This chronograph has two central seconds hands, but it’s not a split-second model. Its movement has several column wheels, yet it’s not a split-second timepiece. It serves to time two events simultaneously but no, it definitely isn’t a split-second chronograph. The Royal Oak Concept Latimer is a chronograph that is truly unique in its kind. As its name implies, it is designed to measure the times for each lap completed by a racing driver – and to do so without any stopping and zero-resetting. If one were to describe it in a nutshell, one could call it a double consecutive flyback chronograph, putting Audemars Piguet firmly on the cutting edge of Grand Complication models.
The only traditional horological complication that serves to keep track of two measured times is the split-second chronograph. It is equipped with two superimposed seconds hands. Two competitors start at the same time, and one press on a pusher starts the timing operation. When one of them finishes the race, the user presses the split-second pusher, generally located at 7 o’clock or embedded in the winding crown. One of the two seconds hand stops and the other continues running. The second competitor stops and a press on the start/stop pusher freezes his time. Another press on the split-second pusher repositions the hands one on top of the other. One hand catches up with the other, hence the French word for this complication: rattrapante. The race is over and the two performances have been measured, but that’s about all. It can be pretty frustrating and is intrinsically ill-suited to many kinds of sports events.
When Audemars Piguet announced its partnership with Michael Schumacher in 2010, it was clear that the multiple Formula 1 racing champion was going to work on complications built to meet racing drivers’ needs. His terrible skiing accident halted the flow of this collaborative endeavour, but one of its fruits has now reached maturity. The Royal Oak Concept Laptimer works like two separate chronographs united in the same watch. The race begins and the timing operation is activated. The driver completes his first lap and one of the central seconds hands stops, giving the performance for this first lap. But the driver has not stopped and is instead continuing on a second lap. The other hand thus continues following him. At the end of the second lap, the second hand stops and gives a second time. At the exact same moment, the hand that timed the first lap has been automatically reset to zero and begun timing the third lap. At the end of the third lap, the first hand stops and the second hand is reset to measure the fourth lap, and so on and so forth. The hands take turns and are reset via the flyback function. The whole sequence is coordinated by three pushers: in keeping with a fairly classic layout, the one at 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph, while the 4 o’clock one is for zero-resetting. Meanwhile the 9 o’clock pusher serves to handle the successive laptiming operations.
Although the Laptimer doesn’t look that intuitive on paper, but in real life conditions handling it does indeed become instinctive and above all brilliantly smooth and cool. The coordination between successive lap timing and resetting operations is amazing. A glance at the back gives an immediate idea of the difficulty involved in this simultaneous measurement. Calibre 2923 was entirely developed for the Laptimer by Renaud & Papi – the movement maker specialized in complications and a subsidiary of Audemars Piguet – in conjunction with Michael Schumacher. The parts are in black PVD-treated maillechort, the bevelling is extensive, the surfaces are satin-brushed: this is quite obviously a movement produced according to the finest aesthetic standards, while firmly driven by mechanistic concerns. Substance meets form, and function matches needs. The result is an authentic instrument watch based on mechanical inventiveness, craftsmanship and exclusivity. After a several-year break from making headlines on the innovative complication scene, Audemars Piguet has now released a major horological accomplishment.
