Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet Year: Circa 2010 Reference No: 15300 Movement No: 811’186 Case No: No. 5232, H26’071 Model Name: Royal Oak Material: 18K pink gold Calibre: Automatic, cal.3120, 40 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Crocodile Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold “AP” deployant clasp Dimensions: 39mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet Extract from the Archives confirming registration of this watch on October 27th, 2011 and wooden presentation box.
Catalogue Essay
The Royal Oak was the world’s first stainless steel luxury sports watch with a fully integrated bracelet. 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. Designed overnight in response to a request for an “unprecedented steel watch”, it was at the same time the most expensive stainless steel watch ever made. Since the Royal Oak’s launch in 1972, the model has undergone various design changes, and upgraded with complications with early iterations featuring the automatic caliber 2121 based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 920 and finished by Audemars Piguet. In 2005 the brand introduced a new model the reference 15300, which featured a new in-house movement, the caliber 3120.
AP’s new automatic movement was a superbly conceived and well-executed caliber with numerous novel features including a sixty-hour power reserve relying on only one barrel, a Gyromax, free-sprung balance held in place via a bridge and a date mechanism equipped with a safety system preventing the date disk from blocking if the owner tried to manually reset the date at midnight. The reference 15300 remained in production until 2012 when it was replaced by the reference 15400 with a larger 41mm diameter case compared to the 39mm diameter case found on the 15300 and the original Royal Oak, which at the time was considered large for wristwatch and was nicknamed the “Jumbo”.
The present example is in excellent original condition with a crisp case and flawless silvered dial. The reference 15300 is considered by many as the quintessential modern Royal Oak, having found the perfect equilibrium between iconic design and modern mechanics.
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.