ED209
[Purist]
7307
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked Perpetual Calendar
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Openworked Perpetual Calendar 25829ST is still my favorite watch in my
small collection. I wear it almost daily and throughout the
year I look forward to the end of February for the transition of the
date from February 28th or 29th over to March 1st. I've posted
the past few years on the performance of my Royal Oak Perpetual
Calendar and it has performed well even with the leap year change at
midnight. So how did my watch perform this year?
Let's take a look.
I just arrived back to Los Angeles from a business
trip so I rushed back home to set up a small space to photograph my
Royal Oak. My first pictures started a few minutes past 8pm
and you can see that the date subdial at the 3 o'clock position has
already started moving from the 28th over to near the 29th
day. In my prior experience most of the subdials do most of
the calendar movement within 10 minutes counting down to
midnight.
During breaks in between taking pictures I always turn the Royal Oak around to view the skeletonized caseback. Audemars Piguet uses the caliber 2120/2802 which is merely 4mm thin and 28mm in diameter. Light scroll work engraving adds an elegant touch to the bridges, plates and rotors. I've owned this Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar for several years and it's been extremely reliable movement. I must admit that every once in a while I think about getting a custom engraved rotor, but I think that AP did a great job with the style of the skeletonized rotor.
At 9 o'clock not much has changed, other than the date subdial which has go all the way from the 28th to the 1st. So you can see that a few minutes past 9 o'clock it has already moved over to the 29th.
At 10 o'clock, I can see continuous movement of the date as it gets to the 30th. All other subdials are in the same position. One observation I noticed while looking over my pictures compared to last year is that the moon phase was showing mostly stars and a dark night, as compared to last year where it was nearly a full moon.
At 11 o'clock, the date subdial is near the 31st while the day is staring to transition from Friday to Saturday.
Fast forward to 11:44pm and more subdial movement. The date is inching closer to Saturday and the date is past the 31st.
And just like in previous years a lot more happens within ten minutes to midnight.
In under two minutes to midnight, we get closer to a date displaying the 1st and day getting closer to Saturday. The month is still at February.
A few seconds before midnight and the AP is displaying Saturday the 1st, but month hasn't changed yet. I like having the Royal Oak on my wrist to watch the transition.
Upon closer inspection, I see that a minute after midnight and the month is still displaying February.
I wait a few more minutes and the same thing.
I wasn't too worried and waiting a few more minutes and somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes past midnight the month subdial transitioned to display march.
Overall I'm happy with the performance of my Audemar Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. I can't wait again till next year to see it all again. I've actually been making a few trips to the local AD to look at the Royal Oak Equation of Time, but it's a little bit large at 42mm in diameter. I think for now I'll continue to enjoy my 25829, I love the 39mm case size as the proportions of the watch are perfect on my wrist.
Regards,
ED-209
This message has been edited by ED209 on 2014-03-15 15:04:33
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked Perpetual Calendar
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked Perpetual Calendar 25829ST is still my favorite watch in my small collection. I wear it almost daily and throughout the year I look forward to the end of February for the transition of the date from February 28th o...
Great report ED!
Didn't know that the perpetual calentar had that feature!! Good to know!! Best! Ernesto
Thanks for checking it out
Thanks Ernesto! To me the perpetual calendar is easy to read and has been working great. Regards, ED-209
It is fascinating to see the Perpetual Calendar in action!
The RO Openwork Perpetual Calendar just made the experience even sweeter. Thanks for bringing us through this interesting transition :) Wayne
You're welcome
Thanks Wayne! It's a great experience to see the date transition. Glad I could share it with everyone here on PuristSPro. Regards, ED-209
Love this post!!
I always love looking at this piece of yours Ed, and thanks very much for showing the Feb 28th turnover! The small hand in the month subdial @ 12oçlock - is that the year indicator? And I agree, 39mm is a perfect size for the RO (I have the 39mm chrono). ...
The subdial at the 12 o'clock position
Hi ik2000, thanks for the comments. You're right! The small hand at the subdial at the 12 o'clock position is the year indicator. It shows which year it is in the leap year cycle. It has a slightly larger blued hand for the month. Here's a cropped picture...
Wonderfull watch, Ed!
... I like the dial, back full of engraving, and the blued hands.... It has everything you would need..... Wonderful photo report to understand the beauty of it. Thanks! Ken
Thank you ED for your great patience in taking these...
pictures, what a great watch this is. Cheers Francois from Down Under
A great watch
I love this watch and the platinum version is my grail. Wear it in good health.
The AP RO PC weight
Thanks hamish! interesting you mention the platinum version. On my steel version it is surprisingly lightweight. I have an older yellow gold AP RO PC (solid dial and caseback) that is very heavy. Regards, ED-209
I have a 26401 and it is a beast
I love the weight. After wearing a platinum AP it is hard to go back to any other metal. Platinum is just so versatile
you've made me enjoy mine even more...
.... such a great watch! Thanks for your report
Comparisons of the PC
Thanks Fricks, does your AP RO PC display the March 1st also near midnight? Would be cool to compare the performance of the change since we have several PuristS with this Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. Regards, ED-209
I always love seeing this one in action Ed.
Thanks for the post. I have Iron Maiden's "2 Minutes to Midnight" running through my head now! Never a bad thing for me :-) I must admit, I have always wondered what I would do on a custom rotor of a higher end AP. Family initials to pass down? Nope... I ...
Perfect size
Thanks Jerry! Hope we can do a group pic of AP RO PC in a GTG soon! I was wondering, on your AP Perpetual Calendars do they also turn the date display around midnight? Regards, ED-209
For me, the most beautiful Royal Oak of all ...
I am a big fan of this skeletonized perpetual, it embodies all I adore in the craft of watchmaking! Marcus
IMHO the best Royal Oak Perpetual
and remains to be on my wish list for long. I would do a custom rotor with personal initials on it (which Ap offers). Fantastic collage of pictures and wear this rare beauty in best of all health ! Ovi
