Mesmerizing! The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon 26730BC
AP RO Flying Tourbillon 26730BC
I know that as Brits it is our duty to obsess about the weather, so how about this homage to winter in the shape of a gorgeous ice blue and baguette flying tourbillon from AP?
This AP Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon (ref 26370BC) was a special edition piece designed to showcase both technical prowess and old-school gem-setting wizardry, and good grief they’ve played an abolute blinder.
It was initially released in March 2023 as part of a white gold trilogy of Special Editions for the Japanese market before going onto worldwide release in July.
It was launched along with a frosted gold chronograph and a white gold 3-hander.
This is the kind of watch that really needs to be seen as no amount of nifty camerawork can capture just how spectacular this thing is when the light hits it just right.
It’s a 41mm model which wears nice and svelte at 10.7mm thick.
It’s dial is an absolutely gorgeous radiating smoked blue tapisserie which is almost denim around the outer track which graduates into an icy blue towards the centre. The fade is absolutely spot on and the dial texture allows this thing to play with the light like something else.
We’ve seen smoked and radiating dials before from the brand, both on the platinum green jumbo and the titanium verson of the flying tourbillon, so while this isn’t a new thing for the brand, its execution is always absolutely spot on and tends to be reserved for flagship models.
To top off the icy theme, the bezel is set with 32 baguette cut channel set diamonds, some of which have a trapezoidal shape so that they follow the curves of the bezel to perfection.
Baguette cut diamond indices pull your eye toward the dial and the whole shebang works together to create a showstopper.
Carat weight is 2.85 for the bezel and just shy of a quarter carat each for the markers. While there’s no lume on the dial (only reflected diamond light, oh no!) the white gold handset is luminova filled so the still legible in low light.
The watch is made from 18 carat white gold and its a great choice to work with the dial here, as the slightly darker and more subdued characteristic of the metal really allows the dial to take the limelight.
It’s also a reassuringly weighty piece but so well balanced due to sitting broad and low on one of the best “silky” bracelets in the industry.
One of the great things about these AP’s is that apart from being a legacy from the late great Gerald Genta, is that no matter what size you wear, whether its 41mm or 33mm the integrated bracelet is seamless and balances the head just right.
As far as proportion goes, you cannot go wrong with a Royal Oak.
At the business end, the watch is running AP’s latest generation automatic flying tourbillon calibre 2950 with a 65 hour power reserve.
The hallmark of a flying tourbillon is that it doesn't have an upper bridge holding the cage so you get a completely unobstructed view of the complication at work.
Tourbillons, both flying and standard, work to balance and stabilise timekeeping as the constant rotation of the escapement mechanism within its cage ensures that it is experiences a range of positions, so a well regulated tourbillon should reduce positional variations of the escapement which can affect accuracy.
But, to those of us who don’t always worship at the altar of accuracy, it’s a hypnotic gyroscope thats fun to stare at.
All of this pulled together, the dial, the complication, the jewels, and the supremely well engineered 18 carat case and bracelet makes an absolutely brilliant Royal Oak which is high on the favourites list for AP collectors and general lovers of horology.
For once, I have not a single little moan, and I can usually find something even if it’s related to water resitance, which in this case is a relatively respectable 50m.
I love it, and I’d wear it anytime.