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May 27, 2023

WOTW: Viktor Hovland’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in White Ceramic

Published on By Viktor Hovland made 10 birdies to shoot the course record 61 at Olympia Fields to win the BMW Championship. Hovland fought off some big names on Sunday but walked away with a

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Viktor Hovland made 10 birdies to shoot the course record 61 at Olympia Fields to win the BMW Championship. Hovland fought off some big names on Sunday but walked away with a two-stroke victory over Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick. While celebrating his win, Viktor was wearing a very special, extremely rare Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar on his wrist.

Name: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual CalendarReference: 26579CB.OO.1225CB.01Limited: No, Limited ProductionDate: 2019Case: White CeramicBezel: White CeramicDial: Blue “Grande Tapisserie”Size: 41mmMovement: Calibre 5134, 38 JewelsPower Reserve: 40 HoursGlass: Saphire CrystalWaterproof: 20 MetersBracelet: White Ceramic Royal OakPrice: $93,900 (~$285,000)

Audemars Piguet is no stranger to pushing the limits of watch design, that is how the Royal Oak came to life. Back in 1972, now legendary watch designer Gérald Genta, created the Royal Oak for Audemars Piguet to combat the “quartz crisis” that was taking over the watch world. The first Royal Oak was too big, too expensive, and it probably saved the Swiss luxury sports watch market. AP has pushed the limits with design and materials for their watches over the years by using titanium, carbon fiber, and ceramic. Audemars Piguet doesn’t list this Royal Oak as a limited edition, but more of a limited production model that only AP’s top clients get access to.

Audemars Piguet has been making a Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar since 2015 but released this ceramic version in 2019. And this isn’t the first white ceramic watch that AP has graced us with, they have been working with the material for 10 years. Viktor’s rare Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar has a 41mm case that is made from White Ceramic with a matching ceramic crown on the right side. There aren’t too many external pieces of the watch that aren’t ceramic, but the caseback is made from stainless steel and contains a sapphire crystal window to view the mechanical movement. Eight screws hold the caseback in place and seal the case for a 20-meter water resistance rating.

The absolutely iconic octagon, Royal Oak, is also crafted from White Ceramic and is held down with 8 hex screws. A beautiful dark blue dial is treated with AP’s Grande Tapisserie pattern of raised squares that are further textured for a unique but classic look. White subdials surround the dial to tell the month, day, date, moon phase, and even if it is a leap year. White gold hour makers and main hands are polished for a mirror-like finish and filled with a luminous material for reading in low light.

The heart of this flashy piece is Audemars Piguet’s Calibre 5134 movement. The 5134 is self-winding and offers 40 hours of power reserve. A total of 374 parts are used to build this very complicated perpetual calendar. Most perpetual calendars are designed to keep accurate time and date functions until the year 2100. On March 1st of 2100, a perpetual calendar will have to be adjusted by a watchmaker in order to keep up with a leap year change.

A gold rotor is visible through the case back and winds the watch while 38 jewels keep it running smoothly. AP’s Royal Oak bracelet is crafted from white ceramic and perfectly finished with a combination of brushed and polished links. Ceramic is very hard to get perfect and Audemars Piguet is known to be one of the best at getting it right. The other main, non-ceramic, piece of the watch is the stainless steel folding clasp. The steel is blackened and polished for a clean look and features the AP logo on the outside.

This piece was only sold through Audemars Piguet boutique stores and offered to their best clients. If you were lucky enough to have that relationship with a boutique you could have been offered a White Ceramic Perpetual Calendar for $93,900. But most of us are not on that list and for us, it is very hard to get a watch that will cost a massive amount on the secondary market. Expect to pay around $285,000 for one now, which is down from the high of almost $500,000 a year or so ago.

WOTW: Scott Vail’s Tudor Black Bay 58 Bronze (Keegan Bradley’s caddie)

I have been an employee at GolfWRX since 2016. In that time I have been helping create content on GolfWRX Radio, GolfWRX YouTube, as well as writing for the front page. Self-proclaimed gear junkie who loves all sorts of golf equipment as well as building golf clubs!

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We had another exciting week on tour with a star-studded leaderboard on Sunday. Keegan Bradley went out and shot 2 under to secure his sixth PGA Tour victory. While Keegan celebrated with his family, he went with the bare wrist. Thankfully his caddie, Scott Vail, was wearing a special Tudor Black Bay in bronze on his left wrist.

