Audemars Piguet has introduced the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5 as part of its 150th anniversary year.
Produced in a limited run of 150 pieces, it is the fifth model in the manufacture’s “Research & Development” series, which since 2015 has been used to test and debut new technical watchmaking ideas.
The RD series has already delivered some notable firsts: RD#1 (2015), the Supersonnerie, which redefined chiming acoustics; RD#2 (2018), an ultra-thin perpetual calendar created by flattening the mechanism onto a single layer; RD#3 (2022), the first Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ to carry a flying tourbillon; and RD#4 (2023), the Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle, the most complex wristwatch Audemars Piguet has built to date.
RD#5 now turns that same approach to the chronograph, a complication whose fundamental mechanism had seen little change in two centuries.
The RD#5 runs on the new Calibre 8100, a selfwinding flyback chronograph with a flying tourbillon.
Its architecture replaces the traditional hammer-and-heart reset with a patented “rack-and-pinion” system, allowing energy to be stored and released for smoother resets, improved precision and an instantaneous minute jump.
As per earlier AP anniversary models, the redesigned push-pieces require much less force to operate, restoring the light tactile feel once associated with mid-20th-century chronographs, while maintaining 21st Century durability and water resistance.
The movement sits within the 39 mm “Jumbo” case, 8.1 mm thick, in titanium with bulk metallic glass for the bezel, pushers and crown.
The “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” Petite Tapisserie dial and blue snailed counters are recognisable Royal Oak design flourishes.
By combining a flyback chronograph, instantaneous minute counter and flying tourbillon in a super-slim 39 mm case, the RD#5 establishes a new benchmark in chronograph design, and further reinforces AP’s technical chops, via its Research & Development series.
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