{"id":113117,"date":"2025-10-10T16:00:00","date_GTNN":"2025-10-10T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hautetime.com\/?p=113117"},"modified":"2025-10-11T00:26:19","modified_GTNN":"2025-10-11T04:26:19","slug":"why-is-everyone-going-crazy-over-the-audemars-piguet-rd5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hautetime.com\/why-is-everyone-going-crazy-over-the-audemars-piguet-rd5\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Everyone Going Crazy Over the Audemars Piguet RD#5?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To outsiders, the frenzy surrounding Audemars Piguet\u2019s latest release may seem puzzling. For collectsors, however, the Royal Oak \u201cJumbo\u201d Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5, launched to mark the brand\u2019s 150th anniversary, is nothing short of a revolution.<\/p>\n

In short, Audemars Piguet has reimagined the chronograph, making it as easy to operate as your smartphone\u2019s stopwatch. If we can start and stop timers with a gentle tap on a screen, why shouldn\u2019t a wristwatch chronograph feel just as intuitive?<\/p>\n

\"Why
You might notice a few differences in the new-generation Royal Oak\u2014it’s been redesigned to prioritize the user experience \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Chronograph Reimagined<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The RD#5 is the fifth and final chapter in Audemars Piguet\u2019s experimental \u201cRD\u201d series<\/a>, which has consistently pushed the boundaries of mechanical watchmaking. The series began in 2015 with the RD#1, an acoustic breakthrough that enhanced the Supersonnerie\u2019s chimes. In 2018, the RD#2 flattened a perpetual calendar into a single layer, radically reducing thickness. Four years later, the RD#3 became the first ultra-thin Royal Oak Jumbo to feature a flying tourbillon. Then in 2023, the RD#4 showcased an extraordinary movement with forty functions. Now, the RD#5 takes on the chronograph\u2014a complication that has remained essentially unchanged for nearly two centuries.<\/p>\n

At first glance, what stands out is the absence of the Royal Oak chronograph\u2019s traditional protruding pushers. Besides its crown, the octagonal case remains unbroken, retaining the purity of G\u00e9rald Genta\u2019s iconic design. In place of bulky buttons are shallow, smartphone-inspired actuators that require almost no force to engage.<\/p>\n

\"Why
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak that you know and love, but equipped with iPhone-inspired pushers \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since its invention in the early nineteenth century and throughout its advancements\u2014vertical clutch, flyback, split seconds\u2014the chronograph\u2019s core mechanics have barely evolved. The hammer-and-heart cam system still dominates, and activating it requires around 1.5 kilograms of force. Giulio Papi, Audemars Piguet\u2019s Technical Director and one of modern horology\u2019s most important innovators, posed a simple question: why should starting a chronograph demand so much physical effort, especially when the watch is already filled with stored energy?<\/p>\n

\"Why
Giulio Papi (middle) with Marti Laurent (Case Conceptor; on the left) and Martel Julien (Movement Conceptor) \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The answer came in the form of a patented rack-and-pinion system that replaces brute force with finesse. Instead of requiring a hefty push to cock the reset hammer that leans against the heart-shaped cam, the rack and pinion gently engage and disengage by moving towards or away from each other, drawing on energy from the chronograph that would have otherwise gone to waste.<\/p>\n

This reduces the energy required by 80 percent, shortens the pusher travel to a mere 0.3 millimeters, and resets the mechanism within 0.15 seconds.<\/p>\n

Even more impressively, the chronograph minute counter no longer sweeps forward, but is jumped instantaneously, by a return spring that also draws energy from the running chronograph. All these advancements culminate in a unique chronograph, which has been reinvented for the first time in two centuries.<\/p>\n

\"Why
You won’t find a heart cam in the Calibre 8100, which has been replaced by an energy-efficient rack-and-pinion system \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Calibre 8100<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At the heart of this reimagining lies the all-new Calibre 8100, a 4mm-thin movement that has combined a flyback chronograph and a high-amplitude flying tourbillon (first seen in the RD#3) for the first time. Unlike traditional Royal Oak chronographs, which favor symmetrical counters at the cardinal points, the RD#5 nudges its subdials slightly higher, giving the lightweight titanium-caged tourbillon pride of place at six o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

