Chronograph pushers used to feel clunky. For decades, engaging one required applying roughly 1.5 kilograms of force over a millimeter of travel – about right for a kitchen cabinet door, but not for something strapped to your wrist. The Audemars Piguet‘s Royal Oak “Jumbo” RD#5 changes this, reducing the tactile experience to something closer to tapping your phone screen: 300 grams of force across 0.3 millimeters. You press, and things happen; there is no wrestling involved.
This shift coincides with Audemars Piguet’s 150th anniversary, making it symbolically significant and, more importantly, ambitious. The watch required five years of development and introduces the new Calibre 8100. This movement abandons the hammer-and-heart reset mechanism that chronographs have relied on since their creation. Instead, engineers designed a patented rack-and-pinion system that stores energy rather than dispersing it through friction. When you reset the chronograph, the titanium hand snaps to zero in less than 0.15 seconds. There is no visible lag.
Functionality meets form
For the first time, the RD#5 pairs a self-winding flyback chronograph with a flying tourbillon within the Royal Oak Jumbo case. The 39-millimeter diameter and 8.1-millimeter thickness preserve the features that collectors value from the original Gérald Genta design of 1972. Audemars Piguet achieved this with “glass box” sapphire crystals that are flat on the outside but hollow on the inside, allowing them to accommodate the movement and oscillating weight without adding bulk.
Giulio Papi, AP’s Director of Watchmaking Design, explained the approach: “Their travel – that is the distance they must be pressed – is often 1 mm or more and requires a force of around 1.5 kilograms. Our aim was to reduce these values to enhance the client experience, drawing inspiration from smartphone buttons which typically have a travel of 0.3 mm and require 300 grams of force.” The smartphone comparison seems calculated, but the execution supports it.
The crown incorporates a function selector with a visual indicator for winding and time-setting positions. This feature replaces the traditional pocket watch crown while maintaining Royal Oak aesthetics. Chronograph registers sit symmetrically at the three and nine o’clock positions, offering clean legibility. A flying tourbillon occupies the six o’clock position, serving a functional rather than decorative purpose.
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Technical overhaul
The Calibre 8100 is only four millimeters thick, despite housing 379 components and 44 jewels. Its rack-and-pinion mechanism keeps the gear train under tension, which prevents hand shudder and eliminates the friction spring found in contemporary chronographs. Lucas Raggi, AP’s Chief Industrial Officer, stated: “With this innovation, Audemars Piguet has reinterpreted the chronograph to enhance its ease of use. The RD#5 can store energy when the chronograph is activated and release it upon reset – enabling, for the first time, short-travel, low-force push-pieces for enhanced smoothness and unmatched comfort.“
The movement features an instantaneous minute counter, which is achieved by the rack-and-pinion system disengaging with each revolution of the counter. Energy stored during operation drives the minute counter to increment instantly rather than gradually. This detail matters to chronograph collectors who prefer precision over approximation.
Building upon the RD#3 from 2022, the watch incorporates a high-amplitude flying tourbillon with a titanium cage and a redesigned escapement. The components were repositioned to make the tourbillon lighter and thinner while maintaining the original proportions. The oscillator tolerates higher amplitudes than conventional escapements, reducing backlash and improving reliability.
Materials and design
The case combines titanium with bulk metallic glass (BMG), an alloy with over 50 percent palladium content that resists corrosion and wear while offering a reflective sheen. BMG appears on the bezel, pushers, crown function selector, and studs, all of which are mirror-polished. The caseback has a circular satin finish, and the titanium case and bracelet links alternate between satin brushing and polished bevels.
The “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” dial features the Petite Tapisserie pattern and rhodium-toned gold hour markers, as well as luminescent 18-karat white gold hands. The counters share the same blue tone and have snailed finishes for contrast. The chronograph hands are made of titanium to reduce weight.
To commemorate the brand’s sesquicentennial, the dial features a special Audemars Piguet signature inspired by archival designs at 12 o’clock. The caseback is engraved with “1 of 150 pieces” and the “150” logo, which emphasizes the limited production run.
Chronograph evolution
The chronograph complication has a long history of incremental refinement. Jean-Moïse Pouzait created a stoppable seconds hand in 1776; Ralph Gout produced a pedometer watch for counting horse strides in 1799; and Louis Moinet introduced a tierce counter with start, stop, and reset functions in 1816. In 1821, Nicolas-Mathieu Rieussec followed with an ink-writing time recorder, coining the term “chronograph” from the Greek words “chronos” and “graph.”
In 1862, Nicole & Capt unveiled the first modern chronograph pocket watch, which displayed local time while measuring elapsed time with an independent hand. In 1913, Longines launched one of the first chronograph wristwatches for aviation use, transitioning the complication from a performance tool to a style statement.
Audemars Piguet introduced chronograph wristwatches in the 1930s and produced only 307 pieces before 1980. These remain among the rarest timepieces globally as standardization did not occur until the 1950s. The 1997 Royal Oak chronograph introduced the 5.5-millimeter-thick Calibre 2385. In 2019, the Code 11.59 collection debuted the Calibre 4401: an integrated self-winding flyback chronograph with a column wheel and a vertical clutch.
RD legacy
The RD series began in 2015 with the goal of addressing structural challenges within haute horlogerie. The RD#1 set new acoustic standards, the RD#2 reinvented ultra-thin perpetual calendars by consolidating components on a single plane, and the RD#3 introduced the ultra-thin self-winding flying tourbillon. RD#4 became the most complex and ergonomic wristwatch the company had ever produced. The RD#5 tackles chronograph ergonomics, a field that has remained largely static for decades.
Ilaria Resta, Audemars Piguet’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Audemars Piguet has always embraced a challenge. With our latest innovation – the RD#5 – the aim was to offer enthusiasts a complicated watch that is both comfortable and easy to use. Ultimately, a timepiece suited for today’s lifestyle that pays homage to the original Jumbo with its aesthetic simplicity.”
The movement features a platinum peripheral oscillating weight, which provides an unobstructed view of the hand-beveled chronograph bridges with their sharp inward angles and satin finishes. The 72-hour power reserve accommodates modern lifestyles without risk of deregulation.
Practical assessment
Whether reducing pusher force from 1.5 kilograms to 300 grams constitutes a revolution or a refinement depends on one’s perspective. For collectors who value the tactile experience, this change is significant. The watch maintains Jumbo proportions while integrating complications that typically require more case volume. This alone represents successful engineering.
Pricing remains undisclosed, though the 150-piece production run limits accessibility regardless. The RD#5 targets collectors who are familiar with the output of Audemars Piguet’s research department and who appreciate technical problem-solving over conventional luxury signaling. If you want a chronograph that operates differently from those made in the last 150 years, this is it.
Giulio Papi summarized the achievement: “Entirely reimagined to meet our clients’ expectations, the RD#5 brings together all the hallmarks of a refined chronograph: touch-sensitive push-pieces, an instantaneous jump minute counter, remarkable thinness, and meticulously designed ergonomics and legibility.“
