Audemars Piguet’s first dial colour is cemented in ceramic with a trio of Royal Oak ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ models
Buffy Acacia- Audemars Piguet has finally perfected its ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ colour in ceramic, which is based on the first Royal Oak dial from 1972.
- It debuts across three releases, being a Double Balance Wheel Openworked, a 42mm Offshore Chronograph, and a 43mm Offshore Chronograph in stainless steel with a ceramic bezel.
- The deep blue hue is supposed to evoke the clear night sky above the Vallée de Joux.
If asked to draw an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak from memory, I’d bet that most people would choose a much brighter dial colour than the Royal Oak is actually known for. The famous Tapisserie dial texture works wonders with light, creating extreme highlights and shine that aren’t actually inherent to the colour itself. That’s been made extremely clear with the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Offshore ceramic models, with their ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ case colour taken directly from the dial colour of the inaugural ref. 5402 from 1972.
The legend goes that Gérald Genta’s colour choice was inspired by the clear night sky of the Vallée de Joux near Geneva. Whether or not that’s true, the colour itself was created from a small amount of black pigment mixed with the dial’s protective varnish, which was applied to the dial after it was blued in a galvanic bath. Modern Audemars Piguet dials have their colour done through a PVD process, as it’s a much more affordable, consistent, and environmentally-friendly option, achieving that same colour each time. But these cases are certainly not PVD coated.
Ceramic is a notoriously difficult material in which to attain a consistent colour, but Audemars Piguet have wrangled the exact shade of ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ that it needed. Various areas of vertical brushing allow those same highlights to shine through, while the polished edges of the octagonal bezel shine to the deepest blacks.
Three watches have debuted with the new ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ ceramic, each with a distinct style. The Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked proudly shows off its Calibre 3132 rather than any Tapisserie dial, with the bright silvers and gold of its bridges contrasting greatly with the blue ceramic case. It’s a high-tech take on the 41mm size, and it can be equally appreciated from either the dial or the sapphire display caseback. There’s still a small chapter ring around the dial’s perimeter, so you don’t lose track of the minutes and hours entirely.
Next up is the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph, now a homogenous hunk of blue with the Méga Tapisserie dial also in the company’s signature dark blue. Subdials at 12, 6 and 9 grant the Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph some balance opposite the pushers on the right side of the case, and it’s overall a sports monster.
The third and chunkiest reference is the 43mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph, which is a very similar watch to the 42mm version in theory, but its 3, 6, 9 subdial layout and stainless steel case completely changes its appeal. In this execution, the ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ ceramic only appears in the bezel, pushers and crown, making for a lot of impactful contrast. The interchangeable rubber and calfskin straps in a tone-matched blue also increases comfort when worn in sportier settings, as opposed to the solid ceramic bracelet. Both of the chronograph movements feature flyback complications too, and a 70-hour power reserve in comparison to the time-only watch’s 45 hours.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ceramic ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ Collection price and availability
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ceramic ‘Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50’ collection is now available. Price: £37,200 (Offshore 43mm, ~US$48,165) / £75,500 (Offshore 42mm, ~US$97,755) / £87,700 (Openworked, ~US$113,550)
| Brand | Audemars Piguet |
| Model | Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph Automatique 43mm Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph Automatique 42mm Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked |
| Reference | 26420SO.OO.A02VE.01 (Offshore 43mm) 26238CD.OO.1300CD.01 (Offshore 42mm) 15416CD.OO.1225CD.01 (Openworked) |
| Case Dimensions | 41mm (W) x 9.7mm (T) (Openworked) 42mm (W) x 15.3mm (T) (Offshore 42mm) 43mm (W) x 14.4mm (T) (Offshore 43mm) |
| Case Material | Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 ceramic (Openworked, Offshore 42mm) Stainless steel with Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 ceramic bezel (Offshore 43mm) |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Openworked Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 Méga Tapisserie (Offshore 42mm, 43mm) |
| Strap | Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 ceramic integrated bracelet (Openworked, Offshore 42mm) Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 leather strap and interchangable rubber strap (Offshore 43mm) |
| Movement | Calibre 4401, in-house, automatic (Offshore 43mm) Calibre 4404, in-house, automatic (Offshore 42mm) Calibre 3132, in-house, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours (Offshore 43mm, 42mm) 45 hours (Openworked) |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds (Openworked) Hours, minutes, running seconds, chronograph (Offshore 43mm, 42mm) |
| Availability | Available now |
| Price | £37,200 (Offshore 43mm, ~US$48,165) £75,500 (Offshore 42mm, ~US$97,755) £87,700 (Openworked, ~US$113,550) |