Audemars Piguet was one of the very first brands to use Tantalum in its line of production. Rarely used in watchmaking due to its hardness, tantalum is a heavy, hard and lustrous metal, which exhibits an alluring dark and modish luster. Very high temperatures are needed for tantalum to be adapted, and once it has been formed it is highly corrosion-resistant and extremely durable. According to our research, Audemars Piguet pioneered their first tantalum watch at the behest of King Juan Carlos of Spain, who wanted a Royal Oak with a stealthy tone.

Aesthetically speaking, the present watch has an alluring appeal which would not be an overstatement to call it of the most stunning Royal Oak iterations. With a beautiful grey dial, 18K pink gold bezel and accents, the present timepiece impeccably epitomizes the union of unmissable good looks and sublime technical expertise. An extremely early example, it is numbered 13 and was produced in 1988. Furthermore, the dial displays the correct and early "Audemars Piguet" font where "A" and "P" are the same size as the rest of the letters in "Audemars Piguet".