Audemars Piguet Reveal Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie in Black Ceramic

Alongside the new Jumbo Extra-Thin Audemars Piguet have launched a pair of Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonneries in Black Ceramic. Traditionally when we think of minute repeaters we think of them being made from precious metals like gold because the sonorous qualities of the metal enhance the sound. Ceramic presents a completely different sonic challenge and as such, the case is specially adapted and features AP’s first ever full ceramic caseback.

I will admit that it took me a hot second to notice what the difference between the two watches here is. After all, even their reference numbers are almost identical: 26591CE.OO.D002CA.01 and 26591CE.OO.D002CA.02. The answer is that the first version has white gold indexes and the second has diamond ones and that’s it. I’m sure it makes a big difference when they’re in front of you, but on these few pixels of the internet, it’s not the most apparent change.

Since we’ve started talking about the display, let’s wrap that up before moving onto some of the more interesting parts of the watch. It has central hour and minute hands with a small seconds subdial against a black Grand Tapisserie backdrop. It’s pretty standard Royal Oak fare.

What’s very non-standard is the case itself. That claim might sound odd considering that from the front it looks every bit a classic RO, right down to the arrangement of the screws in the octagonal bezel. However, turning the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie Black Ceramic over reveals the brand’s first ever full ceramic caseback, which is pretty special. It bears an engraving of the sonic waves produced by the chiming complication housed inside and there are slits around the edges that allow the sound to escape the dampening qualities of the ceramic unimpeded.

Not that the sound has much issue escaping considering that the minute repeater features AP’s supersonnerie concept. The supersonnerie debuted as part of the Royal Oak Concept line back in 2015 and is designed to increase the volume and resonance of the repeater to the levels expected of a pocket watch rather than a wristwatch. One of the key aspects of the supersonnerie is attaching the gongs (the chime that makes the sound when struck with a tiny hammer) to a titanium membrane rather than the mainplate as usual. This allows for good resonance regardless of the material characteristics of the rest of the watch.

The movement powering the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie Black Ceramic is the Calibre 2953, a manual calibre with a power reserve of 72-hours. It’s a cool combination of haute horology and high performance materials working together in harmony. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s price on request.

​Oracle Time 

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