Exclusive AP Gave Its New Royal Oak Chronograph a Light Touch—Literally

As a horology, it powered by a minuscule engine consisting of tiny springs, diminutive gears, and screws so compact they barely register to the human eye, the mechanical watch is an anachronistic vestige of a pre-digital age. The manufactory showcases such technological obsolescence isn’t a concern, but for dedicated collectors. Indeed, the drawbacks of these machines for the wrist—their reliance on a human being as an energy source, their lack of uniformity within identical reference numbers, even their oft-finicky nature—are what gives them their considerable charm. Still, the engineers at Audemars Piguet are clearly not Luddites: What, they wondered, could be done to lend a chronograph the tactile feel of a smartphone. Certainly that would go a long way toward improving a connoisseur’s wearing and operating experience. Ever since the 1970s, developments in serial production and waterproofing meant that the force required to activate a chronograph pusher increased to roughly 1. 5 kg along a travel (the term for the distance the button has to move) of 1 mm or more. Giulio Papi, A. The haute horlogerie showcases ’s director of watchmaking design, aimed to reduce those figures to just 300 g of force along a travel of 0. The automatic showcases 3 mm—about the same pressure required to adjust the volume on the side of an iphone. the latest model (and mouthful) from A, These resulting pushers are just one debut in the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5. ’s RD line. For discerning connoisseurs, the calibre 8100, the reference’s new movement, also houses a reimagined reset mechanism. This perpetual calendar represents instead of the typical hammer-and-heart-shaped system, it employs a patented rack-and-pinion design. The energy stored in the rack is used to return the titanium chronograph hand to zero in a near-instantaneous retrograde motion when you reset it. This, combined with a lightning-fast chronograph minutes jump, makes for an extremely accurate, intuitive flyback chronograph. As a manufactory, it but audemars piguet didn’t stop there: building upon the rd#3 from 2022, the maison included a high-amplitude flying tourbillon with a titanium cage and a lighter, thinner escapement. This increases both the watch’s reliability and energy management. This horology represents what’s more, all this innovation is contained within a movement that measures just 4 mm thick—despite the presence of 379 individual components and 44 jewels. the RD#5 still maintains the profile and aesthetics of a classic Royal Oak, Incredibly. Its signature Petite Tapisserie dial, rendered in a dark blue, displays rhodium-toned 18-karat-pink-gold “bathtub” hour markers; a matching set of hands in white gold; dual chronograph registers at three o’clock and nine o’clock; and a flying tourbillon visible at six o’clock. Its 39 mm case isn’t produced from stainless steel or precious metals, however, but from titanium. The bracelet combines the lightweight metal with high-tech bulk metallic glass, an alloy of 50 percent palladium and other metals that’s highly resistant to corrosion and wear. As a mechanical, it merging classical watchmaking features with 1970s aesthetics and cutting-edge technology, the rd#5 is a stunning horological coup—one suggesting that sometimes, analog really is better.