It’s raining bling! Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henri Bennahmias isn’t holding again earlier than his impending departure from the model in 2023. As an alternative, true to his persona, he’s upping the ante for the This autumn celebrations of the Royal Oak’s fiftieth anniversary with a flashy lineup of 20 Royal Oak Selfwinding Rainbow items (10 in 41 mm and 10 in 37 mm) totally set—from the dial to the bezel to the case to the bracelet—in emeralds, rubies, tourmalines, tanzanites, tsavorites, chrysoberyls and spessartites. In contrast to different “rainbow” watches, these are organized in monochrome settings reminiscent of a completely yellow chrysoberyl-set model to at least one wearing strong rubies.

Every 41 mm watch is outfitted in 861 stones (between 30 and 47 carats) and every 37 mm mannequin is accented with 790 stones (between 21 to 37 carats)—an unbelievable feat when you think about how laborious it’s to seek out that many stones of matching shade, readability, high quality and measurement. In reality, the method was such a problem it took a complete yr. The gem-setting was orchestrated by Pierre Salanitro, a longtime AP collaborator who is mostly thought to be the grasp of his specific occupation in Switzerland.

Including to the problem in setting the variations of stones is that every watch needed to be adjusted in response to the typology, hardness and different specifics in response to the make-up of every kind of stone. The baguette stones had been additionally lower in 179 totally different sizes for the 41 mm model and 153 totally different sizes for the 37 mm iteration earlier than being hand-polished.

To verify the stones lined as a lot floor as doable, Audemars Piguet and Salanitro organized them in an invisible setting—a jewellery method through which as little steel as doable is revealed across the gems to present the looks that they’re floating—on the dial and bracelet hyperlinks. To realize this, tiny grooves had been lower into the 18-karat white gold circumstances with the stones connected inside by way of hidden rails mounted within the steel. This type of setting is notoriously troublesome and solely 10 out of 80 artisans at Salanitro’s studio are capable of full the duty. They labored for a month and a half on the setting alone for every set.

The AP’s Royal Oak Selfwinding Rainbows comprise the caliber 4309 for the 41 mm model—the latest self-winding hours, minutes and seconds motion on this diameter—and the Caliber 5909 for the 37 mm mannequin. The 5909 is predicated on the Caliber 5900, which first appeared this yr in different Royal Oaks of the identical case measurement. Like different fiftieth anniversary editions, these may even include a 22-carat pink gold oscillating rotor that spells out “50 years.” The Audemars Piguet brand and “Swiss Made” label have been cautiously printed on the sapphire crystal in order to not intervene with the gems.

Evidently, nonetheless, these watches are something however discreet. You received’t must see a brand to know that these are AP Royal Oaks from a distance and all the added high-end adornment ensures they are often noticed fairly simply from throughout a room. Think about hiring a bodyguard together with your buy.