WOTW Specs:Name: Tudor Black Bay 58 BronzeReference: M79012M-0001Limited: NoDate: 2021 – CurrentCase: BronzeBezel: Anodized AluminumDial: Matte Brown-BronzeSize: 39mmMovement: Calibre MT5400, 27 JewelsPower Reserve: 70 HoursGlass: Domed Saphire CrystalWaterproof: 200 MetersBracelet: Brown Fabric StrapPrice: $4,775 (~$5,000)

The Tudor name is far less known as Rolex, but the two are in the same family. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, started Tudor in 1946 as a less expensive option to his Rolex models. While being less expensive than a Rolex, Wilsdorf wanted to ensure that Tudor still have Rolex-like quality. When you look at a Tudor you can clearly see the Rolex influence on the case and caseback. Vail’s Black Bay 58 Bronze is an exclusive watch that is only sold at their boutique store locations. There was a similar 43mm Black Bay Bronze that was released in 2016, but that was had holes in the lugs and I can’t see those in any of the photos.

The Black Bay 58 Bronze was released in 2021 as a little bit of a shock to the watch world. There have been many watches made from bronze and it isn’t a new material for Tudor as then have done them before. The 39mm case is made from solid bronze, an alloy made of mostly of copper, about 15% tin, and some other metals like aluminum and nickel. The caseback is solid steel but finished with a PVD coating to match the case for a cleaner look. On the right side of the case is a matching bronze crown used for sewing the time on the watch and screws down to aid in the 200 meter waterproof rating. The bezel is made from matching bras with an aluminum insert that is anodized brown and features a diving scale on it. The dial is Brown-Bronze in color with round hour markers that go with the 3,6, and 9 numerals. They, along with the hands, are filled with a luminescent material for easy reading in low light. The entire set is covered with a domed sapphire crystal that is extremely scratch resistant.

Inside the Black Bay 58 is a Calibre MT5400 self-winding automatic movement. The MT5400 isn’t built in-house, but built by Kenissi who is partially owned by Tudor. A silicon balance spring resists magnetic forces influencing that timing and a tungsten rotor winds it. This movement exceeds the Swiss Certified (COSC) requirements of being -4 to +6 seconds per day, just like Rolex movements. The MT5400 also contains 27 jewels and a 70 hour power reserve. The strap on Scott’s Tudor is made of brown fabric with a bronze line through the center of it. A matching bronze pin buckle holds the strap together. The watch does come with a solid bronze bracelet as well, with a new claps that has 5 micro adjustments to dial in the perfect fit. Tudor has definitely benefited from the rise in luxury watch prices and you can expect to pay around $300 on top of the $4,775 retail price on the secondary market for your own Black Bay 58 Bronze.

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Nick Taylor gave us an amazing show this weekend at the RBC Canadian Open, but unfortunately he wasn’t wearing a watch after his win. So, we will jump into the Time Machine to look at the Hublot Big Bang that Jhonattan Vegas was wearing when he won the event in 2016.

Watch: Hublot Big Bang UNICO Ferrari CarbonReference: 401.NJ.0123.VRLimited: 1,000 PiecesCase: Titanium & Carbon FiberBezel: Carbon FiberSize: 45mmMovement: Calibre HUB1241, 38 JewelsPower Reserve: 72 hoursGlass: Saphire CrystalWater Resistance: 100 MetersBracelet: Grey Leather & Rubber StrapPrice: ~$17,000

Hublot watches have been featured on here a few times, but not recently. The brand is very young, founded in 1980, by watch standards and their designs tend to push boundaries more than others. Hublot is the French word for “porthole” and you can see that design through the bezel on most of the watches in the line. The brand was started by Carlo Crocco and he added Jean-Claude Biver as the CEO in 2004. That was the time that the Big Bang watches were first introduced and taking Hublot from $24 million in sales to $100 million. The brand was purchased in 2008 by LVMH (LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), adding to its list of watch brands.

Hublot partnered with Ferrari in 2011 and was a sponsor of their F1 racing team until 2021 when Richard Mille took over that spot. During that time Hublot created a few different Ferrari named, and inspired, watches. We have looked into Patrick Reed’s White Carbon Big Bang a few years ago here on WOTW. For Vegas he went with something a little less flashy, the Big Bang Ferrari Carbon that is done in a more traditional silver and black colorway.

The case is large at 45mm and made from Grade 5 Titanium with a carbon fiber center section. The caseback has a sapphire crystal window to view in the movement and is held in place with 6 screws. On the right side of the case is the crown and the pushers for running the chronograph. The bottom pusher contains the Ferrari logo etched in it and filled with red lacquer paint. On top of the case is the legendary, round Hublot bezel that is crafted from carbon fiber and infused with titanium, then held in place with 6 titanium H screws. The dial is sapphire crystal to give it the skeleton look.

