A shining reinvention of an iconic design, the Royal Oak Frosted Gold is a contemporary timepiece available in both white gold and pink gold. For its creation, Florentine jewellery designer Carolina Bucci joined forces with Audemars Piguet to honour, as well as develop, the maison’s experimentation with revered jewellery techniques. “I think it is less common for watches to be designed by women, than, say, fashion or jewellery – and that was even truer when Jacqueline Dimier designed the first Royal Oak for women,” reveals Bucci. “Everybody knows about the quality and craftsmanship of Audemars Piguet, but perhaps by injecting this feminine sensibility, people see a new side – something a bit more flamboyant and exuberant with just as much attention to detail.”
The defining feature of the Royal Oak Frosted Gold resides in its shimmering sparkle, which in turn comes from a surface treatment process rooted in an ancient gold hammering technique, also called the Florentine technique. The finish has been used in Bucci’s workshops for decades, predominantly on smaller pieces. By beating the gold with a diamond tipped tool, it creates tiny indentations on the surface that give a sparkle effect similar to that of precious stones, like diamond dust. “The Royal Oak is one of the most iconic watch designs in existence. That is quite daunting when you are considering how to refresh something aesthetically,” says Bucci. “I wanted to give the watch a dynamic quality that captures the attention of those who see it.”
She continues, “By treating the finish of the gold with a Florentine effect, you have added nothing to the watch, nor subtracted anything – just altered the surface of the gold to make it sparkle when catching the light. In doing so, the watch becomes something entirely fresh and confident.”
