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Lot Essay
Christie’s is delighted to present to international collectors and clients this fantastic example of the highly coveted and stunningly rare platinum Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar reference 25686PT with Mark 1 mother of pearl dial. Furthermore, this superbly attractive Royal Oak is entirely fresh to the market and in wonderful condition, having been consigned by its original owner.
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 D-series watch, also with early edition number '009' and ravishing mother of pearl dial, offers a perfect opportunity for the discerning buyer to acquire one of the most exclusive statement vintage Royal Oaks.
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 reference 25686 was manufactured from 1987 with sales to the public starting from 1989. Only 233 pieces of the reference were produced in total across all metals. It is thought that 85 were made in steel, 70 in yellow gold, 43 in bicolour steel and gold, 26 in platinum, and nine in pink gold. Reference 25686 was introduced as an updated version of reference 25654, the main difference being the crystal display caseback showcasing the ionic automatic Calibre 2120⁄2800 movement which features a hand-engraved openworked ‘AP’ rotor with 21K gold insert.
The visually stunning mother of pearl dial has a wonderful bluish tone, subsidiaries for the date, day and month and a moon phase with 29 1⁄2 day lunar calendar complete this ultra-rare vintage platinum Royal Oak. The perpetual calendar reference 25686 shares characteristics of many of the earlier Audemars Piguet perpetual calendar models in not having a leap-year indication on the dial. In fact the leap-year function did not appear on the Royal Oak until the caliber 2120⁄2802 movement was introduced in 1993. The dials of the reference 25686 can be distinguished as ‘Mark 1’ with small ‘Audemars Piguet Automatic’ script at 6 o’clock (the present watch) and ‘Mark 2’ with noticeably larger ‘Audemars Piguet’ script.
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 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.
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 D-series watch, also with early edition number '009' and ravishing mother of pearl dial, offers a perfect opportunity for the discerning buyer to acquire one of the most exclusive statement vintage Royal Oaks.
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 reference 25686 was manufactured from 1987 with sales to the public starting from 1989. Only 233 pieces of the reference were produced in total across all metals. It is thought that 85 were made in steel, 70 in yellow gold, 43 in bicolour steel and gold, 26 in platinum, and nine in pink gold. Reference 25686 was introduced as an updated version of reference 25654, the main difference being the crystal display caseback showcasing the ionic automatic Calibre 2120⁄2800 movement which features a hand-engraved openworked ‘AP’ rotor with 21K gold insert.
The visually stunning mother of pearl dial has a wonderful bluish tone, subsidiaries for the date, day and month and a moon phase with 29 1⁄2 day lunar calendar complete this ultra-rare vintage platinum Royal Oak. The perpetual calendar reference 25686 shares characteristics of many of the earlier Audemars Piguet perpetual calendar models in not having a leap-year indication on the dial. In fact the leap-year function did not appear on the Royal Oak until the caliber 2120⁄2802 movement was introduced in 1993. The dials of the reference 25686 can be distinguished as ‘Mark 1’ with small ‘Audemars Piguet Automatic’ script at 6 o’clock (the present watch) and ‘Mark 2’ with noticeably larger ‘Audemars Piguet’ script.
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 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.