After Audemars Piguet announced in 2021 that it would discontinue the most popular model of the Royal Oak, the 15202, this year – the 50th anniversary of the Royal series – announced that a new generation of the 16202 will be the successor model. For watch lovers who love Royal Oak fake watches, the most gratifying thing is that the 16202 faithfully preserves the design elements and appearance of the previous generation 15202, or even the more classic first-generation Royal Oak 5402, because it has been upgraded to a brand new one. The developed 7121 movement makes this classic, which has stood for half a century, with a more modern practical functional connotation.

Speaking of this, I have to introduce the 7121 movement. This new generation of ultra-thin automatic movement developed by Audemars Piguet for 5 years is the key core of the 16202 facelift and upgrade. Because watch lovers have always been sensitive to the change of the model, especially for a series that has not changed its movement in the past 50 years, how should the wearer clearly feel the functional upgrade after the change, and at the same time maintain The familiar classic appearance and wearing feel are the important factors that Audemars Piguet fake considered when developing the 7121 movement.

The brand-new model 16202 is launched this year, including stainless steel with blue dial, 18K gold with smoked gold dial, rose gold with smoked gray dial, and platinum with smoked green dial, a total of 4 styles. The diameter of the case is 39mm and the thickness is 8.1mm. The size of the case is exactly the same as that of the previous generation 15202. Other design elements are only slightly adjusted, but the biggest change is actually in the case.

The Royal Oak series that came out in 1972, from the first model 5402 launched to the model 15202, which was discontinued last year, has been equipped with the same 2121 movement for 50 years. The 2121 movement was developed on the basis of the Jaeger-LeCoultre 902 movement, which was born in the late 1960s, with a thickness of only 3.05mm. However, since the 2121 movement adopts the ancient movement structure of the 1960s, some functions, including the accuracy of 19,800vph, the power reserve of 40 hours, and the date display lacking the quick adjustment function, can no longer fully meet the needs of modern people. daily use needs.

Therefore, Audemars Piguet took the 50th anniversary of Royal Oak as an opportunity to launch the new Royal Oak “Jumbo” model 16202. The new 7121 caliber equipped with it not only means that the 2121 caliber that has stood for half a century has left the scene, it has the meaning of inheriting the past. The more substantive purpose is to transform the Royal Oak watch into a more modern watch that is closer to the new generation of users, while preparing for further use in the future.

Core Architecture Upgrade

The most significant upgrade of the new Royal Oak “Jumbo” model 16202 is that it is equipped with the latest 7121 automatic movement. Compared with the 2121 movement carried by the previous model 15202, it is quite impressive whether it is a visual or functional improvement. The first is the first impression of the appearance of the 7121 movement, which are two opposite golden cross-bridge hollow bridges, which respectively fix the balance wheel and the barrel. Not only does it bring a more modern visual impression, but the structural function is also more stable than the 2121 movement.

Then it comes to the most obvious and core architecture upgrade for users. Including the increase of the vibration frequency from 19,800 vph to 28,800 vph, and the increase of the power reserve from 40 hours to 55 hours, which could not be achieved simultaneously under the dynamic conditions of the 2121 movement in the past. Audemars Piguet first used a larger barrel in the 7121 movement as a power source for the long-term and accurate supply of the movement, followed by a ball bearing automatic disc, and a more efficient satellite wheel-type two-way winding. mechanism to improve the efficiency of the chain.

Another detail is the part of the balance wheel. The 2121 movement adopts the design concept of a card-free balance wheel adjusted with 6 weights. The new 7121 movement further sets 6 adjustment weights on the balance. The inner side of the wheel can maintain the smooth outline of the outer edge of the balance wheel, so as to reduce the air resistance generated during high-speed operation, and improve the working efficiency to reduce energy consumption.

The classic appearance remains unchanged and the practicality is improved

In addition, it is about the 7121 movement to improve the user experience. The Royal Oak “Jumbo” is a watch with three needles and a date. For users, there is often a need to adjust the date, but the date fast adjustment function There is no movement structure in the 1960s used by the 2121 movement, so when users need to adjust the date for multiple days, they can only do it through a more time-consuming time adjustment. The patented ultra-thin energy-saving date setting mechanism is added to the new 7121 movement, which not only meets the needs of users, but also takes into account the kinetic energy demand of ultra-thin movement to reduce energy consumption.

In addition to the functional upgrade, another key point of Audemars Piguet’s development of the 7121 movement is to maintain the classic appearance proportion and wearing feel of the Royal Oak “Jumbo”, and the size of the movement is the key. As described above, the evolution of many functional upgrades from the 2121 movement to the 7121 movement is bound to increase the complexity of the movement. However, because of the modern movement design and watchmaking technology, although the total number of parts has increased from 247 to 268, the size of the movement has only slightly increased from 28.4mm to 29.6mm, and the thickness has increased from 3.05mm to 29.6mm. 3.2mm, perfectly controlled within the allowable range, was able to successfully fit into the classic Royal Oak “Jumbo” case with a diameter of 39mm and a thickness of 8.1mm. This also confirms Audemars Piguet’s strong strength in movement technology. fake watches for sale