Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph

Audemars Piguet present a new limited edition piece - the Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph.  The latest piece is a magnificent addition to the portfolio of limited edition Royal Oak Offshores, the chunky big brother of the Gérald Genta designed Royal Oak which dates back to 1972. Jarno Trulli, F1 driver, wine-maker and all round nice guy has been associated with Audemars Piguet since 2008.  He has been struggling with his Lotus a bit this season, but remains dignified and likeable and to my knowledge hasn't squeezed any other drivers up against a brick wall out on the track, unlike another famous F1 veteran.  It's been a great week for AP's sporting ambassadors, four of whom played for the victorious European team in the Ryder Cup, no doubt adding to the brand's 135th Anniversary celebrations.

The Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph is a splendid combination of high-tech materials - forged carbon, Cermet (a ceramic-metal composition) and titanium.  The result is a stunning mix of grey and black.

Silvered counters and touches of red on the hour markers, hour and minute hands and on the chronograph seconds hand illuminate the grey and black to perfection.  The use of markers rather than numerals on editions such as this cleans up the dial giving the different textures and materials used centre stage.  Even the case is neat and tidy, gone are the "air extractor" style pushpieces seen on other F1-inspired Off-Shore Chronographs - this piece features smooth and sleek rounded titanium pushers.  Overall this is a superb version, in my opinion bettered only by the very tasty titanium and rubber Juan Pablo Montoya edition with race-suit inspired stitched strap released some years ago .

The 42mm Jarno Trulli Chronograph is powered by the mechanical self-winding Calibre 3126/3840 with power reserve of 60 hours.  Audemars Piguet are known for their high quality movements and immaculate finishing and this piece is no exception.  The craftsmanship can be viewed through the exhibition caseback which is also inscribed with Jarno's signature.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Jarno Trulli Chronograph comes presented on a black rubber strap and will be a limited edition of 500 pieces.