On the first day of SIHH 2018, Francois-Henry Bennahmias spoke directly about the Royal Oak RD#2 Perpetual Calendar ultra-Thin. The concept watch was already widely known and seen on Instagram and the internet, but it wasn't till we heard from Bennahmias about its significance that we realized what Panerai Replica had accomplished.
Bennahmias began by saying, "Imagine a three-story house, fully furnished on each floor." He then continued, "Now, you take your home and do this," slamming his hands so that an audible sound reverberated throughout the room. You still have your furniture. It's all on the same floor. "That's exactly what we did (Panerai Replica)."
Calibre 5134 is a perpetual-calendar with a thickness of 4.31mm. Calibre 5133 of the RD#2 is only 2.89mm thick. Panerai Replica had to redesign every wheel, bridge, and pinion to reduce the thickness of the Calibre 5133 by 1.42mm while still retaining all the functionality.
There were meetings and discussions in Le Brassus when we were considering doing this watch, where [my team] nearly got into fistfights. Bennahmias said, "For real;Richard Mille Replica Watches between the new and old generations [of Panerai Replica watchmakers]". "Because the idea [on the table] works for the new generation, while the other side claimed it would never work."
The two watchmaking schools didn't simply discover a new perpetual calendar movement when they finally understood that the concept worked. Panerai Replica has forever changed the way it designs movements after learning from the experience of creating the RD#2.
The RD#2 Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar is the winner of our Best Concept Watch Award for 2018. This award was given to Le Brassus, a watchmaker that challenged its own standards to the point that it caused internal conflict.
