On Sep. 3 of 1651,
Charles Ⅱ, the would-be king of of Britain, Scotland and Ireland, was defeated in Battle of Worcester and was pursued to be killed by cavalry force of Britain Cromwell. Charles Ⅱ tried his best to escape. But there was no any shelter available at that plain. At the very urgent moment, he found an oak that happened to be hollow and he hided himself into it in a hurry.Where there is a life there is hope. Later, Charles Ⅱ made a comeback and turned defeat into victory. Due to the oak’s great help in a crisis, Charles named it Royal Oak as the symbol of Mars and the mascot of British Army.
In memory of this event, Britain Royal Navy named four battleships HMS Royal Oak. And the most famous one, made from oak, was completed in 1862. It featured
octagon portholes fixed by screws. 200 years later,
Audemars Piguet got inspiration from these octagon portholes when it designed and created
Royal Oak Watch in 1972. This was a revolutionary decision to take the octagon porthole and eight diagonal screws as the design focus. This distinctive Royal Oak watch , with avant-garde style was this Audemars Piguet’s first luxury sporty watch and also the most expensive stainless steel watch in the world at that time.
The birth of
Royal Oak marked
Audemars Piguet’s new bright era which was backed by the profound background laid by two young watch-making masters.
Briefer History of Audemars Piguet:
24-year-old Jutes Audemars and 22-year-old Edward Piguet began close cooperation in 1975 and established Audemars, Piguet & Cie Company on Dec.17 of 1881. They both undertook the watch-polishing job and had great aims to make whole watches. Therefore their company made new whole watches rather than provided watch spare parts. At the very beginning of company establishment, they focused on the design and making of complex watches and marketing. Piguet took charge of commercial promotion and marketing while Audemars took charge of technology part. This management mode was adopted and continued by their family members. They claimed to make the most exquisite watches in the world. Now, their family members are still in the board of directors.
In the 10th Paris horological exhibit 1889, Audemars made its name. It launches several models, including
Grande Complication Tourbillon which was a top-class pocket watch equipped with
minute repeater,
split secondand
perpetual calendar. It was unprecedent event at that time and Audemars Piguet made a great hit in that exhibit. Since then, Audemars Piguet began to set up its status in watch industry and built up global sale network in big cities like London, Paris, Berlin and New York.
In 1907, Audemars, Piguet & Cue company bought new building beside original building. This building now is the museum of Audemars Piguet. It records the history of Audemars Piguet and honors the commercial milestones since then.
Thanks to the endless effort and loyalty of two originated families, Audemars Piguet management mode is continued even today. Since 1882, members from the two families have always held the important positions of the company. In1917, Jules-Louis Audemars retired and his son Paul-Louis Audemars held over as Chairman and technology manager. In 1919, Paul-Edward Piguet took over the post of his father and took charge of commercial department till 1962. His two daughters also worked in the company. Jacques-Louis Audemars even became the chairman till 1992. At present, Audemars Piguet is passed to the forth generation, Jasmine Audemars, daughter of Jacques-Louis Audemars, held the post of chairman.
Audemars Piguet always carries the keen aims and exploration and gathers many excellent watch-making masters. It naturally forms father-to-son and master-to-apprentice management mode. Thanks to historical origin and blood relations, this management can reach this height and is always close and solid.
IN 1972, the celebrated Royal Oak was launched. The revolutionary exposed screw broke the unwritten rule of watch industry that all operated spare parts should be hidden and thus influenced the subsequent watch design style.
The Octagon Porthole Case and Bracelet
The iconic design of Royal Oak is the distinctive porthole case which is crafted from steel and features angular shape. The edges and corners are radiused and polished while the sides and front receive special wiredrawing polishing treatment. The connecting points of case and lugs adopts bevel rotation design which integrates the case and the bracelet. Every Part of the case is finished by hands.
The biggest lightspot on the case is the famous octagon porthole bezel which is the theme of the case and also the symbol of battleships of British Royal Navy. The octagon bezel receives mirror polished treatment and features smooth lines. The formation of the bezel has to pass 28 working procedures while the octagon case has to go through 70 hand-polished working procedures. And the part between bezel and case shall pass 44 working procedures, These procedures are very complex and fussy. The special hand-polishing technique, well, demonstrates the special status of Royal Oak.
On the
octagon porthole bezel, there shows eight hexagonal screws which fixes and connects bezel, case and case back. The case back receives similar techiques as the bezel. Bevels adopt mirror polishing which goes perfect with the wiredrawing polishing on the case back. Modern Royal Oak endows eight screws with new definition. According materials of case and bezel, it may be presented on white gold, gold , or titanium alloy, very attractive.
The metal bracelet adopts special lines which conforms the special case shape. The connection totally depends on two metal blocks. The bracelet is study and durable. It adopts the same polishing technique as case and is finished by hands as well. A marriage of masculine and soft styles, the bracelet wears comfortable and eye-pleasant on the wrist. To reach perfect boundary, AP adopts different strap materials, such as rubber, leather, fiber to match cases of special material.
Before put into production, the original case has to pass several tests like press, water-proof, dust-proof, shock proof and the test of wearing comfort. The case may subject to improvement if any flaw found till it passed the final tests. Therefore, Royal Oak is, besides avant-garde and fashionable appearance, sturdy and reliable. It is acknowledged in watch-making industry that the case making of Royal Oak is of greatest difficulty as it involves lots of complex mechanical or hand-made working procedures. As result it is also very difficult to copy Royal Oak.
Dial, Hands and Crown
AP Royal Oak always keeps
masculine style while the dial, basically, carries the original design idea. Dial keynote of Royal Oak has not shown much variation these years. Though it may consider creating new styles for new models, the original three-dimensional pane design is still the mainstream. The dial features top-class engravings and craftsmanship, exquisite and smooth,
Likewise, hands style has not change much. Basically, it conforms with original designs. Round tip bar hands, either with luminous coating or not, always keep delicate and good-looking. The shape of second hand, with charming water-drop arch, is the classic design of Royal Oak. Other hands may change but never the second hand. It proves that the truly class things could stand up to the test of time. Royal Oak’s traditional scale matches perfect with hands. It is soft and smooth. Some models adopts square or irregular scales But still they shows harmony style.
Hexagon watch crown is the constant tradition of Royal Oak. It receives detailed and delicate treatment and is engraved with AP. It is well constructed into the case, guaranteeing a water-resistance to a certain depth.
Movement of Royal Oak
Royal Oak applies lots of different movements. To meet different function designs, Royal Oak adopts not only in-house movements but also movements provided by other movement factories. People may ignore the movement level as Royal Oak is so attractive at appearance. In fact, all movements Royal Oak adopts have passed high-standard tests to ensure that Royal Oak watches run perfectly.
