For the first time ever, Audemars Piguet‘s  debuted a new generation of Royal Oak Concept GMT its equipped with a flying tourbillon positioned 9 o’clock during the recent Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva early this year. The 44mm timepiece also comes with dial animations and a new Calibre 2954 hand-wound movement. Also new, are the central bridges, which have been replaced with sandblasted black titanium bridges with pink gold-tone polished angles that matches the dial.

By now, if you’ve been a follower of this site, you’d already know that I have a weakness for tourbillons and anything skeleton when it comes to watches, so I guess it really doesn’t come as a surprise that this was my pick from AP’s latest SIHH 2018 timepieces. But what I’ve also come to realise however, is though I’m not usually a fan of black bags I seem to find myself being drawn to black watches, particularly of the sportier, and matte-finished variety. The matte black ceramic bezel not only adds to creating a more rugged look, but also provides the perfect juxtaposition against the sandblasted titanium for a more three-dimensional effect that in turn also makes it easier to tell the time.

While most of you might classify this as a more masculine watch, I’m all for big chunky watches – in fact, 45mm is my favourite size and I’m really coveting this right now, which, to me, is the epitome of arm swag. Oh, and what’s even better is the fact that though it may look rather heavy, the titanium components along with the rubber sports strap with a sandblasted titanium AP folding clasp makes it rather lightweight when worn. If you’re not a fan of rubber straps, it also comes with an additional strap in black alligator for a more refined (read: luxe) vibe.

Images courtesy of Audemars Piguet