Why We Love It

Royal Oak.

It was the design that made Gerald Genta's career and remains, without question, the most celebrated collection in Audemars Piguet's near 145 year long history.

In 1993, the Royal Oak line expanded to include the Offshore Chronograph, which drove the bulk of sales for AP in the past few decades. But the smaller non-Offshore models, simply known as Royal Oak Chronograph, are truly quite special - particularly when executed in precious metal.

This particular model, a Reference 25960BA, is finished in 18K yellow gold with a luminous white tapisserie dial, triple subsidiary register layout, and of course the iconic integrated bracelet for which Royal Oaks are perhaps best well known. This piece also comes complete with inner box, books, papers, and a an extra service box. 

In excellent untouched condition throughout, this is a tremendous opportunity to pick up a ROC in a rare metal with full set for thousands less than the price of a steel Jumbo on the secondary market - don't miss out!

The Story

Audemars Piguet, the vaunted manufacture from Les Brassus, wasn't doing so well at the end of the 1960s.  Their horological prowess aside, times were changing, customer tastes were evolving, and AP was stuck firmly in a very traditional past. Fortunately for us, their executives recognized this, and bet it all on the launch of an avant garde timepiece the likes of which the world had never seen.

Utilizing the talents of a designer named Gerald Genta, who would make his name for designing this very watch, AP planned from the beginning to make this new watch - dubbed the Royal Oak - a contradiction to tradition, and it became the world's first luxury sports watch.  Made in steel.  The gamble paid off, and the watch world clamored to get their hands on the cutting edge design, which featured a sharply angled watch with integrated bracelet, micro tapisserie dial, and ultra thin movement.

The response was so positive that their initial allocation sold out, resulting in an extension of the line as they scrambled to meet demand.  It can be said without question that the original Reference 5402 "A Series" - nicknamed by collectors as the "Jumbo" for its massive 39mm size - single handedly paved the way for a very bright future for Audemars Piguet.