Hands-on Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph black ceramic

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Last year, Audemars Piguet launched three new versions of the ROO in a black ceramic case. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph black ceramic comes with blue, green and gold accents. The models are presented in detailed photos in the gallery at the end of the article. Enjoy!

Launched almost 30 years ago, the Royal Oak Offshore created a new wave of interest for the Royal Oak collection. Released in a neutral 42mm size and steel, the collection grew in a large area of available sizes but also in the range of material used. The latest additions play with the modern black ceramic as a base for the case. The new models brought a new dial concept with brand’s “Mega Tapisserie” pattern in smoked blue, green or grey variations. You can see the variations in the hands-on video below

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph black ceramic

Using high-tech materials and daring colours is not a first for Audemars Piguet. The three new models bring daring colours in a pleasant and fashionable scheme.

Complex black ceramic case

Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph comes in a bold 44m case that combines ceramic and titanium. The case body is crafted in black ceramic that was decorated by brushing with an extra polished chamfering.

The green and the blue versions come with titanium guards. The pushers have a ceramic insert in the bezel colour. The gold version comes with a gold bezel and gold guards with black ceramic inserts.

The classic Royal Oak bezel comes with a vertical brash with mirror polished chamfer. The overall design goes around with sharp lines and with a brushed and matt finishing.

The legendary hexagonal screws hold the entire sandwich construction in place.

Fumee “Mega Tapisserie” dial

We are all well acquainted with the Royal Oak family pattern. On these versions, the dial was decorated with a large pattern with blue, green, and grey degrading tones. Each version brings some subtle but definitory details.

The green and the gold versions have similar gold accents, while the blue version bears rhodium finishes. The blue and the green versions feature a black inner bezel while the gold version features a silver-toned inner bezel.

The chronograph layout imposed by Audemars Piguet calibre AP 3126 / 3840 sets the 12 hours chronograph counter at 6 o’clock. The 30-minutes counter is situated at 9 o’clock. The counters are featured in silver-toned sub-dials with a circular pattern as a background. The chronograph function uses black printed indexes and numerals.

The running seconds keeps the top of the dial balanced with a black sub-dial, also featuring a circular pattern, this time with a white printed register. The 3 o’clock position is reserved for the date aperture fitted with a loupe and the name od the brand, plus the golden hand-applied applied logo.

The watches use baton hands with luminescent insert for the time hands and large applied indexes – eight numerals and five batons (two batons for 12 o’clock). The legibility is very good even if the dial seems a bit crowded due to all the elements and decorations.

A beautiful manufacture movement

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph black ceramic is powered by a familiar movement – Calibre 3126/3840. This movement is a classic choice in the Offshore chronograph section of the collection.

This 365 components movement is an in-house creation with bidirectional self-winding with a monobloc rotor weight in 22-carat gold. It is offering 50 hours of power reserve. The movement is an unexpected slow beater – 3.00 Hz (21,600 vph) regulated by a balance spring with variable inertia blocks. The movement offers a stop balance system for time setting.

Calibre 3126/3840 is beautifully decorated with inverted snailing on bridges, diamond graved beveling, perlage and polished screw heads and sinks.

The 29.92 mm (13¼ Lignes) movement seems a bit small in the large case but it is a charming view. The greyed rotor weight with the AP logo contributes a lot to the spectacularity.

Impressions

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph black ceramic is a nice addition in the collection. As mid-sized (ROO has models starting at 37mm and ending at 45) in the collection, the models presented today bring new combinations of colours. As a novelty, the smoked dial offers an interesting look to a now-classic watch.

The watch is relatively light for its size. The gold version is a bit heavier than the other two but only by a direct comparison on the wrist. The chronograph needs a solid push, having firm springs. The large pushers help to the better distribution of force.

The setting and winding are facile due to the screwed-in crown that protrudes quite a lot from the case body. The only negative point from my side is the sharpness of the crown protection edges. I superficially scratched my fingers at one of the watches because of the well-screwed crown. Otherwise, the handling is nice.