The dial on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is one of the most iconic dials in the watch world and there is more than meets the eye to its making and different textures. Audemars Piguet released the Royal Oak in 1972 with a dial featuring a ‘Clous de Paris’ guilloché motif that is referred to by AP as ‘petite tapisserie’. Then in 1993, the Royal Oak Offshore was released with a similar type of tapisserie but there are small nuances between the two and the rest of Royal Oaks and Royal Oak Offshores out there.
Posts tagged #Royal Oak Dual Time 26120
Macros: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore Dials. The Different Types of Tapisseries.
We often run into watchlifestylers that are curious about the differences between the different types of 'tapisseries' on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore dials. While many know their names, few know the difference between them. Now, how does Audemars Piguet create these iconic 'Clous de Paris' guilloché pattern dials?
The brass dial is engraved by a burin —a precision metalwork chisel— that reproduces the motif on a disc attached to the machine, like a pantograph. A pointer rotates across the disc from the periphery to the center. The system is combined with a tool that forms the little lozenges between the pyramidal squares and takes between 20 and 50 minutes, depending on the dial's diameter. It's a delicate operation. A mere skip is all it takes to damage the piece as the slightest impact is as visible as dust on a mirror. Here's a video courtesy of Audemars Piguet showing the work to create one of these iconic dials.
