Audemars Piguet - The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII Geneva Saturday, May 8, 2021 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet
    Year: 1994
    Reference No: 25686SP
    Movement No: 374'092
    Case No: D41996 and 16/25
    Model Name: Royal Oak "Tuscan"
    Material: Platinum and stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 2120/04, 38 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Platinum and stainless steel Audemars Piguet bracelet, max length 190mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Platinum and stainless steel Audemars Piguet deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet undated and unstamped Certificate of Authenticity, Extract from the Registers confirming the present watch was produced in 1994, and winding box

  • Catalogue Essay

    There is so much more to the Royal Oak than meets the eye. Starting out almost 50 years ago as a wild bet to create a “sports” watch that cost more than classic gold timepieces, it is a model that has become one of the best selling leisure watches of the past years and an immediately recognizable icon.

    The Royal Oak is a timepiece that set the benchmark on many fronts. Not only was it the very first luxury sports watch when launched in 1972, it was also the very first luxury sports watch featuring a complication.

    In 1982, exactly 10 years after its launch, the Royal Oak was presented with a perpetual calendar - not only a rare complication at the time, as very few brands were still producing such timepieces, but an audacious move that housed a delicate complication in a steel sports watch.

    Ever since, Audemars Piguet has been boldly pushing the boundaries with the perpetual calendar Royal Oak models, whether in terms of metals for the case or dial designs.

    The present example is an incredibly seductive and visually arresting model in steel with a platinum bezel and center links, along with a gorgeous blue textured dial nicknames “Tuscan”.

    This Royal Oak features a superb movement: caliber 2120/2800 which was born in 1977 making it at the time the world’s slimmest perpetual calendar movement with a thickness of only 3.95mm.

    A watch of un-comparable charisma and in overall excellent condition, the present watch is number 16 from a limited edition of 25.

  • Artist Biography

    Audemars Piguet

    Swiss • 1881

    A specialist in the manufacture of complications since it was established in 1881, Audemars Piguet never ceases to impress with a rich history of creating bold, even audacious, timepieces underpinned by traditional watchmaking at its finest. This Le Brassus-based Swiss manufacturer is one of only two major manufacturers still owned by the founding family. Since its earliest days, AP is considered a leader in the field of minute repeaters and grande complication pocket and wristwatches. The brand is devoted to preserving the history of watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux, showcased at their superb museum in Le Brassus.

    Today, the brand is best known for its Royal Oak models, a revolutionary luxury sports watch launched in 1972. Other key models include early minute repeating wristwatches, vintage chronograph wristwatches, such as the oversized reference 5020, perpetual calendar watches and the Royal Oak Offshore, first introduced in 1993.

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Ref. 25686SP
A rare and attractive platinum and stainless steel limited edition perpetual calendar wristwatch with "Tuscan" dial, bracelet and presentation winding box

1994
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF60,000 - 120,000 
€54,700-109,000
$66,100-132,000

Sold for CHF189,000

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

 

The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII

Geneva Auction 8 - 9 May 2021