Audemars Piguet

Royal Oak Watches

The legendary Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet was established by the partners Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in 1875 in La Vallée de Joux, which is the heart of Switzerland’s watchmaking region. By its mastery of innovations and exquisite craftsmanship, the company has rapidly risen to the top notch status of the world of horology. 

Audemars Piguet has delivered many of the world’s firsts that contributed greatly to the industry. In its early stage in 1892, the company released the first minute repeater wristwatch. The splendid inventions of Audemars Piguet followed with the first skeletonized watch and the thinnest wristwatch respectively in 1934 and 1946. 

The era of the 1970s is the milestone of Audemars Piguet that revealed a clear stand of its technical innovation. At the very beginning of the 70s, the whole Swiss watchmaking industry was facing serious financial difficulties. At the time quartz watches produced from Japan were too competitive, which caused a serious crisis and shaked the status of many Swiss watch brands. It was later referred to as the quartz crisis as a huge event in watchmaking history. The Swiss watchmaking industry was panicking to find a way to stop the dramatic sales drop. Even the top class Audemars Piguet is one of the Swiss watch manufacturers affected. 

In 1971 Audemars Piguet had already realized that the company would need a disruptive change to avoid a financial collapse. After evaluating the feedback they received from their Italian audiences, they started to explore the possibility of a new steel luxury watch. The company decided to develop a sporty luxury timepiece which was totally new to the brand.

The design of this new AP watch was given birth from the hand of the legendary designer Gérald Genta. The talented Gerald Genta completed the design of this distinctive watch in less than 24 hours under many complicated technical and aesthetic considerations. It was named Royal Oak, launched at Baselworld in 1972. The watch had instantly raised massive attention in the industry with its daring and revolutionary design at the time. With a short span of time, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has become a great success worldwide and one of the most iconic watches ever in history.

Among many accomplishments of the esteemed brand, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch is considered as its most celebrated achievement in the history of watchmaking. The watch was introduced as the very first luxury sports watch on the market.

After years of development, the collection has also grown to a versatile series that houses versions with complex complications and escapements, including perpetual calendar, tourbillon, lunar cycle, minute repeaters, tourbillon, a double balance wheel mechanism, as well as models with Grandes Complications.

Case & Bracelet

When the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch was first released, the first thing that attracted huge discussion was its case. The 39 mm robust stainless steel case was already considered very large in the era it was released. Therefore it was nicknamed “Royal Oak Jumbo” at the time. 

The case and the bracelet of the watch was built and integrated together in a groundbreaking monobloc design. This innovative construction enhances the durability and the simplicity of the design. 

Bezel 

The cut-edging design of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is one of its main reasons for becoming the signature model of the brand. 

The eight-sided octagonal bezel of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is its most eye-catching feature at one glance. The eight hexagonal gold screw heads have on one hand enhanced its look while on the other hand secured its water resistance together with its water gasket. Its dial is adorned with the brand’s exclusive blue petite tapisserie motif. These characteristics assimilated into the watch have made its overall look more immediately-striking.

Movement

As introduced as the first luxury sports watch, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was also incorporated with the brand’s best technologies. 

The first AP Royal Oak watch was equipped with the renowned Calibre 2121 movement. Delicately developed by Audemars Piguet and other esteemed watch manufacturers, the movement was equipped with a remarkable Gyromax balance and an anti-shock system. It helped the watch to withstand the heavy impact inside an extremely durable metal case. 

Six years after the release of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the brand released the exceptional calibre 2120/2800. The consistent innovation of the brand has awakened the industry’s further interest in developing innovative complications. 

At the present day, the AP Royal Oak watch has been highly recognised as a robust and reliable luxury diving watch. It is also a delicate haute horology timepiece that can tell the difference between mean time and star time. 

To this day the collection continues to receive updates and develops new variations.

These years the watch is available in more options built with erotic materials including titanium, ceramic and advanced carbon fibre. All these versions have all raised the mass attention whenever they are released.

However no matter how many versions it has developed, the watch it’s connected to the rest of the line through the breakthrough design of the original. The “Royal Oak Jumbo” watch has remained the most popular Audemars Piguet timepiece throughout the years. It is consistently sought after by the AP watch lovers and luxury watch collectors. No matter how much the watch may evolve, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is still one of the most influential timepieces in history.