Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet Year: 2012 Reference No: 15305ST.OO.1220ST.01 Movement No: 791’593 Case No: H30124-0190 Model Name: Royal Oak Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3129, 38 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Audemars Piguet integrated bracelet, max length 200mm Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Audemars Piguet double deployant clasp Dimensions: 39mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed. Accessories: Accompanied by original Audemars Piguet guarantee booklet, invoice dating 3rd April 2012, product information booklet, and presentation box.
Catalogue Essay
First launched in 1972, the 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 time the most expensive stainless steel watch ever made. Today the Royal Oak is a legend, accounting for over 70% of Audemars Piguet’s sales. The brand sought famed designer Gerald Genta, who in one only night, designed a brilliantly conceived, monobloc case with a distinctively maritime feel, featuring an octagonal bezel secured by eight hexagonal, white gold screws. The model became an icon and fan favorite for its rugged, masculine, and sporty aesthestic, and since its introduction, Audemars Piguet has produced many iterations of its original Royal Oak, experimenting with different case sizes, materials, and dial treatments.
Audemars Piguet introduced the reference 15305 at SIHH, the Salon Internationale d’Haute Horologie, in 2010 and it has since become a highly collectible and coveted watch. Bearing the same case diameter as the original Royal Oak “Jumbo” at 39mm, it marries the horological refinement of a skeletonized movement with the wearability and relaxed elegance of the classic Royal Oak form. Housing Audemars Piguet’s very first in-house self-winding movement, the cal. 3120, through the glare-resistant sapphire caseback, it is possible to see the hand-finished and skeletonized ruthenium-plated bridges and mainplate, as well as the striking 22K gold winding rotor. The case is a mere 9.4mm thick, containing a movement made of 239 distinct parts. The present example is from the collection of the original owner, in unpolished condition, and retaining all of its original accessories including the purchase invoice and guarantee booklet.
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.
