As the women’s Royal Oak celebrates its 40th anniversary, Audemars Piguet unveiled the new Royal Oak Frosted Gold ref. 15454OR.GG.1259OR.01 in 18K rose gold and the ref. 15454BC.GG.1259BC.01 in 18K white gold at a very exclusive event at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence on November 9th, 2016. A shining reinvention of an iconic design, this contemporary timepiece has been created in collaboration with Florentine jewellery designer, Carolina Bucci.
Audemars Piguet celebrated the unveiling with a gala dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in the presence of actress and brand ambassador Freida Pinto, jewellery designer Carolina Bucci and watch designer Jacqueline Dimier, who created the first Royal Oak for women in 1976. Jasmine Audemars, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Audemars Piguet and François-Henry Bennahmias, Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the 200 guests with a dinner imagined by local Chef Annie Féolde. The evening ended with a showcase concert by Brocken Back, sending guests off in the crisp Florentine night.
The launch of the Royal Oak Frosted Gold enriches Audemars Piguet’s tradition of experimenting with jewellery techniques. Its defining feature resides in its shimmering sparkle, which comes from a surface treatment process rooted in an ancient gold hammering technique, also called the Florentine technique. Carolina Bucci has reinterpreted this technique in jewellery design today while Audemars Piguet’s experts developed it into a horological craft suited to the unique case and bracelet construction of the Royal Oak.
The main challenge for Audemars Piguet’s craftsmen was to apply this surface treatment technique across the case and bracelet of the watch without altering the clean lines that define the Royal Oak’s form. It took months of trial and error between Bucci’s Florentine craftsmen and Audemars Piguet’s manufacture to alter the surface of the gold in such a way that it sparkles when catching the light, while retaining the softness and flexibility of the Royal Oak’s bracelet. It is a very delicate alchemy to operate: nothing is added, nothing is removed, but the watch is transformed.
Marking the 40th anniversary of a 1970s house icon, the launch of the Royal Oak Frosted Gold celebrates Jacqueline Dimier’s initial creation from 1976. As one of the very few female watch designers of the modern era, Jacqueline Dimier shaped the nature of many Audemars Piguet timepieces for both men and women, establishing a lasting design language that still resonates in the Le Brassus manufacture today.
Jasmine Audemars said: “Although Carolina and Jacqueline are decades and cultures apart, Carolina’s vision today met Jacqueline’s in more than one way, giving the Royal Oak an appeal that captures the attention from a distance while retaining the key design codes of the original piece. With this in mind, I would like to thank them both for their talented work.”
Today Audemars Piguet merges Jacqueline Dimier’s timeless design with Carolina Bucci’s contemporary approach, marking a dazzling link between modern horology and contemporary jewellery: the Royal Oak Frosted Gold, when a watch icon turns 40 years young. Contemporary of designer Gérald Genta, Jacqueline Dimier remains one of the only named female watch designers of the modern era. Dimier joined Audemars Piguet in 1975 and was appointed in-house head of design shortly after. Among other missions, she successfully developed the Manufacture's designs, including the Royal Oak, into timepieces in tune with women’s changing tastes. She continued creating and developing iconic watches for Audemars Piguet until 1999. In her words: “I am very happy to participate in this launch. The Royal Oak collection is a timepiece that meets women’s taste today like it did yesterday, and it will continue to do so tomorrow. It’s timeless and the Royal Oak Frosted Gold is the latest chapter in this ongoing story.”
Unfortunately at the time we received this press release no information was provided regarding technical specs for the watch, therefore, we do not have official information in terms of case size, regardless, our best guess is that this watch might be 37 mm in diameter.
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