Audemars Piguet: Royal Oak Offshore and Lady Royal Oak baguette-cut diamonds
Two interpretations of the famous Royal Oak entirely dedicated to diamonds: such is the amazing challenge to which Audemars Piguet has risen in creating this exceptional pair of watches. A resolutely elegant Royal Oak Offshore for him; and an exquisitely graceful Lady Royal Oak for her. Entirely clothed in diamonds, they form a sparkling couple radiating an inimitably precious charm.
Simply diamonds
An octagonal bezel secured with eight hexagonal screws, an elaborately designed supple bracelet that holds the case firmly while ensuring complete freedom of wrist movements: the fundamentals of the Royal Oak are all there. Yet the entire watch including the crown and push-piece guards for the mens model is clothed in dazzling radiance. The perfection of the diamond magnificently exalts this design that has become a watchmaking legend.
Transparency and purity
To create these watches, the master-jewellers of Le Brassus select only the purest completely colourless diamonds. No flaw is perceptible even under a loupe magnifying the diamond ten times. The lapidaries then craft them one by one, shaping a customised baguette cut while achieving proportions that enable an ideal reflection of the light and impeccable brilliance.
The stones are meticulously prepared in order to achieve a paving that entirely covers the gold surface beneath. Two grooves are hollowed in the lower part of the gem, also known as the lower girdle facet, and serve to press the stone into its recess, snuggled right up against its neighbour without even the tiniest glimmer of gold in sight. The result is a sparkling surface that creates the impression that the watch has been literally carved in diamond.
These operations required the development of extremely efficient technologies and production procedures, particularly as far as setting the bracelet is concerned. Designed according to a staggering, tapered line composed of seven different sizes, the latter features alternating links and intermediate pins. To ensure that this complex structure remains extremely supple and comfortable, each stone is cut to the nearest 1/100th of a millimetre according to detailed plans stemming from close cooperation between the technical department and the gem-setting workshop. The stones positioned between the pins deserve particular attention, since they have been given a concave cut specially designed to comply with the aesthetic codes of the Royal Oak bracelet.
The mens model houses a selfwinding calibre, while the Lady Royal Oak baguette-cut diamonds is equipped with a quartz movement. Both are made exclusively to order.
http://www.worldtempus.com/wt/2/11615/6417
20.11.2007, 19:12
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