Luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet launching a new Royal Oak watch

The Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet is going against the current trend in the industry with the creation of a timepiece made entirely from yellow gold. It will be unveiled at the SIHH (International Fine Watchmaking Exhibition) in Geneva, Switzerland, from January 18 to January 22, 2016.

What if yellow gold were to make a comeback in the watch industry next year? While it never really disappeared, platinum, carbon, rubber, ceramic, steel and titanium have stolen the spotlight from it for several years. Audemars Piguet is getting back to basics by reviving the traditional precious metal used in the watch industry and launching its Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar watch.

First launched in 1972, Audemars Piguet's iconic Royal Oak watch was made available in stainless steel that was worked and polished like a precious metal -- a revolution in the watchmaking industry. Audemars Piguet is moving in a new direction for 2016 with the launch of a brand new model made of yellow gold.

This timepiece, which has an 18 carat yellow gold case, features a blue dial with a "Grande Tapisserie" pattern of three dimensional squares. It displays the perpetual calendar subdials with month, hour, minute, and date indicators at three o'clock, the day at nine o'clock, the month and leap year at midday, and the moon phase at six o'clock. The weeks of the year are marked on the rotating internal bezel.

On the dial, the applied hour markers and Royal Oak hands are in yellow gold, with a luminescent coating for better readability in the dark. The bracelet is also in 18 carat yellow gold with an Audemars Piguet folding clasp.

The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is powered by new self-winding calibre 5134, which is visible through the sapphire back, with a minimum power reserve of 40 hours.