The History of Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet was founded in Le Brassus, Switzerland, in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet. Already watchmakers by trade, they initially concentrated on producing high-quality and often complicated movements by hand, despite the increasing mechanisation of the watch industry in Switzerland and the United States.
By the 20th century, Jules and Edward had begun to coordinate the production of complete watches, bringing together components made by specialist local manufacturers. Like many of Switzerland's great watchmakers, Audemars Piguet has a history of technical innovation. The company produced early jump-hour wristwatches in the 1920s and skeletonised watches in the 1930s. In the following decade, it created an exceptionally thin movement measuring just 2.45mm.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Audemars Piguet produced many of the elegant watches we would now describe as dress watches: slim cases, restrained dials and precious metals.
Then came something completely different.
When Was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Introduced?
The Royal Oak was unveiled in 1972, at a particularly difficult moment for traditional Swiss watchmaking. During the late 1960s and 1970s, inexpensive and highly accurate battery-powered quartz watches, particularly those coming from Japan, began transforming the market. The period became known as the Quartz Crisis, although from a consumer's point of view it was arguably closer to a revolution. Watches were becoming more affordable, accessible and accurate.
For traditional mechanical watchmakers, however, it presented an enormous challenge. Audemars Piguet's response was not to compete on price. Instead, managing director Georges Golay pursued something radically different: a luxury watch made from stainless steel.
Who Designed the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak?
The Royal Oak was designed by Gérald Genta (1931–2011), one of the most influential watch designers of the 20th century. During his career, Genta worked with manufacturers including Omega, IWC and Patek Philippe. He would later design another watch that became one of the most sought-after luxury sports watches in the world: the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
For the Royal Oak, Genta reportedly drew inspiration from a traditional diver's helmet. The influence can be seen in its octagonal bezel and exposed hexagonal screwheads, features that remain central to the Royal Oak's identity today.
The resulting Ref. 5402 was unlike Audemars Piguet's existing watches. At 39mm, it was large by the standards of the period. It was made from steel, yet cost more than many of the company's gold watches. Inside was an exceptionally slim automatic movement. It was a sports watch, but not as collectors then knew one.
Why Is the Royal Oak Called a Luxury Sports Watch?
The Royal Oak is frequently described as the first luxury sports watch, although sports and tool watches had existed long before its arrival. Rolex, for example, had been producing watches such as the Submariner and GMT-Master since the 1950s. Their designs were closely linked to function, with highly legible dials and bezels designed for diving, timing or calculation.
The Royal Oak approached the idea differently. Its steel construction and bracelet gave it the character of a sports watch, but its finishing, ultra-thin mechanical movement and price belonged firmly to the world of high-end Swiss watchmaking. The word luxury is what matters.
What Is a Royal Oak Tapisserie Dial?
One of the most recognisable features of the Royal Oak is its textured tapisserie dial. The original dials were made for Audemars Piguet by specialist dial manufacturer Stern. A brass disc was engraved to create a precise pattern of raised pyramidal squares before being finished in the required colour.
It gave the Royal Oak a texture and depth quite unlike the comparatively restrained dials of many watches of the period. Combined with the octagonal bezel, it remains one of the easiest ways to recognise a Royal Oak across a room.
What Makes the Royal Oak Bracelet Special?
The bracelet was just as important to Genta's design. Steel bracelets were nothing new by 1972, but the Royal Oak bracelet was far more elaborate than those traditionally associated with tool watches.
Its tapered construction uses interconnected links that allow the bracelet to articulate closely around the wrist. The smaller connecting links are functional, but also contribute to the appearance of the watch as a whole.
Audemars Piguet turned to renowned bracelet maker Gay Frères to manufacture this distinctive design. The result is important because the bracelet does not simply attach to the Royal Oak. Visually, it is part of the watch.
What Movement Was Used in the Original Royal Oak?
Inside the original Ref. 5402 was the Audemars Piguet Calibre 2121, an exceptionally slim automatic movement. The movement had its origins in a collaboration involving Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe.
Its slim profile allowed Audemars Piguet to create a watch that was substantial in diameter but remarkably slender on the wrist, another characteristic that distinguished the original Royal Oak.
Was the Royal Oak Successful When It Was First Released?
Accounts differ on how quickly collectors embraced the Royal Oak. What is known is that an initial series of 2,000 watches was produced in 1972, followed by around 2,500 more over the next five years.
In 1977, Audemars Piguet introduced Royal Oak models in yellow gold, white gold and bi-colour combinations. Through the following decades the collection expanded into different metals, case sizes and complications.
In 1993 came one of its most significant descendants: the Royal Oak Offshore, a larger and more overtly sporting interpretation of the original design.
What Is an A-Series Audemars Piguet Royal Oak?
The earliest Royal Oak Ref. 5402 watches are known to collectors as A-Series examples.
These watches formed the original production run and carry individually numbered case backs prefixed with the letter "A". Their place at the very beginning of Royal Oak production makes well-preserved examples particularly interesting to collectors. Lyon & Turnbull offered one of these original watches at auction in March 2022. Marked A-1485, it was the 1,485th production Royal Oak.
An Original Royal Oak A-Series at Auction
The Ref. 5402 A-Series offered by Lyon & Turnbull had belonged to the vendor's father, a German businessman and keen watch collector whose collection also included watches by Omega and Heuer.
A butcher by trade, he inherited his father's business during the 1960s and helped it grow. His son remembered him as a hands-on boss who arrived before his workers and left after them. Away from work, he was also an experienced amateur pilot. The Royal Oak was his favourite watch.
Its combination of early production, condition and personal provenance attracted bidders by telephone, online and by commission from around the world. It sold for £106,250, including buyer's premium.
For collectors, the result also illustrates why two apparently similar vintage Royal Oaks may perform very differently at auction. Reference and rarity matter, but so do condition, originality, completeness and provenance.
How Has the Royal Oak Evolved?
The Royal Oak has developed considerably since 1972, with new case sizes, metals, movements and complications appearing across the collection.
Its 50th anniversary in 2022 brought another significant development. The Royal Oak Jumbo Ref. 16202ST introduced the Calibre 7121, replacing the long-serving Calibre 2121 associated with the model since its beginnings.
Audemars Piguet also introduced anniversary models including skeletonised and precious-metal Royal Oaks.
Yet the essential design remains remarkably close to Genta's original idea. The octagonal bezel, integrated bracelet and tapisserie dial that appeared in 1972 still define the Royal Oak more than half a century later.
Why Is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak So Collectable?
The Royal Oak occupies an unusual position in watch history. It did not simply become a successful model; it helped change perceptions of what a luxury watch could be.
Its combination of steel construction, high-end mechanical watchmaking and distinctive industrial design opened the door for a category that is now central to the modern watch market.
Early Ref. 5402 examples have particular historical significance, but collectors pursue Royal Oaks across generations, metals, complications and case sizes.
As ever with vintage watches, the reference alone does not tell the whole story. Condition, originality, provenance and rarity can all have a significant bearing on desirability and auction value.
Thinking of Selling an Audemars Piguet?
Lyon & Turnbull's Watches specialists regularly value vintage and modern Audemars Piguet watches for auction. Whether you own an early Royal Oak, a later reference or another Audemars Piguet model, a specialist assessment can help establish its history, condition and current auction value.
