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With a movement of 2.89mm in thickness and a case of 6.3mm in height, the new Royal Oak Self-winding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin has been acclaimed as the world’s thinnest automatic wristwatch of its kind and marks Audemars Piguet’s latest technological milestone.
The Manufacture’s research and development team has integrated movement development, design and ergonomics in the conception of this new timepiece to boost its efficiency, robustness and reliability.
The result? An ultra-thin self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch equipped with a complex movement re-engineered to integrate an elegant ultra-thin case, perfectly fitting under the sleeve of a shirt and endowed with a refined dial design enhancing visibility.
To reach such an ultra-thin movement, the perpetual calendar functions, normally arranged on three levels have been merged into one single layer.
This led to the development of two pioneering and patented innovations: the end-of-the-month cam has been integrated to the date wheel, while the month cam has been combined to the month wheel.
The geometry of each component has also been optimised from the onset, reducing adjustment and assembly time.
The dial, too, has been redesigned compared to previous Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar models. The day, date and month sub-dials have been enlarged for optimum legibility, while the night and day indication at 8 o’clock has been added symmetrically to the leap year indication positioned at 4 o’clock.
Champion of miniaturisation since its establishment in 1875, Audemars Piguet quickly charted its own course in the development of extra-small and extra-thin mechanisms.
The creation of the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar wristwatch paves the way for a new generation of complicated watches balancing refined aesthetics, optimum ergonomics, technical complexity, ancestral savoir-faire and contemporary lifestyle.
“To break the rules, you must first master them,” a company spokesman said.
