Thirty years old – and looking as contemporary as ever

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Thirty years old – and looking as contemporary as ever

Advertorial for Audemars Piguet in partnership with The Hour Glass

By Michelle Bateman

Time travel may not yet be a possibility but certain artists and visionaries seem to have a portal to the future. How else to explain Audemars Piguet’s then co-CEO Stephen Urquhart registering the name “Offshore” for a new luxury timepiece in 1989, well before a single horological feature was determined or one of the brand’s signature hexagonal screws placed?

According to company lore, the name evolved from a conversation between Urquhart and his German agent Dierk Wettengel, a visionary in his own right, who foresaw that the brand should be refreshed for the 1990s via a connection with adrenaline-charged adventure sports. Chief among them, Wettengel noted, was the new high-speed super yachts that were transforming the world’s coastlines into a heart-pounding adventure wonderland.

The Royal Oak Offshore captures the harder-better-faster-stronger ethos of adventure sports.

The Royal Oak Offshore captures the harder-better-faster-stronger ethos of adventure sports.

The goal, Wettengel and Urquhart mused, would be to capture the harder-better-faster-stronger ethos of adventure sports and distil it into a timepiece that could not only withstand the high-stakes energy of the open seas; it would also remind its wearer of their fast-living alter ego when they were engaged in more pedestrian pursuits. It would be a watch that, in today’s parlance, “activated beast mode”. Fitting then, that when the model finally came to fruition as the Royal Oak Offshore in 1993, it was nicknamed “The Beast”.

Charting a new course

Admittedly, Audemars Piguet had form in the field. In 1972, the Royal Oak broke all moulds by offering a seemingly dichotomous proposition: a true luxury sports watch made from hand-finished steel, not gold, and boasting the most mesmerising mechanicals. It would prove to be a game-changer and played an integral role to returning Swiss-made mechanical watches to pole position, despite the quartz crisis of the 1970s.

In the 50-plus years since the Royal Oak was unveiled, the collection has swelled to include hundreds of iterations, in an array of materials and gemstones. Each one bears the signatures of the original model designed by Gérald Genta, including the octagonal-shaped bezel secured with eight hexagonal screws; the integrated bracelet; and, perhaps most strikingly, the guilloché pattern of the “Tapisserie” dial.

However, Offshore stands out as a model even more audacious than the original Royal Oak. With a 42mm diameter and 14.05mm thickness, it’s oversized and confident, a timepiece that commands absolute attention. As the Offshore designer Emmanuel Guiet once explained: “I enlarged the Royal Oak, magnified the details and made it ultra-virile.”

The approach worked and the Offshore quickly broadened its circle of admirers to include a new generation of high-profile and powerful athletes and personalities, including Shaquille O’Neal and Serena Williams. A Royal Oak Offshore End of Days model, released in 1999 in partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger, cemented the timepiece’s image as one synonymous with sheer muscular energy.

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The message was clear: the Royal Oak Offshore is not a watch to be trifled with.

A force for the future

The 30th anniversary model features a stunning black ceramic case and bezel.

The 30th anniversary model features a stunning black ceramic case and bezel.

Even now, the Offshore continues to inspire awe. To mark the 30th anniversary of this significant timepiece, the manufacturer is launching a range of new models featuring a stunning black ceramic case and bezel. Not only a homage to the first iteration, these designs are originals in their own right.

Light and lustrous, with a glassy surface that’s pleasing to the touch, ceramic is also deceptively hard-working — harder than steel and scratch-resistant, properties that are befitting of a Royal Oak Offshore model.

As a material, ceramic is also incredibly fragile and difficult to work with, imparting a new dimension to the Offshore story, already known for its complicated micro-mechanics and exceptional hand-finishing techniques applied to each and every piece.

One exemplary 30th anniversary model, the 43mm Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph (Ref. 26420CE.OO.A127CR.01) pairs a black ceramic case and bezel with yellow-gold-framed sapphire caseback as well as yellow-gold pushpiece guards, studs, hour-markers, Royal Oak hands and pin buckle. The oversized dimensions extend to the Mega Tapisserie dial and the black interchangeable alligator strap to encircle the wrist (a supplementary black rubber strap ensures versatility).

Additional anniversary timepieces include the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph (Ref. 26238CE.OO.1300CE.01), featuring a black ceramic case, bezel and bracelet, with a titanium sapphire caseback and AP clasp as well as white-gold hexagonal screws securing the bezel onto the case, hour-markers and Royal Oak hands. And a special limited edition Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph (Ref. 26420CE.OO.A005VE.01) pays homage to the 1999 Royal Oak Offshore End of Days model, with its black ceramic case and bezel, titanium pushpiece and caseback, and white-gold hour-markers and Royal Oak hands.

The enduring qualities of the Royal Oak Offshore have stood the test of time and these new iterations are poised to propel it even further into the future.

Discover more about the Royal Oak Offshore 30th Anniversary collection at The Hour Glass, located at 252 Collins St, Melbourne, or dive into the retrospective of the Offshore at AP Chronicles.

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