Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Montoya

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montoya. Model Reference: 26030IO.OO.D001IN.01

Colombian-born Juan Pablo Montoya entered the world of motorsports at an early age, encouraged by his father who taught him the basics of go-karting. From these beginnings, Montoya began his career in F300 and Formula One testing in 1997, and made his Formula One debut in 2001. He competed at the Formula One level until 2006, where he made the switch to compete in the NASCAR circuit. In 2007, he won the Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway, winning it again in 2008 and 2013. He remains one of only two racecar drivers, alongside Mario Andretti, to achieve victory in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. This is just one of numerous accolades that have catapulted him to being named one of the best Formula One drivers of all time.

Of course, collectors will know very well the close relationship between motorsports and horology, and with its sportier Royal Oak Offshore line, Audemars Piguet sought to add their name to the list of manufactures devoted to creating watches aligned with racing. The Royal Oak Offshore Limited Edition Juan Pablo Montoya was first released in 2004 in pink gold, platinum, and titanium. The titanium version was released in a limited series of one thousand. It’s a noteworthy model as it was the first significant departure from the design of the earliest Offshores, with its more aggressively-styled rectangular pushers and use of an exhibition caseback for the first time. Early Offshores can be especially recognized by their smaller, round chronograph pushers coated in a fire-resistant elastomer called “therban” that closely resembles rubber.

With its “grand tapisserie” dial and motorsports-inspired case construction, the Royal Oak Offshore Juan Pablo Montoya ushered in a new era for Audemars Piguet’s luxury sports watch category. Most notably, the classic eight screws at the bezel have been replaced with screws resembling the lug nuts of a motor vehicle. The inclusion of a tachymeter scale on the rehaut further harkens to the motorsports inspiration. The “grand tapisserie” dial, seen on many Royal Oak Offshores, has an added flair with the subtle motif of a waving racing flag. Combining brash masculinity and sublime mechanics, carbon fiber inserts to the case and bezel belie the beautifully finished automatic caliber 2226, a modified Jaeger-LeCoultre ébauche.