Launched in 1972, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak was the world’s first stainless steel luxury sports watch with a fully integrated bracelet. Designed overnight in response to an urgent request for an ‘unprecedented steel watch’, it was at the same time the most expensive stainless steel watch ever made. Today the Royal Oak is a legend, accounting for over 70% of the brand’s sales. Audemars Piguet sought famed designer Gerald Genta, who developed a brilliantly engineered, monobloc case, with a distinctively maritime feel, featuring an octagonal bezel secured by eight hexagonal, white gold screws, and a dial with tapisserie motif. It most notably housed the extra slim caliber 2121 based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 920, that would later be found in Patek Philippe’s Nautilus wristwatch. Today, the Royal Oak remains as iconic as ever with early examples being exceedingly popular and collectible.

Production of the reference 5402 spanned 25 years, with a total of 6,050 examples manufactured, in four different batches: A, B, C and D with small design details that made each slightly different.

The ‘A’ series Royal Oak models feature the distinctive ‘AP’ logo positioned at 6 o’clock, with later “Jumbo” models having the brand logo at the 12 o’clock position. This superb A-series Royal Oak wristwatch from 1974, number A1745, is a charismatic example. Its 39 mm case diameter provides outstanding wrist presence, whilst its original Gay Frères stainless steel bracelet remains taut and wonderfully preserved. The case is well-preserved, and is most probably unpolished, while the original dial is beautifully aged with the hands and luminous hour markers having acquired an attractive, light yellowish hue.

The Royal Oak is an icon within the world of horology. Its history as the first modern luxury sports watch, along with its timeless aesthetic, makes it a superb choice for the connoisseur.