The RD Project started in 2015 when Audemars Piguet unveiled its first RD#1, a Royal Oak Concept Minute Repeater Supersonnerie prototype. The timepiece took eight years of research and development to complete and was created in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and a panel of experts in the fields of watchmaking, music, and sound engineering.
The RD#2 was to follow in 2019 in the form of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, which was the thinnest automatic calendar wristwatch at the time and earned Audemars Piguet the Aiguille d’Or award at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève the same year. These two timepieces were tough acts to follow, but Audemars Piguet has surpassed itself in the preparation of an RD#3 that has been unveiled to celebrate the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary.
The Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin, A.K.A. the RD#3
This brand-new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin comes in a 39mm stainless steel case that measures a mere 8.1mm thick. Fondly called the “Jumbo”, the name is rather surprising today for such a slim and elegant 39mm timepiece, but at the time of the collection’s release in 1972, this case diameter was considered oversized, resulting in the now-confusing nickname!
The RD#3 is the first “Jumbo” to be equipped with a self-winding flying tourbillon and its construction required the development of a brand-new movement – the Calibre 2968 – that would reduce the size of this prestigious complication. Previous flying tourbillon movements had been made for case sizes of 41mm, so this new movement was completely rethought and redesigned, entailing five years of research and development.
Technical Challenges Galore
Numerous technical challenges needed to be overcome to create a flying tourbillon at this diameter and thinness with components finding new positions in the movement to reduce the thickness. The tourbillon cage was also rethought. Crafted from titanium, it is equipped, for the first time, with a peripheral drive, further reducing the thickness of the overall movement as well as improving the transmission of energy. The tourbillon cage was also rethought in terms of its design, placing it at the same level as the dial. It also features a new escapement that provides an improved view into its workings and the movement as a whole. A keen eye will also notice that the geometry and positioning of the balance wheel arms have also been revised to allow a clearer view of the watch’s beating heart.
All the Elements of a “Jumbo” Design
The RD#3 design is in perfect keeping with the 1972 original with its stainless-steel case and bracelet, as well as a midnight blue petite tapisserie dial. Other aesthetic elements that play tribute to the original timepiece include luminescent, bathtub-shaped hour-markers and hands and a white minute track that is printed on the tapisserie motif. Contrary to the original model, the RD#3 comes with a sapphire case back that allows an uninterrupted view of the new ultra-thin flying tourbillon movement.
This new timepiece will be joined by a smaller, 37mm version in September 2022 with a different coloured dial, so stay tuned for more as Audemars Piguet’s 50th-anniversary celebrations are obviously far from over!
