revered icon
In 2022, the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak will be celebrated and for this, the firm launches with an automatic flying tourbillon.
It was 1972 when Audemars Piguet launched a steel watch with an integrated bracelet, a design by Gérald Genta, who was inspired by the divers’ helmets of the time to incorporate the distinctive octagonal shape of this piece. Thus, it quickly became an icon that turns 50 today, which the firm from Le Brassus celebrates with a technical prodigy: the Royal Oak Extra-Flat Automatic Volante Tourbillon.
This piece maintains the level of innovations to which manufacturing has accustomed us. Let’s start with the caliber 2968 that offers 3.4 mm of thickness, thus, between caliber and case the total is 8.1 mm, which, without a doubt, makes this piece very thin. The first challenge was to reduce the caliber, as it was intended for jumbo models. The architecture of the mechanism had to be completely redesigned and some of its components were relocated. In addition, the tourbillon cage was made lighter and made of titanium.
This new piece maintains the aesthetic codes of its predecessors with its octagonal case and integrated steel bracelet, accompanied by the recognizable Petite Tapisserie dial in Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50, which reminds us of the original Royal Oak.
responsible steel
New colors dress the Panerai Submersible collection, among them, Verde Smeraldo stands out, which is also accompanied by recycled steel.
For some years now, the Italian house Panerai has set out to reduce the environmental impact of the watch industry and, therefore, in 2021 it was the first to launch a watch with 98.6% of its components made from recycled materials. The concept watch was called eLab-ID, which also featured a new material: Eco Titanium. This timepiece was the turning point for the firm led by Jean-Marc Pountré to later launch the first Luminor in eSteel, a material created with a high percentage of recycled steel -52% to be exact–, quite a feat in favor of the planet.
2022 marks the arrival of a new variant, the Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel Verde Smeraldo, which clearly embodies the Italian flair of the house. It is worth mentioning that eSteel offers the same properties as traditional steel, from chemical behavior to physical structure; Likewise, it retains an enormous resistance to corrosion, which is why it is an ideal material for this submersible watch.
The case of this new Submersible is 44 mm, a generous size so as not to lose detail in the depths, which is accompanied by a recycled green PET strap. The piece has a water resistance of 300 meters and a power reserve of three days.
skinny wherever you look
Piaget’s watchmaking savoir-faire is distinguished by ultra-thin models. Now he presents us with this 2mm thick technical feat.
Before delving into the features of the new Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, it is worth saying that those little white dots represent the position of the stars in La Côte-aux-Fées, the headquarters of the manufacture, on February 7, 2017, the moment when that this ultra-thin watch began to beat.
Piaget’s expertise in ultra-thin pieces has a long history, dating back to the 19th century, when its founder, Georges-Edouard Piaget, created ultra-thin components for other watchmaking brands. This experience allowed, in 1957, to create caliber 9P, which would be the beginning of a long list of records, to which is added the Altiplano Ultimate Concept, which took four years to develop.
The secret is that the firm eliminated the normal construction of a watch, merging the four traditional layers into one. In it, the bridges, the dial and the hands are fused into a single piece, a technical feat that few watchmakers can boast. The case is made of a cobalt alloy and has a dimension of 41 mm. Its interior houses the Piaget caliber 900P-UC, which offers a power reserve of 45 hours, while the platen and dial are finished in slate blue.