Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Schumacher (26568IM.OO.A004CA.01)

This spring, Audemars Piguet submitted two timepieces to the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve 2013: the Royal Oak Offshore Diver, in the Sport category, and the Tourbillon Chronograph Repetition Minutes Tradition, in the Grande Complication category. 
 Both were pre-selected by the jury and will take part in the competition to win the prize in their respective category. The prizes will be awarded during an official ceremony in Geneva on November 15, 2013.
Net surfers can take part in the Prix du Public by voting for their favourite watches. To vote for Audemars Piguet, click here.
Tourbillon Chronograph Repetition Minutes Tradition
This year, Audemars Piguet has decided to develop a model equipped with complications inspired by an ancient model. Thus, the case of the Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph is inspired by that of a 1920s cushion-shaped pocket-watch belonging to its private museum.
The watch is produced in two 10-piece limited editions: one in pink (case) and white gold (bezel), and the other in titanium (case) and white gold (bezel). It is the version with its titanium case that participates in the Grand Prix de l'Horlogrie 2013. It offers the wearer the best possible auditory experience when the minute repeater is in operation. The quality of the sound emitted by a watch largely depends on the metal from which the case is made, as well as its volume. The larger the case and the lighter and harder the materials, the more it enables the acoustic waves to expand. The 47 mm titanium case thereby maximises the sound volume, thus enhancing connoisseurs' listening pleasure.
The Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph houses a mechanical hand-wound calibre that comprises 504 parts offernig the following functions: tourbillon, chronograph, minute repeater striking on 2 gongs, hours, minutes, small seconds. It as a power reserv of 48 hours. Some of the individual elements and mechanical subsets are visible through the transparent case-back. Moreover, the 83 parts composing the one-minute rotating tourbillon with its balance oscillating at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour may be admired through the dial opening.
The Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph is also crafted by hand using several techniques - bevelling, recesses, sinks and sandblasting.
Royal Oak Offshore Diver
 Rugged and resistant to the pressure sustained at depths of 300 metres, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver maximises is ully compliant with the NIHS 92-11 (ISO6425) norm. This selfwinding model, built for subaquatic use, appears this year for the first time with a case, bezel and easy-grip crowns all made of deep black high-tech ceramics. This material is around seven times harder than steel and can only be scratched by diamonds. The case middle is treated to polished and satin-brushed finishes that represented a daunting technical challenge to achieve this degree of quality, due to the inherent resistant to abrasion of this composite material.
To improve the readability contrast in the ocean depths, the black dial of the timepiece is for the first time bearing the traditional "Mega Tapisserie" pattern fitted with a luminescent orange hand matching the diving scale appearing on the rotating inner bezel ring, which also features an orange zone between 12 and 3 o'clock.
The rotating dive-time pre-selection device is unusually positioned inside the case. It offers the advantage of reducing the parallax error and protecting it from shocks and aggressive external factors. This dive-time indicator can be adjusted via a watertight external crown positioned at 10 o'clock along the side of the case middle.
 
The Royal Oak Offshore Diver watch also provides a central seconds display and a date indication at 3 o'clock: It is driven by Manufacture Audemars Piguet mechanical selfwinding Calibre 3120, which may be observed through the titanium case-back fitted with a sapphire crystal - also a first in the Offshore Diver collection. The latter highly sensitive element, that must be able to withstand the underwater pressure exercised at a depth of 300 metres, is secured to the case middle by screws and serves to reveal the 22-carat solid gold oscillating weight, along with some of the meticulously finished movement components including its balance beating at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour.
This timepiece is worn on a rubber strap equipped with a titanium pin buckle.