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Lot Essay
This superb Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon GMT brings a new angle to the Royal Oak Concept collection in being the first Audemars Piguet watch made with ceramic movement bridges. Made in 2017 in a limited edition of only 10 pieces especially for AP’s Singapore boutique, Christie’s is delighted and honoured to present, to the best of our knowledge, the first example of the Singapore special edition at international auction. Furthermore, this highly impressive creation is accompanied by the full set of accessories.
The reference 26588IO.OO.D067CA.01 Tourbillon GMT is housed in a robust titanium case with a ceramic bezel, this Concept piece presents a bold avant-garde image yet retains its unmistakeable Royal Oak DNA. The ingeniously designed architecture of the case and movement is a masterwork of AP’s single concept philosophy, displaying the multi-layered movement to maximum advantage. The hand-wound caliber 2913 movement features a tourbillon visible at 9 o’clock, central bridge made of ceramic and parallel twin barrels providing ten days or 237 hours of power reserve. The GMT second-time zone indication at 3 o’clock is advanced by the pusher in the band. A crown position indicator is at 6 o’clock.
Undeniably a most exclusive statement piece, this limited edition Royal Oak Concept is a major prize for the collector who appreciates AP’s use of exceptional materials and complex functionality presented with world-class design.
The Royal Oak Concept
The wristwatches of Audemars Piguet’s ‘Royal Oak Concept’ series are fiercely contemporary watchmaking masterpieces that have captivated collectors for almost two decades. The ‘Concept’ watches were devised as a conduit to showcase not only AP’s famed command of complications, but also a desire to experiment with materials and design that is usually the preserve of the independent watchmaker.
Audemars Piguet is one of the triumvirate of great Swiss watch houses who, along with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, unrelentingly strive for both excellence and new innovation in watchmaking. Inspired by the idea of the ‘concept car’ used by car manufacturers to showcase new styling and technology, the watches Audemars Piguet have produced under the umbrella of the ‘Royal Oak Concept’ name have enabled the company to ingeniously bring into small-scale production a parallel ‘Royal Oak’ model endowed with radical cutting-edge innovations that not only greatly enhances the image and reputation of the brand, but also at the same time preserves the integrity of the original ‘Royal Oak’ range so beloved by AP purists. Audemars Piguet have always been famed for their mastery of high complications, to this end, the ‘Royal Oak Concept’ series provides a perfect platform from which AP’s master watchmakers can test not only the limits of their technical and mechanical prowess, but also to explore avant-garde design combined with state of the art materials, some entirely new to watchmaking. Indeed, the present limited edition Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon is the culmination of the work of an entire team of watchmakers and designers and brought to life with the astounding skills of the very best master watchmakers.
The reference 26588IO.OO.D067CA.01 Tourbillon GMT is housed in a robust titanium case with a ceramic bezel, this Concept piece presents a bold avant-garde image yet retains its unmistakeable Royal Oak DNA. The ingeniously designed architecture of the case and movement is a masterwork of AP’s single concept philosophy, displaying the multi-layered movement to maximum advantage. The hand-wound caliber 2913 movement features a tourbillon visible at 9 o’clock, central bridge made of ceramic and parallel twin barrels providing ten days or 237 hours of power reserve. The GMT second-time zone indication at 3 o’clock is advanced by the pusher in the band. A crown position indicator is at 6 o’clock.
Undeniably a most exclusive statement piece, this limited edition Royal Oak Concept is a major prize for the collector who appreciates AP’s use of exceptional materials and complex functionality presented with world-class design.
The Royal Oak Concept
The wristwatches of Audemars Piguet’s ‘Royal Oak Concept’ series are fiercely contemporary watchmaking masterpieces that have captivated collectors for almost two decades. The ‘Concept’ watches were devised as a conduit to showcase not only AP’s famed command of complications, but also a desire to experiment with materials and design that is usually the preserve of the independent watchmaker.
Audemars Piguet is one of the triumvirate of great Swiss watch houses who, along with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, unrelentingly strive for both excellence and new innovation in watchmaking. Inspired by the idea of the ‘concept car’ used by car manufacturers to showcase new styling and technology, the watches Audemars Piguet have produced under the umbrella of the ‘Royal Oak Concept’ name have enabled the company to ingeniously bring into small-scale production a parallel ‘Royal Oak’ model endowed with radical cutting-edge innovations that not only greatly enhances the image and reputation of the brand, but also at the same time preserves the integrity of the original ‘Royal Oak’ range so beloved by AP purists. Audemars Piguet have always been famed for their mastery of high complications, to this end, the ‘Royal Oak Concept’ series provides a perfect platform from which AP’s master watchmakers can test not only the limits of their technical and mechanical prowess, but also to explore avant-garde design combined with state of the art materials, some entirely new to watchmaking. Indeed, the present limited edition Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon is the culmination of the work of an entire team of watchmakers and designers and brought to life with the astounding skills of the very best master watchmakers.