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Lot Essay
With a diameter of 41 mm, the Royal Oak reference 15400 is the largest Royal Oak ever made. It was launched in 2012 as part of the reinterpretation of the Royal Oak Collection to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the model. It succeeded the reference 15300 which featured a 39 mm. wide bezel.
The AP Royal Oak
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is a phenomenon, one of the most recognizable and successful wristwatch models of all time and the first luxury steel sports watch. The concept of the luxury sports watch was completely alien when the Royal Oak was introduced in 1972. The Royal Oak was designed by none other than Gerald Genta, the man behind many of the most enduring wristwatch designs of the last 50 years. The watch featuring an octagonal screwed bezel that was initially inspired by an antique diver’s helmet is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic wristwatch designs of the 20th century.
The water resistant case has a visible gasket and a dial decorated with the ‘petit tapisserie’ pattern that is now part of the Royal Oak’s DNA.
The movement was the superb automatic caliber 2121, which is still used today for the Royal Oak Jumbo Ref.15202. Introduced in 1967, the caliber 2121 was based on the Audemars Piguet caliber 2120 with the addition of a date complication.
Audemars Piguet chose the name ‘Royal Oak’ because of its nautical associations, named after the series of eight ships of the British Royal Navy that had in turn been named after the story of King Charles II of England’s escape from the Roundheads - the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War - following the Battle of Worcester in 1651 when the King (then a Prince) hid in an oak tree, the Boscobel Oak, to evade capture.
The AP Royal Oak
Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is a phenomenon, one of the most recognizable and successful wristwatch models of all time and the first luxury steel sports watch. The concept of the luxury sports watch was completely alien when the Royal Oak was introduced in 1972. The Royal Oak was designed by none other than Gerald Genta, the man behind many of the most enduring wristwatch designs of the last 50 years. The watch featuring an octagonal screwed bezel that was initially inspired by an antique diver’s helmet is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic wristwatch designs of the 20th century.
The water resistant case has a visible gasket and a dial decorated with the ‘petit tapisserie’ pattern that is now part of the Royal Oak’s DNA.
The movement was the superb automatic caliber 2121, which is still used today for the Royal Oak Jumbo Ref.15202. Introduced in 1967, the caliber 2121 was based on the Audemars Piguet caliber 2120 with the addition of a date complication.
Audemars Piguet chose the name ‘Royal Oak’ because of its nautical associations, named after the series of eight ships of the British Royal Navy that had in turn been named after the story of King Charles II of England’s escape from the Roundheads - the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War - following the Battle of Worcester in 1651 when the King (then a Prince) hid in an oak tree, the Boscobel Oak, to evade capture.