Loyal Audemars Piguet fans would not have missed the rather exciting novelties during the maison’s first semester. Other than the new sand gold and camouflage ceramic material, the collaboration with John Mayer of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, in white gold with a very special textured blue dial, there is also this reference 16204, now also available in white gold. The original reference 16204, or the Royal Oak Extra Thin Openworked, came about two years ago in the 50th anniversary collection of the Royal Oak, when it was presented then in stainless steel or pink gold. 

The aesthetic of this new white gold reference is arguably more coherent compared to the previous variants, with the mainplate in anthracite and keeping the gears in the shade of silver, unifying the overall tone of the movement with a monochromatic look. The hour markers are also in white gold now to match. In a way, the subtle touches put the true essence of the watch, namely the movement finishing, in the spotlight.

While the 16204 at large is a skeletonised Royal Oak Jumbo, bearing the same 39mm x 8.1mm dimension, the calibre 7124 is derived from the 7121 employed in the reference 16202, both consisting of 268 components. The differentiation comes through plates and bridges that are first hollowed out with CNC machines, followed by a laborious polishing process, entirely by hand, to give every edge and corner a clean and slick chamfer. The finishing quality of a movement has long been a very keen focus for collectors and enthusiasts, especially so within the world of high horology, and on top of surface finishing such as perlage, Geneva stripes, and black polish, the chamfering around the edge of the components, even the counter-sink around the screws, rubies and chatons are additional details and workmanship that shows off the demanding focus and skills of watchmakers. 

Delving further into the topic of finishing, chamfering is categorised into exterior angles and interior angles, of which interior angles are especially demanding for how the vertex, where the two chamfering surfaces meet, is hard to reach even with the right tools; then there is also the balance of the angle on the vertex and the consistency of the polishing quality between surfaces, all with a finite amount of material to work with. Of no specific functionality but pure pleasure to the eyes, Audemars Piguet confidently designed the calibre 7124 with an abundant amount of 247 interior angles to show off the maison’s capability.

As mentioned above this reference is presented in white gold, giving it a rather satisfying heft to pair with the level of finishing on the movement. It is stealthy, still, as the maison opts for a colder hue for the alloy, unlike most commonly used white gold which has a generally warmer slight tint. It becomes especially noticeable around the bezel for the contrast against the (decorative) screws, and the components within the open-worked movement.

Given the laborious finishing process, one could expect the production of this reference to be on the lower side despite not being specified as a limited edition, and there is little doubt that it will be highly sought after, just as the 50th anniversary examples were and continue to be.