Audemars Piguet debuts Royal Oak Frosted Gold
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the women’s Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet – in collaboration with Florentine jewellery designer, Carolina Bucci – unveils the Frosted Gold
A shining reinvention of an iconic design, this contemporary timepiece – available in both white gold and pink gold – has been created by the Le Brassus Manufacture to honour the style and character of the female designers who have contributed to the Royal Oak legacy: from Jacqueline Dimier who reinterpreted Gérald Genta’s initial 1972 model and imagined the first Royal Oak for women in 1976, to Carolina Bucci today.
The launch of the Frosted Gold enriches Audemars Piguet’s tradition of experimenting with jewellery techniques.
The defining feature of the Royal Oak Frosted Gold is its shimmering sparkle, derived from a surface treatment process rooted in an ancient gold-hammering method called the Florentine technique.
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 link between the tactile quality of the Florentine finish and the unique brushed and polished work of the Royal Oak’s case and bracelet – a defining detail of this iconic design – triggered the idea of a collaboration between the two parties.
The Florentine finish has been used in Bucci’s workshops for decades, mostly on smaller pieces. By beating the gold with a diamond-tipped tool, tiny indentations are created on the surface that give a sparkle effect similar to that of precious stones, like diamond dust. In recent years, Bucci has been using this effect in a bolder way on large cuffs and pendants, highlighting the finish more than any other part of the design.
The challenge for Audemars Piguet’s craftsmen was to apply this surface-treatment technique across the case and bracelet of the watch without altering the Royal Oak’s clean lines. The original gradating bracelet construction also demanded that the order in which the rest of the finishing (polishing and satin finish) is executed be reconsidered.
It took months for 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, and yet retain the softness and flexibility of the Royal Oak’s bracelet; a very delicate alchemy to achieve, where nothing is added or removed, but the watch is transformed.
Marking the 40th anniversary of a 1970s house icon, the launch of the Royal Oak Frosted Gold underlines the brand’s dedication to an independent view, while celebrating Jacqueline Dimier’s initial creation. As one of the very few female watch designers of the modern era, 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.
Today the marque merges Dimier’s timeless design with Bucci’s contemporary approach, marking a dazzling link between modern horology and contemporary jewellery in its Frosted Gold.
