You probably already know that 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. There have been auctions and anniversary editions and events. But it’s not just the anniversary of Gerald Genta’s original design, because both the Royal Oak Offshore and the Royal Oak Concept were both released on previous RO anniversaries — the Offshore on the 20th anniversary and the Concept on the 30th anniversary. As such, the Royal Oak Concept is celebrating its 20th anniversary and Audemars Piguet is celebrating with a new edition of its 2018 Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT (with which we went hands-on here), this time with an elevated combination of colors, most notably very on-trend green.

Back in 2014, when Ariel reviewed the Concept GMT Tourbillon (this model’s predecessor), he called it one of the brand’s coolest watches and I think that still stands true. The Concept line was created with concept cars in mind: Give the engineers and designers at AP an opportunity to demonstrate their technical abilities and utilize unconventional designs while still honoring the brand’s roots. That remains true with the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT. The model is unchanged except for the colors and materials used. The dial features a black flange with lumed hour markers and an open-worked dial with black PVD bridges. Pink gold accents the dial throughout, from the text on the logo and crown function indicator (H for setting, R for winding, and N for neutral) that sit at 12 and 6, respectively, against green fractal motifs to the lumed handset. At 9 o’clock, the namesake flying tourbillon is on full display, with black PVD and pink gold-tone blending together in the floating cage (a reminder that the idea of the tourbillon “flying” is because it is mounted underneath, instead of above, allowing for an uninterrupted view and a floating or flying appearance). Most intriguing to me, though, is the GMT display. AP utilizes a novel display that employs two superimposed discs to show a second 12-hour time—adjusted in one-hour intervals with the 4 o’clock pusher—and day/night. The sapphire hour disc features printed numerals and rotates twice every 24 hours, while the brass day/night disc sits beneath with white (day) and green (night) finishing and rotates once every 24 hours. It’s an extremely clever design that allows at-a-glance reading for the second time zone.

The 44mm Concept case is the same you’ve seen before: an ultra-modern, 16.1mm-thick avant-garde interpretation of Genta’s legendary Royal Oak design, with big, bold facets and sharp edges. In this new model, AP has employed green ceramic (used before in its Offshore collection, but not elsewhere), and I’ll come right out and say it looks fantastic. The deep forest green against the grey of the titanium, with the touch of pink gold on the screw-down crown, with the blend of sandblasting with hand-finished satin brushing and polishing is beautiful. AP is very proud of its green ceramic (the press release spent over 300 words on it, including things like “industrial flow”), but suffice to say that they are able to achieve a homogeneous pigmentation (another of AP’s phrases) by way of a complex process of firing and machining the Zirconium Oxide ceramic powder, with a ceramic composition “only known to its manufacturers.” My favorite piece of the green ceramic is the shape and polishing of the 4 o’clock pusher: this tiny component communicates the GMT complication of the watch, while also demonstrating its unique materials, high-end finishing, and avant-garde design. The case has 100m water resistance and its look is completed with a color-matched integrated rubber strap with a sandblasted titanium folding clasp that matches the case.

The ROCFTGMT (I don’t think that will catch on) is equipped with the in-house AP Calibre 2954. This 348-component movement is manually wound, with 24 jewels, a beat rate of 21,600 vph, and an impressive 10-day power reserve thanks to its double barrel configuration. To reduce wear and tear and increase precision, power reserve, and reliability, AP employs a single pinion to bridge the two barrels, allowing them to feed into the geartrain simultaneously. Another bit of subtle ingenuity from Le Brassus.

Like any Royal Oak Concept piece, this watch is meant to make a statement. That’s clear from the bold design and the unique colorway with its plashes of pink gold. Even more, though, there’s something about the use of color and contrast here that eclipses the monotone of the original grey model and the dichromatic grey-and-blue of the last release. Royal Oak Concept watches are, to a degree, about having fun, and it feels like AP is finally starting to do that with this version. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT in green is priced at 198,900 CHF. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.