10 June 2014 | Audemars Piguet , 30 minutes on the wrist , SIHH 2014

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White is the second consecutive timepiece, soon after the Royal Oak Offshore Chrono White, to adopt white ceramics as its main case material. They both reaffirm the design language introduced by the Concept GMT Tourbillon, while we eagerly await to see whether and how it's about to change, in the future, not just the case material, but its case design as well.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White, otherwise referenced as 15707CB.OO.A010CA.01 completes a collection, the Diver, that boasts actually every kind of material: stainless steel, black ceramics, forged carbon and black ceramics, tantalum and rose gold. Where the second material mentioned is what is being used for the bezel making. Among all the versions in the line up this one is most probably the quintessential Royal Oak Diver as the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White is, nonetheless, fit for him and her.

The case is generously sized and measures 42mm, it is quite nice on any wrist thanks to a weight lower than what you would expect with a steel case. Moreover, the lack of the three blue counters when compared to the chrono version, makes the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White a neutral timepiece. But what distinguishes this model from the chrono version, however, with the exception of the chrono complication and the case size?

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White is water resistant to 300 mt., has an inner rotating bezel operated by a crown placed at three o'clock while the winding crown is placed ,as usual, at 3 o'clock. It also has an additional inner case to protect the movement from magnetic fields, a feature that might let you think you are in front of a ISO 6425 compliant wristwatch.

The Diver is powered by the in-house 3120 automatic movement, visible through the case back opening, which is protected by a sapphire crystal, is made up of 280 parts, has a 60 hours power reserve and has the rotor that vibrates at 3Hz. It shares with the chronograph a superior scratch resistance feature ensured by the hardness of white ceramics which is 1850 Vickers, nearly 40% more than the black ceramic case's one, and far more scratch resistant than any 316L made stainless steel case. To make a long story short it is 100% scratch proof.

What joins them in terms of adopted technology is the complexity needed to make such a case from scratch: the carrure is being made in 12 hours versus one and a half needed to make a steel one and the bezel itself needs 8 hours of hard work versus 45 minutes. And, as well, an hestetical feature that needs to be mentioned and proves once again the attention to detailing and product design people at Le Brassus deserve for their timepieces and to a Royal Oak in this case: if you place an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 42mm White alongside a stainless steel version, you will see they both boast, for instance, the same finishing, which is polished on the bezel side and satin-finished on the top.

(Photo credit: Horbiter's proprietary photo shooting )

Gaetano C. @Horbiter - Watches & Luxury

TWITTER @Gaetano Cimmino

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