Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore now flaunt the house’s signature deep blue in ceramic

While inspiration comes in many shapes and forms, Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet only had to look up to the sky for its newest creations. Inspired by the deep blue of the Vallee de Joux’s night sky, known as “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50”, the brand has infused this alluring shade into its innovative ceramic.

First developed in 1972, “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” now finds a new expression in three models from the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore collections. More than just any hue, it represents an ode to horologists throughout history. Astronomical observations provided the foundation in their quest for precision, and the clarity of Vallee de Joux’s endless blue yonder was what kept generations of watchmakers going since the 18th century, fostering the creation of some of the world’s most prestigious complications.

In Audemars Piguet’s universe, this colour has an iconic place. Gerald Genta, who created the Royal Oak, used it for the dial of the first model 5402. At the time, Geneva-based dial-maker Stern developed it by adding black pigment no. 50 to a protective varnish called Zapon, resulting in a chemical reaction that produced a cloud effect. Recreating this blue for watch dials then was a complex process, as the shade would vary depending on the duration and temperature of the galvanic bath.

Today, the brand’s “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” dials are made using a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) process to ensure a homogeneous colour. However, what sets these three new Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore models apart is also their ceramic case and bracelet construction in the same hue. This new ceramic shade joins the black, electric blue, green and brown varieties already available in the existing collections.

This highly technical process required several years of development to guarantee consistency throughout the watch and to ensure it is reproducible. Every component has to undergo numerous stages including machining, sintering, and hand-finishing with extreme care and dexterity. The depth of colour is further accentuated by the alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces to create amazing plays of light that highlight the watches’ architecture.

Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked

Entirely dressed in “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” ceramic, this 41mm monochromatic masterpiece gives pride of place to the rhodium-toned openworked movement on the dial, creating a visual contrast with pink gold hands and hour-markers. The self-winding Calibre 3132 features the double balance wheel mechanism patented by Audemars Piguet in 2016, offering enhanced precision and stability. Visible from the front and caseback, it reveals the watch’s beating heart, while the openworked bridges showcase some gear train components.

Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph

Presenting a sportier monochromatic aesthetic, this 42mm creation flaunts ceramic components in the “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” hue of the inner bezel, mega tapisserie dial, and chronograph counters. Providing a subtle contrast are eight stainless steel hexagonal screws on the bezel, as well as the titanium crown chip and caseback. Luminescent white gold hands and hour-markers make timekeeping highly legible, as do the chronograph indications in the collection’s emblematic vertical alignment, tachymeter scale, and date indication in white against blue.

Beating to the Calibre 4404, an integrated selfwinding chronograph movement with a column wheel and flyback function, it also features a pink gold oscillating weight and of course, a ceramic bracelet.

Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph Automatique

Boasting a two-toned design, this 43mm piece combines stainless steel with “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” ceramic on the bezel, push pieces, and crown, whose powerful colour contrast extends to the dial. The mega tapisserie pattern in the signature blue imbues a distinctiveness to the robust silhouette, which is punctuated by white gold hands and hour-markers filled with luminescent material. Also endowed with clear legibility are the chronograph indications and tachymeter scale printed in white, while the three counters are rendered in a lighter blue.

It is powered by the self-winding Calibre 4401 flyback chronograph movement, whose refined decorations and pink gold oscillating weight are paraded through the caseback’s sapphire crystal. Its textured calfskin leather strap matching the ceramic’s hue can also be easily swapped with an additional blue rubber strap, thanks to an interchangeable system.