ED209[Purist]
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked Perpetual Calendar
Mar 15, 2014,15:00 PM
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
Comments:
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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked Perpetual Calendar
By: ED209 : March 15th, 2014-15:00
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!
By: emijar3 : March 15th, 2014-15:58
Didn't know that the perpetual calentar had that feature!! Good to know!! Best! Ernesto
Thanks for checking it out
By: ED209 : March 15th, 2014-21:41
Thanks Ernesto! To me the perpetual calendar is easy to read and has been working great. Regards, ED-209
You're welcome
By: ED209 : March 15th, 2014-21:43
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!!
By: ik2000 : March 15th, 2014-18:06
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
By: ED209 : March 15th, 2014-21:51
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!
By: KIH : March 15th, 2014-20:23
... 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
Thanks Ken
By: ED209 : March 15th, 2014-21:51
Glad you like the report. Regards, ED-209
A great watch
By: hamish : March 16th, 2014-02:41
I love this watch and the platinum version is my grail. Wear it in good health.
The AP RO PC weight
By: ED209 : March 16th, 2014-22:38
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
By: hamish : March 22nd, 2014-04:04
I love the weight. After wearing a platinum AP it is hard to go back to any other metal. Platinum is just so versatile
Comparisons of the PC
By: ED209 : March 16th, 2014-22:40
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.
By: MichaelC : March 16th, 2014-08:53
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 ...
Custom rotor
By: ED209 : March 16th, 2014-22:41
A pair fo 45s on a custom rotor would be really cool. Regards, ED-209
Great report
By: Colin W : March 16th, 2014-15:38
Love that piece, it is perfection on your wrist
Thanks Colin
By: ED209 : March 16th, 2014-22:41
Thanks for the kind words! Regards, ED-209
Perfect size
By: ED209 : March 16th, 2014-22:42
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
I agree :)
By: ED209 : March 17th, 2014-18:13
:) Regards, ED-209
IMHO the best Royal Oak Perpetual
By: Horology75 : March 20th, 2014-22:38
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
Custom rotor
By: ED209 : March 21st, 2014-16:32
Thanks Ovi! A custom rotor would be cool. Regards, ED-209
stunning
By: Arie - Mr Orange : April 27th, 2014-14:45
watch!