Breaking News: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Wins the Aiguille D'Or At The 2019 GPHG Awards

November 07, 2019

The votes have been counted and the results are in. The winner of watchmaking's most prestigious industry award is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin. This is the serially produced, commercially available version of a watch that readers may remember from its initial debut as the Royal Oak RD#2.?Presented at the SIHH 2018, it was made of solid platinum and was an experimental prototype.? Today's winning watch is?made from titanium with a platinum bezel and polished platinum bracelet interlinks. Like the RD#2, the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin measures just 41mm x 6.3mm with a perpetual calendar movement that clocks in at just 2.89mm thin.?These record-breaking proportions were achieved by taking the classic, three-level perpetual calendar construction and and compressing everything into one layer, as seen in the below image. The Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is an incredibly impressive watchmaking achievement, and one that clearly impressed the Grand Prix jurors in Geneva.? Though AP has won several GPHG awards across numerous categories, this is the company's first time taking home the top prize. The 2019 Winners Ladies Watch Prize: Chanel, J12 Caliber 12.1 Ladies Complication Watch Prize: MB&F, Legacy Machine FlyingT Mens Watch Prize: Voutilainen, 28ti Mens Complication Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Minute Repeater Supersonnerie Iconic Watch Prize: Audemars Piguet, Royal Oak "Jumbo" Extra-thin Chronometry Watch Prize: Chronomtrie Ferdinand Berthoud, Carburised steel regulator Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize: Herms, Arceau L'heure de la lune Mechanical Exception Watch Prize: Genus, GNS1.2 Chronograph Watch Prize: Bvlgari, Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic Divers Watch Prize: Seiko, Prospex LX Line Diver's Jewellery Watch Prize: Bvlgari, Serpenti Misteriosi Romani Artistic Crafts Watch Prize: Voutilainen, Starry Night Vine Petite Aiguille Prize: Kudoke, Kudoke 2 Challenge Watch Prize: Tudor, Black Bay P01 Innovation Prize: Vacheron Constantin, Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar Audacity Prize: Urwerk, AMC Horological Revelation Prize: Ming, 17.06 Copper Special Jury Prize: Luc Pettavino, Founder and Organizer of Only Watch