With its ultra-contemporary design, the Royal Oak Concept collection has always been a vessel for innovation at AP, and that since its creation in 2002. First with a cobalt-based super-alloy (Alacrite 602), the Audemars Piguet ROC collection has used some of the brand’s most complex movements, daring designs or advanced materials. Now, it’s time for AP to premiere its latest innovation in terms of materials. Following the Chroma Ceramic concept and a camouflage gold alloy known as chroma gold, here’s Chroma Forged Technology (CFT), a brand-new coloured forged carbon with luminescent pigments. And it’s featured in a new version of the impressive Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT.
It’s been eight years since AP hasn’t unveiled a watch in forged carbon. First used by the brand in 2007 (and back then a first for the industry), forged carbon differs from conventional carbon, which relies on a classic woven pattern. With forged carbon, shorter strands of carbon are randomly placed in the resin, giving optimum torsional strength in all directions and explaining why this material was previously used for helicopter rotor blades. This material was first seen on the Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team Chronograph 26062FS. Today, the Le Brassus-based manufacture brings back this high-tech and bold-looking material, yet with some novel properties, by creating the Chroma Forged Technology (CFT). Developed in-house and protected by a patent, the main difference with classic forged carbon is the ability of CFT to colour the carbon fibres directly instead of the resin and arrange them as desired in the component produced, opening up new design possibilities.
For CFT, carbon fibres are first cut into small pieces and coloured with pigments – a multitude of colours is possible. The coloured carbon pieces are then manually placed in a mould according to the intended design and completed with resin. This process is repeated to build several layers. The content of the mould is then compressed to obtain a block free of air bubbles. Finally, the mixture is placed in an autoclave to be cured under pressure and the carbon block is then machined to create the final component.
For its first model using this novel Chroma Forged Technology, Audemars Piguet brings out the big guns, not only by colouring the forged carbon in bright blue but also by adding luminescent pigments and housing all of that in one of its most impressive watches, the Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT. The result is a 43mm two-tone, black-and-blue case with the classic ROC design, complemented by a black ceramic bezel, crown, caseback and push-pieces. Sandblasted titanium guards on each side finish this high-tech, avantgarde-looking case. And as mentioned, the CFT compound has been filled with lumed pigments, revealing yet another personality at night.
The same black-and-blue theme can be found on the openworked dial, cut from a single sandblasted nickel silver plate, finished with black PVD and decorated with diamond-polished rhodium-toned bevels. The technical look is enhanced by the blue sub-counters and the absence of a logo. SLN has been used on the hands but also the large date and the GMT function. Complementing the two-tone case and dial, the rubber strap has the same duality of colours. It’s equipped with a quick interchangeability system, and an additional black/blue strap is also included.
Mechanically speaking, no differences are to be noted between this forged carbon Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT and the titanium edition of last year. The same in-house calibre 4407 beats inside, and it is based on the integrated flyback chronograph movement 4401 that debuted in the Code 11.59 collection in 2019. It has a column wheel and a vertical clutch system, along with the proprietary zero-reset mechanism. The rattrapante mechanism is integrated within the thickness of the ball bearing for the semi-peripheral rotor. In addition to the split-second chronograph, this calibre 4407 also includes a practical GMT function (adjusted by the pusher within the crown) and a large date with two oversized discs.
The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date Chroma Forged Technology (ref. 26650FO) is released as part of the permanent collection. Price is upon request – for reference, the titanium edition was priced at CHF 170,000 (excl. taxes). For more details, please visit www.audemarspiguet.com.
