Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dual Time – 26120OR.OO.D002CR.01

There are complications that look, or sound, impressive—like a foudroyante (flying seconds), or a sonnerie. There are complications that do things specific to a certain endeavour, like the chronograph. And then there are complications that have an almost universal appeal: extra elements in a mechanical watch movement that make the daily life of the wearer easier, more streamlined. Better.
The dual time complication is my favourite. It's not as pedestrian as the date, which, while still a complication, is one that seems almost to exist as a basic right of luxury watch ownership. If you buy a luxury watch without a date window, you do it because you don't like the asymmetry of date windows, not because you couldn't find the right date model. And the dual time complication is not as grand as, say, a perpetual calendar or a moonphase indicator. But it is something that the owners of luxury watches—business travellers, people who move from time zone to time zone on a regular basis—find eternally useful.
Plus, of course, there's the romance of it. It's nice to be away from home and to see, at a glance, what time it is where you hang your hat. It's also useful to know whether it's too late to phone your partner or speak with your kids before bedtime. A dual time zone watch keeps busy watch owners connected to the important people and places in their lives, while they're out bringing home the bacon.
So to find a dual time zone complication in a luxury watch that's already a bona fide classic—now that's cause for celebration. The Royal Oak is one of those watches that will never fade. In its best incarnations, stripped back to the original Gerald Genta design, the Royal Oak can be worn with casual attire, with business wear, or with full evening dress. And the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dual Time (AP ref 26120OR.OO.D002CR.01 ) is just such an incarnation.
With its case (a restrained 39 mm, comparable on the wrist to a Rolex Explorer or Milgauss) in pink gold, black leather bracelet with pale leather reverse, and pink gold Audemars Piguet clasp, the Royal Oak Dual Time is perfectly restrained and muscularly sporty. When a fellow watch-geek sees you with one on your wrist, compliments are inevitable. And when someone who doesn't know watches, but who does know style, sees the brushed and polished angles of the Royal Oak Dual Time peeking out from your shirt cuff, they're bound to ask where you got it.
Glass is sapphire, and the case is water-resistant to 50 m. It's not advisable to take a luxury watch with a fine leather strap into the ocean, or a swimming pool, but it's nice to know you can forget to take it off for that first, jet-lagged shower, and not ruin the calibre 2329/2846 beating beneath the tapisseried dial.
Talking of the dial, you'll see a 38-hour power reserve indicator, a day/night indicator, a second time zone display, and a date display neatly arranged on the tapisserie. That's a lot of information, but AP pulls it off with style. The second time zone is the reference time zone, and moves in step with the day/night indicator: so you can see at a glance whether it's a good time to call home and speak with the family.
Some luxury watches impress for a while, then fade into the watch safe. Some are only worn on special occasions. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dual Time is a much rarer proposition. It can be worn all the time, and it will never look out of place. It's discontinued, so if you want to add one to your collection you'll need to keep your eyes peeled.
You can view our latest Audemars Piguet watches as well as the newest additions to our collection of luxury watches currently in stock here .
Image Credit – officialwatches.com vedere di piu rolex repliche e Hublot Big Bang