Description

The ‘Royal Oak’ overturned the prevailing codes in 1972 during a period of existential crisis for the watch industry due to the boom of the cheap Quartz watches made in Asia.

The company had to come with a bold, solid stainless sports steel luxury watch, they gave the mission to Gerald Genta to design it.
He got the inspiration from a deep-sea-diving helmet, the result was an octagonal bezel, visible mounting screws, a large case of 39mm with an integrated bracelet, a very futuristic design for the seventies.
Within 2-3 years they sold about 1000 watches establishing a new segment within the industry and pioneered the popularity and desirability of the steel sports luxury watch.

The first model released was the reference 5402 known today as the “Royal Oak A series”, with a thin automatic calibre 2121 movement that is still made today.

Since they treated steel as gold, the level of finishing was remarkable and so was the retail price, for comparison purpose a similar Rolex sport watch was 10x cheaper.

Today, Audemars Piguet still produces a range of Royal Oaks in different sizes (33 to 41mm) for ladies and men, from titanium, rose gold, yellow gold and platinum metals, various dial colours and with different complications.

The present timepiece is the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Openworked reference 15416CE.OO.1225CE.01. Audemars Piguet takes the iconic Royal Oak to a whole new level with this 41mm gorgeousness crafted entirely in ceramic encasing the anthracite open-worked dial.  This makes the watch almost entirely scratch-resistant. AP has used full ceramic case with bracelet mainly on higher complication models within the Royal Oak line such as the Tourbillon Extra-Thin and the Perpetual Calendar.

The dial is a deep, intense work of art, revealing the caliber in all its glory, which is finished in anthracite black, with the jewels, pink gold hands and the pink gold lume-filled hour-markers glittering against the black backdrop.

Adding flavor to the intensity of the dial is the golden double balance wheel which is visible from both front and back. The movement inside is the AP Caliber 3132, an automatic machine measuring just 5.57mm in height and offering 45hr of power reserve. The Double Balance Wheel is designed to improve rate stability and by extension accuracy of the movement.

This highly sought-after black beauty comes on a full ceramic bracelet adding to its stealth.
We offer here a brand new set with international AP warranty.

Audemars Piguet – bio

Audemars Piguet is a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical watches founded in 1875. They began in the Vallée de Joux. Jules Louis Audemars formed a partnership with Edward Auguste Piguet. Audemars created complicated blank watch movements for other manufactures to use. Piguet specialized in the final regulation of watches. They then split responsibilities when they began their own company. Audemars was in charge of production and technical aspects while Piguet focused on sales and management. One of their first achievements was creating the first repeater wristwatch in 1892 and in 1972 the iconic steel “Royal Oak”.