Lot Essay
Audemars Piguet’s formidable and groundbreaking Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie is renowned for its amazing acoustics and stunning good looks. Perhaps the ultimate contemporary wristwatch minute repeater, it represents a major leap forward in the advanced technology of mechanical repeating and striking systems in wristwatches. Cased in titanium, chosen for its lightweight and acoustic qualities, when activated, the Supersonnerie emits a chime of exceptional clarity and resonance. It is perhaps the only repeating wristwatch where the sound emission quality is actually superior when on the wrist.
The ‘secret’ of the Supersonnerie is its case construction, the remarkable volume and rich tone of the repeating is provided by the ingenious patented ‘Supersonnerie’ case construction, with the repeater gongs mounted on a special alloy sound board covered by the perforated case back.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Royal Oak Supersonnerie is the hand-wound caliber 2953 which utilizes technology perfected in 2016 including a silent centrifugal governor. The minute repeating mechanism is one of the most difficult of all complications for watchmakers to produce and the Supersonnerie movement is a hugely significant achievement of watchmaking at the very highest level. The overall movement aesthetic gives a distinct nod to historic movements of the early 20th century and to earlier generations of AP repeaters. The caliber 2953 is based the cal. 2937 found in the Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie from 2015, which in turn is based on a movement developed in the 1990s, but since upgraded with features like a 72 hour power reserve. The finishing as expected is exceptional, the plates decorated with perlage and the bridges with Geneva stripes.
Both highly impressive and extremely elegant, with titanium case and bracelet, this Royal Oak Supersonnerie is fitted with a smoked gray gradué ‘Grande Tapisserie’ dial that is absolutely stunning, the applied hour markers and hands are in 18k white gold with luminescent coating.
The ‘secret’ of the Supersonnerie is its case construction, the remarkable volume and rich tone of the repeating is provided by the ingenious patented ‘Supersonnerie’ case construction, with the repeater gongs mounted on a special alloy sound board covered by the perforated case back.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Royal Oak Supersonnerie is the hand-wound caliber 2953 which utilizes technology perfected in 2016 including a silent centrifugal governor. The minute repeating mechanism is one of the most difficult of all complications for watchmakers to produce and the Supersonnerie movement is a hugely significant achievement of watchmaking at the very highest level. The overall movement aesthetic gives a distinct nod to historic movements of the early 20th century and to earlier generations of AP repeaters. The caliber 2953 is based the cal. 2937 found in the Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie from 2015, which in turn is based on a movement developed in the 1990s, but since upgraded with features like a 72 hour power reserve. The finishing as expected is exceptional, the plates decorated with perlage and the bridges with Geneva stripes.
Both highly impressive and extremely elegant, with titanium case and bracelet, this Royal Oak Supersonnerie is fitted with a smoked gray gradué ‘Grande Tapisserie’ dial that is absolutely stunning, the applied hour markers and hands are in 18k white gold with luminescent coating.