Audemars Piguet Royal Oak cheap watches
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#5 Watch: A New Milestone in Chronograph Innovation and Ergonomic Design
Brassus, October 1, 2025 – To celebrate its 150th anniversary, Swiss haute horlogerie brand Audemars Piguet presents the latest masterpiece from its R&D department – the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Automatic Floating Tourbillon Ultra-Thin Chronograph (RD#5), marking a new chapter in the evolution of chronograph innovation and complications. The RD#5, the culmination of five years of dedicated development by the Audemars Piguet team, is powered by the new Calibre 8100 movement. It combines cutting-edge technology, outstanding performance, and iconic design, redefining ergonomic standards with a revolutionary vision. The internal structure has been completely redesigned and incorporates innovative patented mechanisms. Every detail reflects meticulous craftsmanship, boldly pushing the boundaries of ergonomic design and redefining the tactile sensitivity of the chronograph pushers, striving to meet the highest expectations of discerning watch collectors. Furthermore, the watch features rare instantaneous jumping minute and hour counters, and for the first time in the Royal Oak collection, it combines a flyback chronograph function with a floating tourbillon. This milestone masterpiece, limited to 150 pieces, is crafted from titanium and precious block metallic glass (BMG), achieving a delicate balance between lightweight feel, durability, and refined luster.
Reinterpreting the iconic “Jumbo” design
For the first time in over 50 years since its inception, the Royal Oak “Jumbo” watch features a dual complication of automatic winding chronograph and floating tourbillon. The Audemars Piguet development team had to overcome numerous challenges to integrate this combination into the iconic ultra-thin case of the classic “Jumbo” design.
The first Royal Oak watch, launched in 1972, was conceived by design master Gérald Genta and earned the nickname “Jumbo” due to its then-considered excessively large size. Today, this classic design, with its 39mm case diameter and slim 8.1mm thickness, has become a sensation, making the "Jumbo" watch a favorite among watch collectors and a paragon of ergonomic design. These very qualities made it an ideal platform for innovative research and development, adhering to the principle that "the mechanical construction must be adapted to this classic design" throughout the development process.
While ensuring a comfortable operating experience and faithfully continuing the aesthetic style of the series, the Audemars Piguet development team completely restructured the chronograph mechanism to minimize movement thickness while achieving an unparalleled level of delicacy in operation. The result is a masterpiece that seamlessly blends complex technology, convenient operation, and a refined, minimalist aesthetic.
“Audemars Piguet has always boldly embraced challenges. This latest innovative creation, the RD#5, aims to present watch enthusiasts with a complex timepiece that combines wearing comfort with ease of operation. While fitting contemporary lifestyles, the new timepiece pays homage to the classic 'Jumbo' watch with its minimalist aesthetic design. Behind this masterpiece lies the passionate dedication of the brand's R&D team, a testament to the collective strength that has built Audemars Piguet's 150 years of profound heritage.” – Ilaria Resta, Global CEO, Audemars Piguet
Ergonomics, Instant Touch
The development of the RD#5 watch was always driven by the design philosophy of creating a chronograph that elevates user comfort to a new level. A comprehensive and thorough ergonomic study was conducted in the movement, case, and design areas, deeply understanding user needs and tailoring solutions accordingly. This exploration continues Audemars Piguet's pursuit of innovation and marks a new breakthrough in balancing user experience and complex functional design.
The first technological innovation is reflected in the pushers on either side of the crown at 3 o'clock—in modern chronograph designs, pushers typically require considerable force to operate. “The pressing distance of these buttons is mostly over 1 millimeter, requiring a pressing force of approximately 1.5 kilograms,” said Giulio Papi, Design Director of Audemars Piguet. “In contrast, smartphone buttons typically have a pressing distance of 0.3 millimeters and a pressing force of only 300 grams. We drew inspiration from this to reduce these parameters of the mechanical chronograph buttons, optimizing the user experience.”
The concept of comfortable tactile feedback for chronograph buttons was already present in watches from the 1950s and 60s, but it required meticulous tuning by watchmakers. In the 1970s, with the application of waterproof sealing technology and the rise of industrial production, the force required to trigger the chronograph buttons increased significantly. Today, Audemars Piguet's innovative exploration in this area aims to provide users with a smoother operating experience.
