Notable as Audemars Piguet’s finest achievements, the Royal Oak Jumbo ref. 5402 sized at 39mm diameter debuted in 1972 with its unprecedented concept made waves amongst the world of luxury watchmaking. At the end of the same year, it was already the brand’s most successful model since the company’s founding in 1875, with 492 pieces sold in less than eight months. In response to the growing demand, the brand further expanded their offerings with ref. 8638 sized at 29mm diameter in 1976 targeted to female clienteles, as well as the ref. 4100 intermediately sized at 35mm and was extremely well-received. Following this incredible momentum that the Royal Oak has ventured, in 1977-1981 a whopping 27 more new references were created during the 5 year span available in a variety of dials, size, movements and gem-setting.

From 1983 in the midst of the golden era of two-tone timepieces such as the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Vacheron Constantin ref. 222, the present Audemars Piguet ref. 14332 also ride on this new trend with an upsized 36mm case. Robust in steel with a well-balanced of rich yellow metal that accentuates the design of a luxury sports timepiece, the aesthetic of the iconic tapisserie dial stayed much like its sibling ref. 4100, featuring the early Audemars Piguet signature at 12 o’clock and flat top “A” in automatic signature at 6 o’clock, the ref. 14332 is signed SWISS MADE instead of SWISS on the ref. 4100. Extremely well-preserved, the present example is from 1987 confirmed by the Audemars Piguet Extract from the Archives. Fitted with an attractive grey dial with warm gold date wheel that perfectly complements its case metal, the present ref. 14332 also retains its original unsigned crown correct to the period. With a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak this very year, the present two-tone ref. 14332 with incredible vintage aesthetics synonymous to the period is a perfect daily watch for the discerned collector.