About this watch

Reference 26320OR is the Royal Oak Chronograph at 41 mm, executed throughout in 18 ct rose gold — case, bezel, bracelet and clasp — against a black tapisserie dial. Gold changes what this watch is. In steel the Royal Oak is an expensive sports watch; in solid rose gold at 41 mm it becomes considerably heavier and a great deal harder to ignore. The integrated bracelet accounts for most of that weight, and because every link is gold the watch settles onto the wrist rather than perching on it. The octagonal bezel is held down by eight hexagonal screws, and the matching heads appear again around the back of the case, so what reads as decoration is doing structural work. Between the screws the bezel is polished; the surfaces either side of it are brushed, and the transition between the two is sharp enough to catch a fingernail. The chronograph layout is the classical one: twelve-hour counter at nine, thirty-minute counter at three, running seconds at six, date at half past four. Applied rose gold markers with luminous inserts stand above the waffled dial, and each recessed register is ringed in gold to match. Used, 2016, offered as a full set with spare bracelet links still sealed…