Simply Abu Dhabi XXIX

2 0 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T here is a sadly all-too-common misperception that ladies’ watches should be more about the gems, the diamonds and the precious metals, and less about the complexity and micro-engineered beauty of the movement. Audemars Piguet dispense with any doubts and with the Frosted Gold Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked offers both sparkling attraction and a world-class calibre at the heart of the watch. The Double Balance Wheel Openworked was a big hit at SIHH 2016 with its new calibre and a hand-finished, openworked double balance wheel mechanism. It was a 41mm case in either rose gold or stainless steel, now the case is in white gold and is a more diminutive 37mm. The calibre 3132 has two balance wheels and two hairsprings oscillating together on the same axis, theoretically cancelling out each other’s rate errors and resulting in a timepiece that is more accurate. The frosting on the white gold and on the integrated Royal Oak bracelet is thanks to a collaboration with Florentine jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. The historical technique, known as the Florentine method, involves making thousands of tiny indentations in order to make the gold shimmer and sparkle. The 18-carat white gold Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Frosted Gold Openworked is priced at $76,000. There is also a rose gold version with a case that is not frosted priced at $68,500. This gorgeous ladies’ timepiece is a powerful alliance of aesthetics, precision and balance—all brought together in the patented geometry of the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked. The 3132 mechanism is visible from both sides of the watch, refreshingly placing the complex movement front and centre for the eyes of the customer. Audemars Piguet Frosted Gold Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked