Audemars Piguet Gives Royal Oak A Luxe White Gold Treatment

The legendary sport watch gets an elegant upgrade in its largest size for its 50th anniversary.

As the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak‘s Golden Anniversary year comes to a close, the legendary luxury watch is aptly receiving a limited-edition white gold treatment with rich purple detailing.

The original Royal Oak debuted 50 years ago in 1972 as the world’s first truly top-shelf steel sports watch, complete with the then-thinnest self-winding movement featuring date indication.

It’s since become a must-have in any serious upscale watch collection, and while any of the 500-plus Royal Oak iterations will do, the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 26598BC.ZZ.1220BC.01 spotted by Hypebeast is a gem of the current generation.

The 41mm case, the largest standard Royal Oak size, is rendered in 18K white gold, with its quintessential octagonal bezel set with 32 baguette-cut diamonds.

Beneath the glare-proofed sapphire crystal is Audemars Piguet’s classic Grande Tapisserie arrangement of pyramidal squares, colored in a warm graded purple matched to the inner bezel. The hour markers and hands are also rendered in white gold and and topped with luminescent coating.

Power comes from Audemars Piguet’s Calibre 5134, the same self-winding complication found in the first Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar that debuted in 2015. Day, date, astronomical moonphase, month, leap year, hours and minutes are all displayed across the main dial and four subdials.

Paired with a either a white gold bracelet or black or purple rubber strap, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 26598BC.ZZ.1220BC.01 is available to purchase now via appointment, with pricing available upon request.