\"Why
The Royal Oak’s chronograph sub-dials have been raised and its sizeable pushers are now a thing of the past \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crown, too, has been rethought. Rather than pulling it out to switch between winding and setting, a discreet pusher embedded in the crown toggles between modes. A red indicator signals when the watch is ready to be set, underscoring the user-friendly philosophy that guided the RD#5\u2019s creation. A peripheral rotor ensures that the watch remains self-winding while keeping the movement\u2019s architecture fully visible through the caseback.<\/p>\n

\"Why
The reinvention of the chronograph is an arduous endeavor already befitting of Audemars Piguet’s 150th birthday, but the manufacture went the extra mile to integrated a patented flying tourbillon into the ultra-thin 8100 \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind this groundbreaking design is Giulio Papi, whose career has shaped the modern watchmaking landscape. In the 1990s, together with Dominique Renaud, he co-founded Renaud et Papi, a specialist workshop that created high complications for brands such as IWC, Richard Mille, A. Lange & S\u00f6hne, Gr\u00f6nefeld and Greubel Forsey.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s and 2000s, as international interest in highly complicated watches soared, brands had only a handful of brilliant minds to turn to, such as Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Mojon (Chronode), and Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini (La Fabrique du Temps). But if your goal was a high-performance, high-drama minute repeater, tourbillon or chronograph, the conversation always started with Renaud et Papi.<\/p>\n

When Audemars Piguet acquired the firm in 2018, Papi returned to Le Brassus, where he now leads technical development. The RD#5 is perhaps the clearest expression yet of his philosophy: innovation should not only serve tradition, but also the wearer.<\/p>\n

\"Why
The new Audemars Piguet RD#5 has the same classic details that collectsors love, but with significant upgrades \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Signature Design Codes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For all its mechanical daring, the RD#5 remains unmistakably a Royal Oak. Its \u201cBleu Nuit, Nuage 50\u201d Petite Tapisserie dial retains the model\u2019s classic texture, while snailed counters and white-gold bathtub hands maintain continuity with the past. The chronograph hands, however, are rendered in titanium, chosen for its stability and lightness.<\/p>\n

\"Why
Audemars Piguet also published a book to mark its 150th anniversary \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The case and integrated bracelet combine titanium with Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG), an alloy rapidly cooled to attain ultra toughness, devoid of brittle crystalline structures. The bezel blends palladium with BMG, giving it both resilience and a subtle, precious sheen. Remarkably, despite housing a reinvented chronograph and a flying tourbillon, the case measures just 8.1 millimeters thick\u2014a feat that preserves the Royal Oak Jumbo\u2019s extra-thin legacy.<\/p>\n

Limited to 150 pieces and priced at CHF 260,000, the RD#5 is not merely a commemorative anniversary model. It is a statement of intent, one that hints at the future direction of Audemars Piguet.<\/p>\n

\"Why
The RD series has been an exhilarating ride that emphasizes the unparalleled technical competencies of Audemars Piguet \/ Photo credit: Audemars Piguet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dare I say, this may be the masterstroke of Audemars Piguet\u2019s relatively new CEO, Ilaria Resta<\/a>. While millions are obsessed with owning a Royal Oak, Resta pushed her team to rethink what it means to enjoy<\/em> one: its feel, its silhouette, its usability. Arriving in August 2023 from outside the watch world, she had big shoes to fill. After all, her predecessor, Fran\u00e7ois-Henry Bennahmias<\/a>, had quadrupled Audemars Piguet\u2019s revenue over two decades. (Incidentally, Bennahmias announced last month that he\u2019s launching a new luxury venture called The Honourable Merchants Group.) With the remarkable accomplishment that is the RD#5, Resta has swiftly quieted rumors of her impending departure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time in two centuries, the mechanical chronograph has been rebuilt from the ground up, to be far more ergonomic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":113118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"brands":[113],"class_list":["post-113117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","brands-audemars-piguet"],"acf":[],"Yoast2_head":"\nWhat You Need To Know About the New Audemars Piguet RD#5<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the first time in two centuries, the mechanical chronograph has been rebuilt from the ground up, to be far more ergonomic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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