Two-tone watches have historically come with a certain stigma attached: just think about those hoards of old Datejusts on loosey-goosey bracelets dangling from the wrists of retirees in Florida rest homes! Audemars Piguet is taking a gamble by releasing a two-tone model in their core sports luxury collection, which is generally targeting a younger demographic. This is a bold move for AP, and one that, in my opinion, reflects a larger movement at play within the industry. More on that later. For now, on to the basics:

The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Two-Tone (Reference 15400SR.00.1229SR.01) is based in the same angular 41mm Audemars Piguet Royal Oak replica watch case as its steel brethren. It has an overall thickness of 9.8mm. As noted above, the case material is steel and gold, but unlike some earlier two-tone Royal Oak models, this one utilizes pink gold in lieu of yellow on the crown, bracelet center links, and characteristic “porthole” bezel. The white dial features the traditional Grand Tapisserie patterning associated with the Royal Oak model since its inception, as well as pink gold hour hour markers and hands. The watch is currently only offered with a traditional integrated bracelet, not a leather strap.

The movement is AP’s Calibre 3120 self-winding automatic, with a frequency of 3hz and a power reserve of 60 hours. This calibre is built entirely in-house and is very much a workhorse for their Royal Oak collection, powering three-hand models with center seconds and an instantaneously jumping date function, displayed here, as on other 15400 models, at the three o’clock position.

Since the Reference 15400 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak isn’t new, and has been covered in-depth previously, the question of this model’s wearability comes down entirely to the aesthetics of the two-tone layout. As I mentioned earlier, two-tone watches have a stigma attached to them, and Audemars Piguet’s gamble in bringing one back to their most recognizable collection is worthy of note.

It might not be fashionable quite yet – hell, I’ll bet there’s a fair amount of you reading this right now that doubt it ever will be. Well, I was once one of those guys, and whether its maturation of taste or simply getting old, my stance has about-faced. I think two-tone is coming back to the timepiece market as part of this shift of values, and I think hot sale replica Audemars Piguet watch is taking point. When done well, two-tone can be a thing of beauty. And of balls. And AP has more balls than most.