Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Black Ceramic Perpetual Calendar 26579CE.OO.1225CE.01
Released in 1972 and designed by Gerald Genta, watchmaking's most famous designer, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was the first stainless steel luxury sports watch ever to exist. Released as a tactic to survive the quartz crisis, the Royal Oak can single-handedly be thanked for AP's existence today due to its astounding success, albeit it wasn't an overnight hit. Its sizeable tonneau-shaped case, signature integrated bracelet, octagonal bezel, exposed screws, and steel construction failed to win over collectors until a few years later. Today, the Royal Oak is one of the most highly-coveted timepieces in all horology as its previously dismissed design details have permeated across the industry and into watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Vacheron Constantin Overseas, Rolex Oysterquartz, amongst many other legendary timepieces. Arguably one of the Royal Oak’s most significant modern achievements came in 2017 when AP launched the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Black Ceramic ref. 26579CE. While the Royal Oak has had perpetual calendar variants as part of its family since 1984, the ref. 26579CE was notable for its all-black ceramic construction. While this might seem rather pedestrian now given how commonplace ceramic watches are today, 2017 was another story and ceramic watches were far from the norm. And, the Royal Oak is not like most other watches. Instead, the Royal Oak features one of the most intricate physical constructions in all of watchmaking with its detail integrated bracelet and octagonal case posing quite the challenge for AP to produce in ceramic and polish to the standard they have managed to achieve due to just how hard and scratch-resistant ceramic is, which also means the ref. 26579CE is virtually scratchproof on top its other main benefit; how light it is. Powered by the incredible cal. 5134 movement and featuring a slate gray dial to match its sleek black construction with black subdials, the ref. 26579CE is perhaps one of AP’s most visually distinctive, aesthetically cohesive and horologically impressive offerings ever; the ultimate trifecta of watch design. In keeping with its sleek blacked-out aesthetic, the ref. 26579CE features a slate gray dial with a black periphery and subdials alongside the Royal Oak's signature 'Grande Tapisserie'. While measuring in at 41mm, the ref. 26579CE wears incredibly light on the wrist thanks to its ceramic construction, which also lends it a timelessly sleek aesthetic. This reading was taken (crown down) with a ONEOF Accuracy Boutique Edition timing machine at time of cataloging. It is provided as a courtesy only, and shall not be construed as a warranty or guarantee of any kind. Please refer to our terms and conditions of sale for more information.
