Audemars Piguet and John Mayer collaborated to create the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm ref. 26574BC.OO.1220BC. Price oF CHF 150,000
Audemars Piguet and American singer John Mayer collaborated to create a new interpretation of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm, a model that is powered by the Manufacture’s selfwinding Calibre 5134 introduced in 2015.
Limited to 200 pieces, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm "John Mayer" 26574BC is crafted from 18-carat white gold and is distinguished a new “Crystal Sky” dial in sparkling blue hues.
The brass dial plate is finished with a new scintillating pattern developed by Audemars Piguet’s artisans to give life to John Mayer’s vision. The embossed motif is composed of irregular shapes resembling crystals, whose sharp angles and facets add relief and brilliance to the piece. To achieve this level of detail, the stamping die was created atom by atom, through a metal deposition process known as electroforming.
In this process, a metal part is formed or grown atom by atom in an aqueous solution under the influence of an electric current. The metal is deposited onto a mandrel to create the desired part, before the two are finally separated. This metal forming process is often used for the creation of complex shapes with extremely fine detail.
The deep blue shade of the dial was obtained using a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) process, producing a metal vapour that can be deposited on electrically conductive materials as a thin, highly adhered coating.
The textured dial features subdials in a matching blue PVD colour, showcasing the day at 9 o’clock, the month and leap year at 12 o’clock, and the date at 3 o’clock. For visual contrast, the calendar indications are printed in white on the blue outer zones of the subdials, while the weeks are displayed in white on the dial’s blue outer ring.
Readability is excellent thanks to contrasting 18-carat white gold hour-markers and hands filled with luminescent material. To enhance recognizability, the hand indicating the week is painted in light blue.
A notable detail is the number “31” of the date subdial, which is now printed in white instead of red as usual for this model. It is also smaller in size and slightly stepped to distinguish it from the adjacent “1”.
Set against an aventurine background, the laser-microstructured moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock completes the ensemble.
Measuring 41 mm x 9.5 mm, the iconic case is finished with the Manufacture’s typical alternation of satin brushing and polished chamfers, a finish echoed in the integrated bracelet. With a water resistance rating of 2 bars, the watch can withstand light exposure to water such as rain or splashing from handwashing, but is not suitable for immersion in water.
The white gold frame of the sapphire caseback is engraved with “Royal Oak Quantieme Perpetuel” and “Limited Edition of 200 Pieces.”
Measuring just 4.3 mm in thickness, Calibre 5134 has been utilized in numerous perpetual calendar timepieces across the Manufacture’s collection. It automatically adjusts for the varying lengths of months and accurately displays the current date, including leap years. Assuming the watch remains fully wound, manual correction of the date is not necessary until the year 2100, when it will require adjustment to align with the Gregorian calendar. Operating at a frequency of 2.75 Hz (19,800 vibrations/hour), it provides a power reserve of 40 hours.
The rhodium-toned 22-carat pink gold openworked oscillating weight is embellished with a stamped motif recalling the Manufacture’s iconic Tapisserie.
The indicative price of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm "John Mayer", reference 26574BC.OO.1220BC.02, is CHF 150,000. audemarspiguet.com
This Royal Oak is a wonderful Masterpiece. Especially the unique dial!
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