Trends come and go, and the current horological tide might have once again shifted towards smaller watches, but there are many fans of larger timepieces who aren’t about to trade their 44mm wrist candy for 38mm dress models. One of them is Chef Jason Tan, the acclaimed former head chef of Michelin-starred restaurant Corner House, who bought the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph 44mm in rose gold to celebrate the opening of the restaurant in 2014.

Fans of Audemars Piguet’s sporty, outsize chronograph now have brand new options to consider, with the introduction of three additions to the Royal Oak Offshore family. The trio of 44mm chronographs feature updated dial designs, with a smoked gradient finish, and applied, lumed Arabic numerals instead of the usual baton indexes used for the 44mm models.

The dials come in blue, green or grey, with a smoked finish that darkens towards the edges, which gives these aggressively sporty watches a slightly dressier feel. For the blue and green models, ceramic bezels, pushers and screw-locked crowns in matching colours are paired with a black ceramic case. For those who like their sporty watches glamorous, the grey-dialled version features a pink gold bezel and pushpiece guards, and a black ceramic case, pushers and screw-locked crown.

Elsewhere, fans will find familiar details, such as the Mega Tapisserie raised-square motif on the dial, as well as AP’s calibre 3126/3840. The selfwinding movement, which has 50 hours of power reserve, is visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback. And because they are still meant to be rugged, go-anywhere companions, the watches come with rubber straps in matching colours. Find them exclusively at Audemars Piguet boutiques.

Royal Oak Offshore movement

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