Skeleton dials are clear so you can see the internal workings of the movement. A single subdial sits at 3 o’clock with a 60 minute counter and it also contains the date window. The date window has a transparent yellow back to it that takes its style from the gauges on a Ferrari dashboard. Ferrari’s prancing horse logo sits at 6 o’clock and is polished silver but blends in well with the rest of the mechanical-looking dial.

Inside the Big Bang Ferrari Carbon is Hublot’s Caliber UNICO HUB 1241 mechanical movement. The 1241 is a self-winding movement that runs on 38 jewels and offers the wearer around 72 hours of power reserve. The movement contains 330 parts and uses a ceramic rotor bearings to run smoother and require less maintenance. While sublet has taken some criticism over movements, this one was completely designed and built in-house by Hublot. The strap is made from vulcanized rubber with grey leather stitched to it. The small button on the lugs of the case allow for the quick release of the strap. Each end of the rubber strap has a metal clip that snaps into the case for easy changing if you want. Since there were only 1,000 pieces made for the entire world, not many are for sale to gauge a good price on. From what I can tell you could get one of these in good condition for just under $17,000 on the secondary market.

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Viktor Hovland started his final nine holes at the Memorial four strokes behind and made the lone birdie on 17 to get into a playoff. After beating Denny McCarthy in the playoff, Viktor put on his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore “Indigo” and received the crystal trophy from golf legend Jack Nicklaus. And of course, Jack was wearing his solid gold Rolex Day-Date Ref 18038.

Name: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42Reference: 26470ST.OO.A030CA.01Limited: NoDate: 2018Case: Stainless SteelBezel: Stainless SteelDial: Indigo “Méga Tapisserie”Size: 42mmMovement: Calibre 3126/3840, 59 JewelsPower Reserve: 50 HoursGlass: Sapphire CrystalWaterproof: 100 MetersBracelet: Indigo Rubber StrapPrice: ~$34,000

The Royal Oak Offshore was the idea of Emmanuel Gueit, a young watch designer who was inspired to create a larger and more rugged version of the iconic Royal Oak model, originally designed by Gérald Genta in 1972. Gueit’s vision was to create a watch that would appeal to a new generation of watch enthusiasts who desired a sportier and more contemporary timepiece. When the Royal Oak Offshore was unveiled at the Baselworld watch fair in 1993, it caused quite a stir in the watchmaking community. The watch featured a larger case size of 42mm, which was significantly larger than the average watch size at the time. Viktor’s “Indigo” version was released in 2018 and can be had with the matching rubber strap as well as a stainless steel bracelet.

A 42mm stainless steel case might not be as big today as it was in 1993 but the long, 55mm, lug-to-lug length does give this Offshore a larger feel on the wrist. On the right side of the case is a blue ceramic crown and matching ceramic pushers. This was Audemars Piguet’s first use of Blue Ceramic in the 42mm Offshore line. The caseback is held in place with 8 screws and features a sapphire crystal display window where you can see the movement. On top of the case is the iconic Royal Oak octagon bezel with a thick rubber gasket between them. The bezel is held in place by 8 steel hex screws, another timeless Royal Oak design. An indigo dial sits under the sapphire crystal and contains AP’s Méga Tapisserie pattern for a unique texture. Méga Tapisserie is made up of small squares that also contain what looks like milling and there have been a few different sizes of Tapisserie over the years. Most blue Offshore dials have contrasting subdials, but this model keeps a more subtle chronograph look. Hour markers are numerals made from white gold, along with the hour and minute hands. There is also an inner bezel with a tachymeter scale printed on it and done in metallic blue paint. A date window sits at 3 o’clock with an inverse, magnifying, cyclops lens over it in the sapphire crystal.

Inside the Indigo Offshore is a Calibre AP 3126 self-winding, automatic movement that is built from 365 parts. The 3126 is built in-house by AP and contains a modified Dubois-Depraz chronograph module in order to run the chronograph functions. There are 59 jewels in the movement to help it run smoothly and is backed up by a 50-hour power reserve. An Indigo rubber strap holds the piece on Viktor’s wrist and is fitted to the case with small screws. The rubber strap comes together with a larger pin buckle and has a satin finish applied to the AP logo. This is a pretty collectible watch and there doesn’t seem to be tons of them online for sale. If you are looking to add this piece to your collection then expect to pay around $34,000.

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