Audemars Piguet Unveils the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in Titanium
The current generation Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar has become the favourite platform for national or regional editions, with Audemars Piguet (AP), having debuted almost ten different versions over the last few years, including limited runs for China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. And the brand has just taken the covers off a special edition for the American market (at least initially, with other countries getting a shot at the watch later on): the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm in titanium with an unusual, two-tone tapisserie guilloche dial in grey and blue. Initial thoughts The blue tapisserie dial is so familiar that the new Perpetual Calendar doesn’t seem new on its face. In fact, it might pass for the steel version with a blue dial, with only the grey sub-dials setting the two apart. That said, the latest Royal Oak perpetual is a good-looking watch, with a handsome, restrained style and colours that echo the original “Jumbo” ref. 5402. Traditionally, Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars have sub-dials that match the dial, but contrasting calendar registers actually makes sense since they distinguish between the functions. The two-tone dial on the latest model does that, while adding visual contrast. At the distance the two colours might not be obvious, but they will certainly be apparent up close. The hands and markers are white gold In addition to the contrasting sub-dials, the case metal is also relatively uncommon for a Royal Oak – the very first Royal Oak Perpe...