The New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Refresh

This morning we covered the brand new Royal Oak 16202 (and subsequent death of the 15202) and the new Royal Oak Openworked 16404. Both were solid additions to Audemars Piguet’s push to modernize a collection that has a timeless design language that has rarely been changed over its 50 year history. The 50th Anniversary of the Royal Oak has seen an endless slew of releases commemorating the occasion.

Tonight I thought I would touch on the new Chronographs being released into the 38mm and 41mm catalogue.

Overall, there is simply too many models to cover individually, so to spare our readers the wall of text, let’s go through what changed, what’s been updated, and what some of our favorites are among the releases. Along with a smattering of pictures so you can see what’s actually been dropped into the Chronograph segment of the updated Royal Oak.

For starters, a whopping Seventeen new Royal Oak Chronographs have been added to the collection. There are currently 5 new additions to the 38mm range of watches (new reference is 26715 as opposed to the older 26315), and 11 new additions to the more popular 41mm range (Ref. 26240 opposed to 26331).

There is a dizzying range of references among the new collection ranging from steel models to red gold models, all with various dial colors and Bracelet or strap options to match.

In an attempt to keep the Royal Oak Collection consistent, there have a number of changes made to the overall construction of the watches.

First, as was with the 16202, the bezel Bevel (say that 10 times fast) has been thickened up and adjusted, as well as a new caseback to match. Supposedly to be a bit more comfortable without changing the case profile too much.

The dial indices have been made slightly less rounded, giving a little more refined of a look without making them smaller or less legible. The handset has been adjusted ever-so slightly to match, and the logo was redesigned a little for clarity, though I imagine many enthusiasts are going to be upset about the lack of “AP” on the dial.

We do see the return of the “Bleu Nuit” dial from the 70’s (a personal favorite of mine).

The biggest change, to me, has been to the bracelet. The Royal Oak has always had an iconic bracelet and with the 50th anniversary models, we see a little more refinement to it.

For starters, the links have been updated for a more exaggerated taper compared to previous models. With the more dramatic taper, the links have been thinned out slightly to provide a smaller profile.

Inside the new collection is the AP Calibre 4401 in the 41mm models and the AP Calibre 2385 in the 38mm models. Both movements are automatic and feature a 40-Hour Power Reserve.

Parting Thoughts:

So, it’s fairly easy to get cynical with the 50th Anniversary edition watches. From an industry perspective, the reality is that even if you wanted one, the availability is going to be so limited that the likelihood of picking one up on the first-hand market is slim to none. Even with these starting at a (relatively) reasonable price of around $32,000 in steel up to $52,000 in red gold, I imagine they will go well above that to those who’ve copped one on the grey market.

That being said, these are healthy updates to the Royal Oak Chronograph Collection. While the Royal Oak has been Audemars Piguet’s bread and butter, the watch has remained largely and minimally updated since it’s inception. While new models are added, we’ve rarely seen the entire collection get a face lift.

Personally I’m a big fan of the change made. The most divisive will likely be the logo being streamlined, but I like it. I think it gives the dial some more clarity. The chunkier bezel and bracelet changes also give a subtle, but more modern contemporary look. The rumor mill is already abuzz with predictions of some new Royal Oak release in April, so I’m looking forward to seeing what else Audemars Piguet has up its sleeve for later in 2022.

For a full list of references, pricing, and configurations, please visit audemarspiguet.com for more information.