50th Anniversary Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph – Reference no. 26240OR

With the holiday season we bring you this special edition sharing, in time for the festivities. I am sure many of my viewers know by now that I’m a huge fan of the Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and it’s original designer Gerald Genta. So it is my pleasure to talk about this timepiece today, the reference number 26240OR representing the 50th anniversary rose gold version of the Royal Oak chronograph with the tappesserie black dial. And a very sincere thank you to a friend that has made this sharing possible, entrusting me with this watch.

To give a brief background and history of the Royal Oak although I believe most watch enthusiast may already be familiar, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, famously is designed by Gerald Genta apparently overnight, when he was asked to design a revolutionary steel luxury sports watch that was ahead of its time, in an attempt to re-establish the brand presence and horology during the quartz crisis. The watches design was at the time inspired by diver helmets with design cues taken from their exposing screws. Although, I doubt anyone would be will to take a Royal Oak to diving at only 50m water resistant. Meanwhile the original design mock up versions were actually sculped in gold that was easier moulded and shape, before the final produced in steel.

For specifications, this watch encases an in-house 4401 automatic chronograph movement with 40jewels and 70hour power reserve,
at 41mm case size, while the lug to lug width is much larger at 51mm,
with an integrated bracket, housed in a 12.4 thick case, packed under a sapphire crystal cover, and featuring a 50th anniversary rotor.

#audemarspiguet #royaloak #chronograph