Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks Diamond Black Leather Ladies Watch 67621ST.ZZ.D002CR01

Audemars Piguet, the oldest watch manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families, is taking the opportunity of its latest boutique opening to present its new flagship launch for 2010, the Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix chronograph. After Madrid, Kiev and the recent extension of its New York showroom, the 19th Audemars Piguet Boutique has now been opened at the heart of the World Trade Center in Manama, capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain. It joins the "Moda Mall" and the 200 exclusive international brands within this luxury complex.

The Boutique shop front
The majestic 240-metre high building, composed of two 50-floor twin towers resembling two huge sails, overlooks the magnificent Arabian Gulf and the Manama urban landscape. This skyscraper, the first to integrate wind pumps into its construction, is a modern interpretation of the traditional windmill and successfully associates technological innovations with environmental, design-oriented and functional concerns.
The architectural concept of the Audemars Piguet boutique echoes the brand's aesthetic identity codes through the use of elegant, natural and understated materials such as wood, glass and leather.
A single look at the boutique store front draws us into the heart of the Royal Oak collection thanks to its chequered aluminium pediment echoing the famous "grande tapisserie" dial motif. The outside windows create an effect of transparency, revealing broad printed hangings in the background and a pure, welcoming interior, while wenge and glass displays highlight the brand's latest creations.
Upon stepping through the broad glass doors, beams of light mark out the sales area and lead visitors towards the slender elongated showcases adorned with magnificent photos of iconic product visuals.
The Lounge area features a blend of traditional and modern elements, including wenge bookshelves carrying portraits of the company founders Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, the two family crests, along with high-tech screens showing the brand's latest 3D animations and thematic films. Within this cosy environment, customers can settle into a comfortable beige sofa and set off to discover the history of Fine Watchmaking by leafing through a number of beautiful Audemars Piguet books.
Lounge area
On either side of the rooms, oval-shaped lamps in warm chocolate and beige colours sutbly evoke the Millenary collection and its off-centred dial. Further enhancing the luminous, airy atmosphere, huge glass walls finely engraved with the tourbillon movement of an Audemars Piguet timepiece diffuse a soft, silvery light.

"Even though our distribution network is particularly well developed in the Middle East, we must constantly improve our visibility. This new point of sale - which reflects our fundamental brand values of Tradition, Daring and Excellence - is the third in this region, and we are planning to open a fourth in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia. We have the immense privilege of sharing this moment with our three ambassadors, currently engaged in the first race in the 2010 Formula 1 motor-racing championship," said Mr. Philippe Merk, CEO of Audemars Piguet.
On the eve of the Bahrain season-opener, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli and Sebastien Buemi all accepted the invitation to attend this event and discover and celebrate the official launch of the Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix collection, a product inspired by the world of competitive motor-racing.

Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli and Sebastien Buemi, Audemars Piguet ambassadors

The Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix Collection, which received an extremely warm welcome at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2010 in Geneva last January, clearly expresses its affinities with the automobile world: the same passion for the design, the same incessant quest for mechanical performance. The dial counters evoke a dashboard instrument panel, the crown shape resembles a gear, and the bezel is reminiscent of a ventilated brake disc. In this collection composed of three timepieces issued in a limited series, each detail is the object of meticulous care and every model embodies an ultra-sophisticated choice of materials. The engines roar to the beat of an in-house manufactured self-winding chronograph. Lovers of high-speed thrills take note!