Furthermore, the RD#5 watch features a function selection system on the crown, integrating the function buttons with a visual indicator that clearly displays the winding and time-setting positions. This convenient and understated function selection system replaces the traditional crown design originating from the pocket watch era, while continuing the iconic aesthetic style of the Royal Oak collection. Finally, while retaining the slim profile of the "Jumbo" watch, Audemars Piguet engineers employed a "glass box" design for both the dial and case back to ensure ample space for the double complications. The exterior is flat, while the interior is hollowed out, providing sufficient room for the hands, movement, and the oscillation of the automatic rotor.
"This time, Audemars Piguet has reinterpreted the traditional chronograph with innovative design, making operation more convenient. The RD#5 watch stores energy when the chronograph function is activated and releases it the instant it reaches zero, achieving for the first time short-stroke, low-resistance button operation, delivering an unprecedented level of comfort and smoothness. To achieve a tactile feel comparable to smartphone buttons, we had to completely reconstruct the mechanical structure of the chronograph function," said Lucas Raggi, Chief Industrial Officer of Audemars Piguet.
Calibre 8100 Movement: A Revolutionary Energy Management Mechanism for Chronographs
For over 150 years, the form and function of chronographs have evolved, but their core zeroing mechanism has remained largely unchanged, based on the traditional zeroing hammer and heart-shaped cam. Audemars Piguet now introduces the Calibre 8100 movement for the first time in its RD#5 watch, completely redesigning the reset system and ultimately developing an integrated flyback chronograph function that achieves comprehensive optimization in ergonomics, intuitive operation, and precision.
The Calibre 8100 movement is crafted to the highest standards, while also considering design considerations and ergonomic requirements, perfectly fitting the "Jumbo" watch case. Large chronograph subdials are symmetrically positioned at 9 and 3 o'clock, ensuring easy readability.
Audemars Piguet engineers developed a new patented mechanism that simultaneously optimizes energy transfer between the movement and the short-stroke, low-resistance pushers. This innovative mechanism, based on a rack and pinion system, replaces the traditional heart-shaped cam and reset hammer. By storing energy in the rack, this device maintains continuous tension in the gear train, preventing chronograph hands from jittering, and eliminating the need for the friction springs found in modern chronographs (used for constant braking during chronograph operation and reset). The end result is similar energy consumption between the two methods, but previously consumed energy is stored.
Another challenge facing traditional chronographs is managing the energy required for the zeroing operation. To address this, the Audemars Piguet team developed a solution for smooth, low-inertia zeroing: releasing energy through a storage rack to instantly zero the chronograph hands in a retrograde motion. The hands and chronograph gears are crafted from lightweight titanium, ensuring the zeroing action is completed instantly and minimizing energy consumption. Audemars Piguet's Design Director, Giulio Papi, explained: "A traditional chronograph is like a car with its handbrake engaged; the Calibre 8100 movement releases the handbrake, and the car is pulled along by an elastic band after leaving the garage. The energy lost due to friction from the handbrake is now stored in the elastic band. When the chronograph function is reset to zero, the stored energy is released instantly, driving the hands to jump back to their original position within 0.15 seconds. We have devoted a great deal of effort to studying the movement of the hands, just to make the reset action almost imperceptible to the naked eye, while simultaneously achieving the minute hand's instantaneous jump function, which watch collectors dream of [the minute hand moves in three ways: dragging (slowly moving forward), semi-instantaneous (moving forward slightly and then jumping), and instantaneous (the second hand jumps quickly after completing one revolution), among which the instantaneous jump is highly regarded by chronograph enthusiasts.]".
The new Calibre 8100 movement not only features a floating tourbillon but also introduces an innovative vertical clutch mechanism. This design cleverly combines a traditional clutch with a friction clutch, allowing the clutch wheel to move vertically, effectively reducing unnecessary rotation and suppressing skipped hands. The movement also features a column wheel to ensure smooth operation of the start/stop function. The zeroing system uses patented technology to store energy to a critical point and then release it instantly, ensuring the hands return to zero quickly and accurately [Patent No.: CN119325578A]. The case back features a platinum peripheral rotor developed by the Audemars Piguet team, which, while reducing thickness, also showcases the movement's exquisite finishing details, including the hand-beveled chronograph bridges, sharp inner corners, and satin-brushed decorations. This robust and durable chronograph boasts a 72-hour power reserve, easily adapting to modern lifestyles, including various sports activities, without worrying about inaccurate timekeeping.
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