As summer was steadily coming to an end and we in the Northern hemisphere were gradually accepting the oncoming fall, Swiss luxury watch maison Audemars Piguet spent its last days of warm weather quietly updating its catalog. While the bulk the famed watchmaker’s new releases were additions to its contemporary Royal Oak Offshore collection, it simultaneously debuted two new high-complication watches ? the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie, the brand?s signature take on a classic minute repeater, and the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. What makes both of these haute horlogerie timepieces even more notable is the use of titanium for their cases.

Importantly, titanium is becoming an increasingly popular choice of metal for Audemars Piguet as a case material within its classic Royal Oak collection. Earlier this year, the manufacture unveiled a Japan-exclusive Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in the metal, and in 2020 launched the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in titanium, each among a couple other experiments that used both platinum and titanium in their cases.
Despite its increasing use within AP?s signature range, titanium appears yet to be applied (sans an accompanying platinum) to the original time-and-date Royal Oak, which is of course famous for being constructed in steel. Yet while steel was the sportiest metal available in 1972, titanium arguably holds that role today, and so it would not be impossible to imagine Audemars Piguet unveiling a par...