Audemars Piguet Carbon Watches

Swiss watchmakers Audemars Piguet and Hublot have been at each other’s throats the last few decades. Although the former dates back about a century before the latter, today both are after the same upscale market of luxury buyers looking for a bold expression on their wrists. A couple of years ago Audemars Piguet pulled its sponsorship from America’s Cup, and Hublot didn’t miss a beat picking it up in its rival’s stead. Audemars came out with a watch to mark 200 year of Mexican independence, so Hublot did the same. Now that Hublot has acquired the license for official Formula One watches, Audemars Piguet has responded with an F1-inspired watch of its own.Named after Italian racing driver Jarno Trulli �C a brand ambassador since 2008 �C this latest special edition Royal Oak Offshore features a carbon-fiber case, ceramic bezel and titanium fixtures. Its face includes red luminous hands and markers, hiding the Calibre 3126/3840 automatic 59-jewel movement and affixed to the wrist with a sporty rubber strap. Only 500 examples will be made, launched during this month’s Japanese Grand Prix and available exclusively at Audemars Pigeut’s Tokyo boutique before being offered in other markets.

This year Audemars Piguet has launched a number of limited edition timepieces in honor of the Las Vegas Strip. The first of which is the blackened titanium Royal Oak Offshore Limited to just 300 pieces. It comes with a beautiful presentation box with a deck of cards and a royal flush design on top. The model number for the blackened Las Vegas watch is 26186SN.00.D101CR.01 and retail is $29,200.Audemars Piguet has also released a very special set of his and her matching diamond set Royal Oak Offshore Chronographs, complete with a very impressive box with a complete set of clay poker chips. The model number for this set is 26191BC.ZZ.D002CR.01 and expected retail is $91,000. These watches will only sold as a set, with a total of 50 sets to be produced.