colours: silvery white, black and “sort-of-blue”. “Sort-of-blue” because, as the pictures illustrate, the colour is rather dark navy-blue – and to see it in full spectrum you have to provide the light at certain specific angles. I do like blue-faced watches, but the AP’s perception of the colour blue is far different from mine: the dial as it is (in the blue version) sometimes looks like black, others dark grey; luckily, two other options leave a choice. Mentioned changes into the dial are the slightly re-designed hands (now more rough and edgy) and elongated hour indices. The rest remains classic, including the dial-coloured date disk.

Also unchanged is the movement locked in the case – an automatic calibre 3120 with full balance bridge, Gyromax-type balance wheel, significant 60-hours power reserve and very top quality finishing highlighted by the 22ct gold engraved rotor. It is a thoroughly tested, respected and appreciated engine, often ranked among best basic automatic movements in history. And the only fault I can think of, relating to its use in ref.15400, is related to the smallish 26mm dimensions. Such disproportion between calibre size and the case diameter means that the sapphire window is surrounded by a wide, steel caseback ring. Screwed with eight polished screws, the satin polished ring is just not good-looking enough (to say the least) and doesn’t seem to fit the rest of the design features. Some additional engravings could light it up. Or maybe a full caseback would be better?

Besides these two small details (the colour and the raw back), the new Selfwinding Royal Oak is as a great watch as it was. I never was a fan of the “Oak” collection and, although my love towards it may not catch fire, it has to be said that it is a perfectly crafted, fine piece of watchmaking. All in all I would welcome a black-dial version on my wrist, if I only had extra money to spend.