MichaelC[AP Moderator]
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AP SIHH 2014: 44mm black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore w/ anthracite dial
May 12, 2014,13:54 PM
Earlier this year at SIHH 2014, Audemars Piguet released a new dial for the 44mm black ceramic cased Royal Oak Offshore. The year before, AP showed the same Offshore with a black dial. This new Royal Oak Offshore has an anthracite colored dial, and is a reference 26402CB.
Those of you who read my recent articles on the 42mm Royal Oak Offshores will recall my stated love for all things grey
So again, it will come as as no surprise when I state right off the bat that I adore this new 44mm grey dialed Offshore.
Aside from the few red accents used to define the chronograph timing hands, the entire piece is otherwise greyscale.
Audemars Piguet does a superb job with finishing ceramic. And depending upon the lighting, it can look somewhat less than black and have a shimmer.
No one will argue for a better strap than AP's superbly supple rubber offering with pin buckle.
The strap attachment plots are titanium.
A major part of the evolution with the 44mm Royal Oak Offshores are the pushers and crown guard assembly. You really have to look closely to appreciate the multiple levels of finishing and materials AP utilizes on this area of the watch. The outer portion of the pusher is black ceramic. It is attached to a blasted titanium piece, which protrudes from a blasted titanium guard area. As the metal moves closer to the black ceramic crown, the finish becomes brushed. Needless to say, these various black and grey components match very well with the anthracite dial on this particular version.
The silver tach ring does well to offer a frame for the dial. It also provides great legibility for the red-tipped chronograph seconds hand counter. The outer portion of the minute and hour chronograph subdial rings are also silverized, again uniting the chronograph timing displays. I am all in favor of this subtle detail, and as someone who has criticized AP's treatment of certain subdial and hand colors in the past, I fully applaud this design decision. A casual observer might not catch this unifying detail, but it demonstrates superb planning in my opinion.
The 44mm Royal Oak Offshores definitely fit and look larger than the 42mm Offshores. While the smaller size might look better on my wrist, I feel the fit is fine with the 44mm and I would not hesitate to purchase one.
A quick refresher of the black dialed variant from 2013:
It has been enjoyable to see the progression of the 44mm Royal Oak Offshore line for the few years it has been out. I certainly have been tempted to acquire one, and for various reasons have not done so. But I can definitely say at this point that if I am to get one, it will absolutely be this new anthracite dialed version. It is breathtaking in person.