Audemars Piguet Concept Split Second Chronograph Gmt Royal Oak 26650TI

The Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT was just presented by Audemars Piguet in the pool of other new Royal Oaks, distinguished by an even more aggressive design than its Concept predecessors and an exceptional automatic rattrapante chronograph calibre 4407 with the date and 24-hour GMT functions. This watch is a rightful heir to the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher and an important addition, not just to the Concept series. It is here to make history as it will lead the new generation of split-seconds chrono movements used outside the Grand Complications family. Let’s take a closer look.

The new Generation ROC

The look and feel of the Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT remain faithful to the Concept idea, futuristic, pushing the limits, yet highly appealing for the intelligent force it projects. The watch is large, 43mm in diameter and 17.4mm thick, with a characteristically geometric titanium case with sharp and shiny edges, broadsides and a familiar octagonal bezel, satin-brushed, with amplified hexagonal screws. The sandblasted case and the bezel are slightly curved for comfort, making this watch fit most wrists well. The case architecture is repeated in the screw-locked bolt of a crown and chronograph push-pieces, all made from black ceramic. The push-piece guards are featured on both sides at 2, 4 and 9 o’clock.

Like the case, the dial is three-dimensional with plenty of geometry, and it is openworked to show the movement that highlights this Concept piece. The skeletonised and sandblasted, blackened dial plate supports the overall high-tech design, with the big date at 12 o’clock adding to the impression of a massive construction – massive, complex, but very functional. Note the absence of the logo on the dial – there is not much space left for it, but it can be read as a statement. After all, who else can make a watch like this?

The GMT and day-night display at 3 o’clock shows the hour in a second time zone, with easy adjustment using the crown’s coaxial push-piece. Each push moves the GMT hand by one hour. This hand makes a revolution in 12 hours, and the white/black day-and-night disc makes one rotation in 24 hours. The small seconds sub-dial is at 6 o’clock, balancing the large “digital” date, and the 30-minute chronograph counter is at 9, where on the side of the case, protected by push-piece guards, we find the rattrapante action button, just where it was with the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer in 2015. 

The new Calibre 4407

The engine that guarantees the smooth functioning of the Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT is a newly developed self-winding calibre 4407, and it is based on the integrated flyback chronograph movement 4401 that debuted in the Code 11.59 collection in 2019. It has a column wheel and a vertical clutch system, which along with the proprietary zero-reset mechanism, ensure that both chronograph and split-seconds hands respond to your commands effortlessly while measuring time intervals or performing an instant reset to zero.

It is worth noting that the base calibre 4401 is 6.8 mm thick. In the calibre 4407, Concept-series-usual GMT and split-seconds functions, as well as the large date, the height of the 4401 increased by only 3.1mm, to a total of 8.92 mm. To achieve this height, AP engineers integrated the rattrapante mechanism within the thickness of the ball bearing for the semi-peripheral rotor, and now the split-seconds wheel and the actuator clamps are in full view through the sapphire caseback in the centre under the X-shaped bridge – and no rotor to obstruct the spectacle. Such a good construction, it has found its way into the Code 11.59 Universelle, AP’s most complicated wristwatch ever. It would be wrong not to expect the appearance of split-seconds chronographs across other collections.

Technical specifications – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT