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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42MM Ceramic
Ref. 26238CD.OO.1300CD.01
Sits in Audemars Piguet’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Audemars Piguet watches we list, which start at £17,950.
Price range £17,950 to £114,400 across 13 Audemars Piguet watches in stock.The Offshore began in 1993 as a deliberate provocation — Gerald Genta's Royal Oak made larger, thicker, louder, quickly nicknamed The Beast by those inside the maison who thought it had gone too far. This ceramic reference is its most disciplined modern expression of that idea: the entire watch, case, dial and bracelet, rendered in a single deep blue ceramic, a shade described as Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 that deliberately recalls the blue dialled Reference 5402 Gerald Genta drew for 1972. The monochromatic commitment is absolute, broken only by the titanium deployant clasp and the exhibition caseback, through which the calibre 4404's openworked rotor is visible. That movement is the substantive reason this reference exists at a different level from the broader Offshore range. The 4404 is a flyback chronograph built around a column wheel and vertical clutch, which gives the chronograph hand a clean, jump-free start, and carries a zero-reset mechanism patented by the manufacture. Seventy hours of power reserve across 40 jewels running at 28,800 vibrations per hour is the sort of specification that reflects serious movement engineering rather than assembly. At 15.3mm the watch is not thin — the Offshore never pretended otherwise — but the integrated ceramic bracelet, with its hand-finished satin surfaces and polished chamfers, distributes that presence across the wrist rather than piling it up at the case, and the Méga Tapisserie dial shifts character noticeably as the light changes angle, which is the point of that pattern.
- Reference
- 26238CD.OO.1300CD.01
- Brand
- Audemars Piguet
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 15.3mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Case shape
- Octagonal
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- 4404
- Functions
- Chronograph, Date, Small seconds, Skeleton dial
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Ceramic bracelet
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
Learn more about Audemars Piguet
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, both from the Vallée de Joux, formalised their partnership in 1875. The valley was then the centre of complicated movement work, and the pair spent their early decades supplying calibres to other houses — Tiffany among them — rather than selling under their own name.
The firm remains privately held by descendants of the founding families, an unusual survival in an industry consolidated into three or four groups.
Its defining moment came in 1972, in the depths of the quartz crisis, when Audemars Piguet released the Royal Oak: a steel watch priced above gold ones, with an octagonal bezel, exposed screws, and an integrated bracelet, drawn by Gérald Genta reportedly overnight. It was widely mocked at launch. It created the luxury sports watch category and now underpins the entire company.
The Royal Oak Offshore of 1993 pushed the same design larger and louder, and drew similar early scepticism before becoming a pillar in its own right. The Code 11.59 collection, introduced in 2019, was the house's attempt to prove it could sell something else — a mixed reception commercially, though the movements inside are serious.
Underneath the modern noise, the complication pedigree is intact: minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and some of the thinnest tourbillon movements built anywhere.
- 1875
- Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet begin working together.
- 1881
- The firm is registered as Audemars Piguet & Cie.
- 1972
- The Royal Oak launches, inventing the luxury steel sports watch.
- 1993
- The Royal Oak Offshore extends the line.
- 2019
- Code 11.59 debuts as a new collection.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Automatic Watches (1,362), Chronograph Watches (1,031), Blue Dial Watches (688), Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (235), Skeleton Watches (228) and Ceramic Watches (93).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 70-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Audemars Piguet's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 15.3mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for diving.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 70 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb at £114,400, pre-owned. No UK retailer we track lists this reference new.
Is this available new?
Not from the UK retailers we track. This reference is listed as pre-owned only, at £114,400 from Mappin & Webb. A pre-owned watch has been worn, and is normally sold under the retailer’s own warranty rather than the manufacturer’s.
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