Released in 2017, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 44 ref. 26400IO.OO.A004CA.01 in titanium quickly became one of the hottest watches amongst AP lovers and without a doubt our favorite iteration of the Royal Oak Offshore 44 line. Fitted with a larger and more robust case than the original Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph line, the AP ROO Chrono ref. 26400IO measures 44 mm in diameter and 14.12 mm in thickness. Fitted with a titanium case and black ceramic bezel, this relatively newish reference brings to the 44 mm collection the only metal that was missing.
Things You Need to Know
Fitted with a slate grey dial with Méga Tapisserie pattern, rhodium-toned counters, white gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating and slate grey inner bezel, in real life, the color of the dial is almost identical to the anthracite dial on the full ceramic Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm released a couple of years ago.
The Ceramic Bezel, Pushers & Crown
Equipped with black ceramic bezel, pushers and crown, the ceramic allows for a more careless and worry-free wear of the watch, especially considering that AP bezels are the biggest scratch magnets. The finish of the ceramic bezel is simply impressive with a nice grain that mirrors the satin-brushed finish on the metal bezels of all other Royal Oaks and Royal Oak Offshores.
The Strap
The watch is delivered on a grey rubber strap with titanium pin buckle. Now regarding the color of the strap, the hue of grey seems to have a little bit of brownish in it, this is perhaps the only thing we would've changed about this match and have a lighter true grey strap matching the exact hue of the dial.
The Movement
Powered by the same Audemars Piguet calibre 3126/3840 with 59 jewels and 365 parts that powers all other Royal Oak Offshore Chronographs including the 42 mm models, the movement is fully visible via the display case back. While this is not an in-house calibre, the movement is quite robust and reliable with slightly jerking on the seconds hand when the chronograph is activated. This automatic movement features a partially skeletonized galvanic coated oscillating weight and provides a power reserve of 60 hours when fully wound.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44mm in titanium and ceramic ref. 2640OIO.OO.A004CA.01 wears exactly like all other 44 mm Royal Oak Offshores but much lighter and quite comfortably. Slightly reminiscent of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Schumacher in titanium with its grey scheme, the 44 mm Titanium Offshore is right on the money.
Sticker Price $30,400 USD. For more info on Audemars Piguet click here.
