The Royal Oak Concept line has been Audemars Piguet‘s platform to showcase complex calibers and cutting-edge materials since its debut in 2002. Now for 2024, a new model has joined the collection: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date watch in a material AP is calling Chroma Forged Technology (CFT). To be clear, we’ve seen the Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date before; the innovation here is the material, which is a new colored forged carbon with luminescent pigments.
According to AP, it’s been eight years since it last released a forged carbon watch. In fact, Audemars Piguet was the first brand to introduce forged carbon to watchmaking in 2007. It took five years of development for the in-house R&D team to create the new CFT carbon, which is not only light but also resistant to shocks, heat, and humidity. Plus, CFT’s lower resin content translates to it being not as scratch-prone as traditional forged carbon.
However, the true magic of CFT is that it allows the carbon fibers to be colored directly (rather than coloring the resin), and they can be arranged as needed, unlocking a slate of artistic options. The carbon fibers are first cut into small pieces, colored with pigments, placed in a mold, and completed with resin. These operations are repeated to build layers (like a lasagna), everything is compressed to push out any air bubbles, and then cured under pressure for ten hours to produce a color-patterned carbon block that will then be machined for six to eight hours. As expected, Audemars Piguet has patented the Chroma Forged Technology manufacturing process.
The CFT carbon case of the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date watch, which measures 43mm in diameter and a meaty 17.4mm thick, includes blue luminescent pigments weaving through the material. That’s right, the case’s fibers glow in the dark — a pretty cool effect that reminds me of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. Topping the case is a black ceramic bezel, octagonal of course, and finished, as always, in a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. The crown, caseback, and push-pieces are also crafted from black ceramic. The design language of the Concept models is a futuristic take on the classic Royal Oak — curvier in silhouette to follow the shape of a wrist but angular in execution thanks to all the faceted details.
Emphasizing the blue streaks of the case are the electric blue details of the open-worked dial, namely the three subdial rings, the inner tachymeter bezel, and the tips of some of the multitude of hands. Like its predecessor, this new iteration combines a flyback chronograph, split-seconds chronograph, GMT, large date, hours, minutes, and small seconds. The large date is positioned at 12 o’clock with stencil numerals while the GMT subdial is at 3 o’clock, complete with a day/night indicator; it’s adjusted by pressing the crown’s coaxial push-piece to advance the hand by one hour.
On the opposite side of the case at 9 o’clock is another push-piece to either stop the split-seconds hand when necessary or to make it catch up with the running chronograph hand. The split-seconds wheel and two actuating clamps are visible through the display caseback, right at the center of the platinum oscillating weight, positioned under an X-shaped bridge holding them in place. The movement that makes all these functions possible is the Caliber 4407, which debuted in 2023 and is based on AP’s new-generation flyback chronograph movement from 2019. The 638-component self-winding movement operates at 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz) and supplies a minimum of 70 hours of power reserve.
The other blue component is the blue rubber strap with black details, furnished with a titanium folding clasp. AP provides an additional black rubber strap with blue details, which can be easily swapped out via the interchangeability system.
No surprises here, but the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date is exceedingly expensive; it will retail for $206,800 USD. Is that too much? With watch prices being where they are these days, I have no clue anymore. But what I do know is that the new material is pretty badass and the watch’s mechanics are no slouches either. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
