SIHH 2015: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD#1 (Updated with Live Photo) Written byMark BernardoJanuary 20, 2015 As it did last year, Audemars Piguet presented a new Royal Oak Concept watch at the 2015 SIHH watch fair. This year’s model is truly a milestone: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD#1 (formerly nicknamed “Acoustic Research”) — which I saw, and heard, in person today — is a unique prototype piece that is the result of an eight-year program to develop the “perfect” minute repeater sound volume. To develop the Royal Oak Concept RD#1 timepiece, Audemars Piguet partnered with the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), a Swiss organization dedicated to the study of acoustics. The result of their intensive sound research program is, according to AP, “the first chiming watch so acoustically considered as to become a sound concept in its own right.” By applying the principles of stringed instrument making to the development of the watch’s chiming mechanism, the brand has created a repeater watch with a significantly enhanced sound transmission. One of the challenges the designers had to overcome was the natural volume-dampening effect of the water-resistant titanium case. The solution was a brand-new, almost silent striking mechanism regulator built into the movement, which also incorporates — in addition to the revolutionary repeater — a column-wheel chronograph and a tourbillon. AP says that the volume, pitch, tones and sound harmony are all scientifically enhanced, and that the chimes have an enhanced sound intensity. The watch is still water-resistant, albeit to a relatively modest 20 meters. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept RD#1 has a 44-mm-diameter titanium case, bezel, and chronograph pushers. It has a black dial and luminescent-coated hands in the Royal Oak Concept style. The chronograph function has a central sweep seconds hand and a linear, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock; the tourbillon is at 6 o’clock. The manual-wind movement has a frequency of 21,600 vph (3 Hz) and stores a power reserve of 48 hours. Below you’ll find a photo of the Royal Oak Concept that I snapped today at SIHH.
Radu December 5, 2014 Wow, it’s like they’re trying to make these watches as unappealing as possible. Reply
Wow, it’s like they’re trying to make these watches as unappealing as possible.