Swiss luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet presents two new 42 mm Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie versions in black ceramic. Offering a sleek look offset with refined white gold and titanium details, these new timepieces also incorporate a full black ceramic caseback – a first at Audemars Piguet.
This specially designed caseback incorporates a numbers of apertures on the side for amplifying the minute repeater’s sound when the watch is worn. Lastly, the caseback have been engraved with sonic waves in tribute to the incredible acoustic performance granted by the Supersonnerie mechanism.
Measuring 42mm in diameter, the black ceramic case made from Zirconium Oxide powder (ZrO2), highlights the Manufacture’s trademark alternation of satin brushing and polished chamfers.
Both versions have black Grand Tapisserie dials with their minute train and small seconds counter at 6 o’clock decorated with a snailing finishing.
The first variant is complemented with white gold hour-markers filled with luminescent coating, while the second model features 13 baguette-cut diamond hour-markers for a shimmering contrast.
Both models are adorned with white gold Royal Oak hands filled with luminescent coating for optimum legibility. The white gold details illuminating the dial echo the eight white gold hexagonal screws securing the octagonal bezel onto the case.
Each timepiece is completed with a black rubber strap enhanced with titanium studs and a new three-blade AP folding clasp also crafted in titanium.
Powering each Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie watch is the Manufacture’s latest hand-wound minute repeater movement, the patented Calibre 2953, which blends advanced technology with refined traditional finishing. Despite ceramic’s limited sound conductivity, the two timepieces present a remarkable acoustic performance thanks to the Manufacture’s Supersonnerie technology unveiled in 2015.
Developed by Audemars Piguet and launched in the Royal Oak Concept collection, the Supersonnerie mechanism endows the Manufacture’s latest minute repeater models with the volume and resonance usually associated with pocket watches. This patented technology results from eight years of research in collaboration with EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
The exceptional acoustic performance, sound quality and harmonic tone are granted by the patented gongs, case construction and striking regulator developed at the time. One of the main developments regards the case construction: the gongs are not attached to the mainplate, but to a titanium membrane which acts as a soundboard and improves sound transmission.
Paired with a solid caseback featuring small apertures on its side to let air through, the titanium membrane allows the notes of the minute repeater to resonate perfectly when the watch sits on the wrist, regardless of the material(s) used for the watch’s external parts.
Indeed, the acoustics of the Supersonnerie technology is such that Audemars Piguet has been able to house it in a variety of case materials across its collections, from titanium and 950 platinum to 18-carat white and pink gold – each watch offering its own powerful and unique tonality.
This year, the Manufacture has pushed sound experimentation one step further by presenting its very first black ceramic Minute Repeater Supersonnerie models.
Even the casebacks, which play a crucial role in creating a resonance chamber together with the Supersonnerie membrane, are honed from black ceramic. Since this titanium membrane on which the gongs are attached enhances the sound transmission of ceramic, the result is a powerful, crystalline chime.
Technical details
Model: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie Black Ceramic 42 mm
Movement
Hand-wound Calibre 2953
Total diameter 30 mm (13 lignes)
Total thickness 6 mm
Number of jewels 32
Number of parts 362
Minimum power reserve guaranteed 72 h
Frequency of balance wheel 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
Functions
Minute Repeater Supersonnerie, hours, minutes and small seconds
Case
Black ceramic case and caseback
Diameter: 42mm
Case thickness: 14 mm
Glare-proofed sapphire crystal
Screw-locked crown
Water resistant to 20 m
Dial
Reference 26591CE.OO.D002CA.01: Black dial with Grande Tapisserie pattern, white gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating.
26591CE.OO.D002CA.02: Black dial with Grande Tapisserie pattern, 13 baguette-cut diamond applied hour-markers (~ 0.84 carat) and white gold Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating.
Strap
Black rubber strap with titanium studs and titanium AP folding clasp
