LeBron James – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel

Basketball legend LeBron James of the NBA basketball team Lakers is wearing a 41mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in black ceramic with a skeletonized dial. The openworked slate grey dial features pink gold applied hour-markers and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating. The model is presented on a classic black ceramic Royal Oak bracelet.

About The Watch

The new AP Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked Black Ceramic is the latest addition to the Double Balancier series of Royal Oaks. Introduced in 2016, this piece is undoubtedly stunning, with a matching black ceramic bracelet.

The watch retains most of the features of earlier Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel versions. As a result, the case remains 41 mm in diameter and includes the iconic octagonal bezel with eight gold screws on the top.

It has a 9.7 mm slim profile, a hexagonal screw-lock crown, and an interchange of brushed finishes and polished accents – all of which remain despite the new material. The critical change is the use of black ceramic, a lightweight and highly robust material, for the case, bezel, crown, and bracelet. Titanium is used for the case back.

Furthermore, Audemars Piguet’s approach of using a double balance rather than a dual-hairspring enables the watch to be controlled from either side of the mechanism. Since there are two variable inertia balances opposite each other, the weight is evenly dispersed across the balance staff, allowing watchmakers to fine-tune the watch in all positions.

Furthermore, friction is decreased because the weight is distributed evenly on both sides of the balancing staff. The idea behind the Double Balance Wheel is very much about chronometric performance. When this double balance wheel mechanism is mounted on a classic caliber, its advantages may be quantified in contrast to a normal single balance movement.

The goal was to use the benefits of having two balancing springs without the drawbacks that come with them. A double spring improves accuracy. However, having two hairsprings on the same side of a single balance design can make adjusting difficult and cause excessive friction on the balancing staff. Setting two springs of the same alloy 180 degrees apart negates this, benefiting the timepiece’s general chronometric efficiency.

This self-regulating organ is mirrored by the pink gold attached hour-markers and luminous hands, as well as the 22K pink gold oscillating weight displayed on the case back side. In honor of the sophisticated mechanism ticking within, the watch’s titanium case back has a new inscription: “Royal Oak Double Balancier.”

Additionally, the remainder of the mechanism is similar to a caliber 3120, which has been the brand’s fundamental automatic movement for numerous years. This is powered by the in-house automatic caliber 3132 and has a frequency of 3Hz and a power reserve of 45 hours.

The AP Royal Oak Double Balance is also waterproof up to 50 meters and features a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Furthermore, the blackened, open-worked bridges on both sides of the watch disclose a portion of the rhodium-toned gear train. Since the 1930s, Audemars Piguet has specialized in open working, a technique that balances beauty and function.

Price market: $600,000.00 USD

Reference: 15416CE.OO.1225CE.01

Photo: Getty Images