Simply Abu Dhabi XIII

bezel, compared with 45 minutes for steel, calling upon all the savoir-faire of the watchmakers. Similarly, the titaniumused for the case middle and sapphire surround is ultra strong, comfortable to wear and twice as light as steel – advantageous for a watch of such generous 44m proportions – while the inner flange circling the dial is made of lightweight aluminium, hardened by anodisation. This daring cocktail of ceramics and metals is just the latest chapter in Audemars Piguet’s ongoing quest to push the envelope when it comes to materials science – a quest that started over 40 years ago with the Manufacture’s most daring move of all, using steel in a luxury watch for the very first time. A technical tour de force An impressive feat in its own right, the Royal Oak Concept GMTTourbillon’s hand- wound Calibre 2930 features a twin barrel ensuring 10-day power reserve, tourbillon and second time-zone ‘GMT’ display. Its timekeeping is regulated by a 3Hz escapement, rotating inside a tourbillon carriage every 60 seconds, compensating for the effects of the Earth’s gravity when the watch is oriented vertically for any length of time. Amazingly, the tourbillon cage comprises 85 components, yet is only 0.45g in weight. An experienced watchmaker spends three days assembling its components, including two days to install the cage, while the full workings will require over two weeks of work. Each component is then bevelled, polished, assembled and balanced by hand. Audemars Piguet is still one of the few manufactures to have mastered all the intricacies of this complication. Audemars Piguet’s proprietary parallel double barrel system ensures the Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon runs for as many as 10 days before it needs to be manually wound again, generating a constant force during some 237 hours of autonomy, enhancing timekeeping precision. The Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon also features a selection indicator mechanism. According to the position of the winding stem, the hand positioned on the dial at 6 o’clock indicates the function selected. The H(Heure), N (Neutre) and R (Remontage) indications correspond to the three positions of the winding stem, meaning time-setting, neutral and winding respectively. Once again demonstrating Audemars Piguet’s deeply entrenched knowledge of high- tech metals and materials, and taking them to the next level of innovation and aesthetics, the Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon is an avant-garde masterpiece of horology. 9 7 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I