In the year 1971 the watch industry traditionally had the motto: "A luxury watch may not be made of steel." But the Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet, which specializes in extremely expensive precious timepieces, broke new ground and laid the foundation for one of the most famous and sought-after watch models in the world: the "Royal Oak".
When in 1971 Audemars Piguet was asked by the Italian agent Carlo de Marchi for a new sporty wristwatch, the then general manager Georges Golay commissioned on the eve of the Basel Watch and Jewellery Fair the designer Gerald Genta with the design to be finished on the next day.
Despite the extremely tight timeframe, Genta created an iconic watch design that would later be found in his designs for the "Nautilus" from Patek Philippe or the "Ingenieur" from IWC. He was inspired by a childhood experience when he saw a professional diver putting on a helmet. Sealing the helmet with a rubber seal and several bolts served as the idea for the famous octagonal bezel shape (including rubber seal) of the Royal Oak, which was also intended to remind one of a ship's porthole.
The design was well accepted by AP and the watch was gradually developed for production. The watch was temporarily internally called the "Safari", but finally it was named the "Royal Oak" based on some sailing ships of the British fleet that bore this name and had cannon openings with octagonal frames in the hull. Incidentally, the ships were so named because, according to legend, King Charles II of England hid from his enemies on an oak (the "Royal Oak").
In 1972 the Royal Oak was presented at the Watch Fair in Basel, where it became a veritable flop among the specialist audience. The reasons for this are diverse. On the one hand, the watch cost well over 3,000 Francs, which was roughly ten times the price of a Rolex Submariner - and that for a watch made of steel. On the other hand, the design with its corners, edges and visible screws was radically different from previous sports watches, especially in the then unfamiliar size of approx. 39 mm, which earned it its nickname "Jumbo".
A Royal Oak 5402 from the late 1970s with a so-called „Tropical" dial. This is what dials are called whose color has changed from black to a shade of brown over the years. Such models are extremely collectible today and are sold at top prices.
In the first 3 years after its introduction in Italy and Switzerland, AP only sold around 400 copies of the Royal Oak. But then the tide suddenly turned and many watch collectors and trendsetters recognized the potential that slumbered in the watch. The Royal Oak became a best seller and saved AP over the quartz crisis of the 80s. The success of the Royal Oak was certainly the impetus for Patek Philippe to develop the Nautilus, whose similarity to the Royal Oak cannot be denied. It also comes from the same designer Gerald Genta. The same applies to the engineers at IWC.
Even today, the Royal Oak line, including its offshoot, the Royal Oak Offshore, is the top seller for Audemars Piguet and old models from the 1970s are among the most sought-after collector's watches worldwide.
The Royal Oak and its offshoot, the Royal Oak Offshore, are now available in different variations and movements.
A typical distinguishing feature of the Royal Oak has always been that the watch (and thus the caliber) is very flat. The automatic caliber 2121, which is still installed in the current model 15202, already ticked in the first models of the Royal Oak. The movement was the result of a collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Jaeger LeCoultre and was only 3,05 mm high.
Interestingly enough, Jaeger LeCoultre supplied movements for the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore for years. For example, AP has only recently been equipping the Royal Oak Offshore with a chronograph movement developed by AP itself. (You can recognize the Jaeger LeCoultre movements in the offshore models through the date disc which sits very deep under the magnifying glass. The reason for this is that the movements are so-called module chronographs, in which the chronograph module is a separate unit that is mounted on the normal movement. This means that the date is lower than that of integrated chronograph movements. The second hand of the chronograph also jumps briefly when the time measurement is started on modular chronographs.)
The Royal Oak is available in different variations. Here a Royal Oak Dual Time with a second time zone including day / night indicator, power reserve and watch hand date.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with moon phase and day-date display through watch hand.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chrono.
Audemars Piguet Chrono in 41 mm case and so-called "Panda" dial.
There were also exotic variations. Here a rectangular model with quartz (!) movements, probably from the 70s / 80s when the Swiss watch industry suffered from the flood of cheap quartz watches from the Far East and themselves then began to use quartz movements in high-priced watch models. A strategy that was not very successful.
For the 20th anniversary of the watch, AP brought out the new chronograph "Royal Oak Offshore" as a modern and contemporary interpretation of the classic. The then 22-year-old Emmanuel Gueit was commissioned with the design, who, like Gerald Genta 20 years earlier, presented a radical design in 42 mm size as a further development of the Royal Oak.
And here, too, history repeated itself. The watch was presented in 1993 at the Watch Fair in Basel and fell through with the specialist audience. Even Gerald Genta, the "father" of Royal Oak design, was reportedly disappointed with the Royal Oak Offshore. But just like the Royal Oak, the Royal Oak Offshore ultimately prevailed on the market with flying colors and is today a pillar within the Royal Oak family. Especially the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wore the watch in some of his films (e.g. "Terminator" or "End of Days") and is also in private a big fan of Offshore, was a great support. (Incidentally, this reveals a certain parallel to Sylvester Stallone, who is a big fan of Panerai watches and has featured them prominently in his films.)
A typical example of the current Royal Oak Offshore Collection with a 44 mm case.
Today there is an extremely wide range of models of both the Royal Oak and, above all, the Royal Oak Offshore with many variations in steel, but also in gold, platinum, ceramic, carbon or titanium.
The Royal Oak Offshore is now available in case sizes of up to 48 mm (e.g. the "Terminator T3" or the "Shaquille O'Neal") and the entire collection is increasingly developing into very eye-catching watches in a wide variety of designs.
The Royal Oak, on the other hand, still focuses on the look of the classic sports watch. An important feature of the Royal Oak is the very low height of the case. For example, there is the "Jumbo Extra Thin" model with a case height of just 8 mm.
In terms of performance, certain models from both lines are very successful. The price of the Royal Oak 15400 on the used and secondary market has increased by more than 50% in recent years and starts (August 2019) at around EUR 20,000 for used models within the European Union (source: Chrono24). The reason for the rapid price increase for the 15400 model on the grey market, especially recently, could also be due to the fact that the successor with reference 15500 was introduced in 2019 and the reference 15400 is expiring. (A phenomenon that can also be observed with Rolex watches.) For Royal Oak models dated 1973, prices start at around EUR 70,000 today.
Perhaps, given such prices, some critics from back then think that an investment in the "overpriced steel watch" might not have been so bad after all :-)
The Royal Oak 15400 with a 41 mm case. This model was replaced by the successor reference 15500 in 2019.
The Royal Oak 15400 is available in different dial variations: black (picture above), blue (boutique model), gray and white / silver.
We offer many Audemars Piguet watches. All watches are sold with a 2 year Bargello guarantee. We ship fully insured worldwide.
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