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Lot Essay
The 50th Anniversary of AP’s Royal Oak in 2022 is an important milestone event not only for Audemars Piguet the company, for whom it is an incredibly significant year, but also in the broader history of watchmaking. Any retrospective assessment of the Royal Oak’s wider impact on modern wristwatch design and the luxury wristwatch market in the modern era will identify its introduction in 1972 as a fearlessly bold and seminal moment that was truly the birth of a legend.
Christie’s is thrilled that in this 50th Anniversary year, we are able to offer to international collectors and clients an excellent example of the highly coveted and stunning openworked platinum Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. Since the Royal Oak’s launch in 1972, few models of the range have ever been made in platinum and consequently they are extremely difficult to obtain. The present watch offers a unique opportunity for the discerning buyer to acquire one of the most impressive statement watches of the Royal Oak range.
Offering a huge presence both technically and aesthetically, the Royal Oak openworked perpetual calendar is regarded as one of Audemars Piguet’s masterpieces. The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, first introduced in 1982, combines two of the great icons of Audemars Piguet’s heritage, the Royal Oak model and the perpetual calendar complication. The skeletonized version was introduced in the 1990s to allow the incredible finish of the movement to be visible through both the sapphire crystal case back and the dial and bringing a stunning new aesthetic to the Royal Oak model. The movement is the ionic automatic Calibre 2120⁄2800 or 2120⁄2802 for models with leap-year indication, featuring the date, day and month and a moon phase with 29 1⁄2 day lunar calendar. The transparent crystal dial with grey subsidiaries completes this visually stunning and ultra-rare platinum Royal Oak.
The Royal Oak Story
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. Of course Rolex had been producing steel Submariners and GMT-Masters for many years before, but the Rolex steel watches were regarded not as luxury watches as such, but as working instruments or tool watches for professionals. 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. Not only is it the cornerstone of the brand’s success until today, it was also the forerunner of other iconic watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus which was based upon similar design principles by Gerald Genta.
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. The caliber 2121 was based on the Audemars Piguet caliber 2120 with the addition of a date complication. The caliber 2120 was introduced in 1967, the culmination of a project led by Jaeger-LeCoultre, with the technical contribution of Audemars Piguet and the funding of Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, for the development of an ultra-thin automatic movement. This collaboration resulted in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 920, a highly innovative and reliable movement, that each of the three backers renamed and customized for their own watches, hence the Patek Philippe 28-255 C was used for the Nautilus and the Vacheron Constantin 1120 was fitted to the 222 model.
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.
Collectors have long been discovering and researching the rarities from the last 50 years of production of the Royal Oak. Early examples from the ‘A’ series, tropical dials, perpetual calendars and precious metal versions all continue to capture the serious attention of watch enthusiasts. Allying dominant design and ground-breaking materials, the watches of the Royal Oak collection are amongst the most coveted timepieces ever, enjoying an ever expanding popularity.
Christie’s is thrilled that in this 50th Anniversary year, we are able to offer to international collectors and clients an excellent example of the highly coveted and stunning openworked platinum Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. Since the Royal Oak’s launch in 1972, few models of the range have ever been made in platinum and consequently they are extremely difficult to obtain. The present watch offers a unique opportunity for the discerning buyer to acquire one of the most impressive statement watches of the Royal Oak range.
Offering a huge presence both technically and aesthetically, the Royal Oak openworked perpetual calendar is regarded as one of Audemars Piguet’s masterpieces. The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, first introduced in 1982, combines two of the great icons of Audemars Piguet’s heritage, the Royal Oak model and the perpetual calendar complication. The skeletonized version was introduced in the 1990s to allow the incredible finish of the movement to be visible through both the sapphire crystal case back and the dial and bringing a stunning new aesthetic to the Royal Oak model. The movement is the ionic automatic Calibre 2120⁄2800 or 2120⁄2802 for models with leap-year indication, featuring the date, day and month and a moon phase with 29 1⁄2 day lunar calendar. The transparent crystal dial with grey subsidiaries completes this visually stunning and ultra-rare platinum Royal Oak.
The Royal Oak Story
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. Of course Rolex had been producing steel Submariners and GMT-Masters for many years before, but the Rolex steel watches were regarded not as luxury watches as such, but as working instruments or tool watches for professionals. 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. Not only is it the cornerstone of the brand’s success until today, it was also the forerunner of other iconic watches like the Patek Philippe Nautilus which was based upon similar design principles by Gerald Genta.
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. The caliber 2121 was based on the Audemars Piguet caliber 2120 with the addition of a date complication. The caliber 2120 was introduced in 1967, the culmination of a project led by Jaeger-LeCoultre, with the technical contribution of Audemars Piguet and the funding of Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, for the development of an ultra-thin automatic movement. This collaboration resulted in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 920, a highly innovative and reliable movement, that each of the three backers renamed and customized for their own watches, hence the Patek Philippe 28-255 C was used for the Nautilus and the Vacheron Constantin 1120 was fitted to the 222 model.
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.
Collectors have long been discovering and researching the rarities from the last 50 years of production of the Royal Oak. Early examples from the ‘A’ series, tropical dials, perpetual calendars and precious metal versions all continue to capture the serious attention of watch enthusiasts. Allying dominant design and ground-breaking materials, the watches of the Royal Oak collection are amongst the most coveted timepieces ever, enjoying an ever expanding popularity.