Rightfully considered one of watchmaking's most influential timepieces, just how colorful has the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak's history been? On its 50th anniversary, we trace its evolution from 1972 till now
As I have mentioned before, the term 'icon' is often thrown around in watchmaking circles, but the Royal Oak is among the highest echelons of genuine industry icons. Combining its avant-garde design language with the emphatic revival of Audemars Piguet at the height of the Quartz Crisis, we have a lot to be thankful for the Royal Oak. Moreover, Audemars Piguet has employed this legendary collection to act as a vehicle to demonstrate its watchmaking prowess over the decades. "If you look at the lineage of the Royal Oak, you find a pretty straight line from the Ref. 5402 ST to 16202ST, but the rest of the family tree takes you on a fascinating journey of creativity and innovation,” says Arthur Touchot, International Head of Digital Strategy at Phillips.
The Royal Oak has a detailed family tree with a wide range of variants, editions, sister collections, complications and milestones under its belt, so let's dive deep into the legendary watch and see what has defined its 50-year existence.
A Little History
Over the course of its lifetime, the Royal Oak has contained everything from dainty quartz gem-set variants to minute repeater variants and just about everything in between. Famed for its stainless steel construction, AP have been happy to experiment with the Royal Oak's case and bracelet materials in order to create metal pairings that we rarely, if ever, see in watchmaking. So, let's explore some of those variants and delve into the historical nuances of the Royal Oak's evolution.
The First Royal Oak: Ref. 5402 (1972)
I admit this might be a bit cliché, but the first Royal Oak, the Ref. 5402 was a milestone in and of itself and is the reason the following milestones were ever reached. While we all know its backstory as the Gerald Genta-designed watch that saved AP from financial ruin at the hands of the Quartz Crisis, its release in 1972 also ushered in a new period of watchmaking for the entire industry. Deservedly in a league of its own upon its release, the Royal Oak created the ultimate blueprint for other brands to compete and stay relevant.
Having created the luxury steel sports watch market segment, and setting the scene for AP to flourish into the brand they are today, the first Royal Oak has to go down as one of the most significant milestones within the collection. Between its integrated bracelet, extremely thin case, octagonal bezel, iconic grande "tapisserie" dial and exposed screws and gaskets, it turned the idea of what a luxury watch was upside down, and that can't be overstated.
Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5554 (1984)
While it might seem far-fetched with today's level of complicated watchmaking, there was a time when sports watches were literally the last category of watches to host any complication other than a chronograph. Audemars Piguet, like almost always, can be looked at as that watchmaker who changed it all. Now famous for a slew of complications featured within that iconic octagonal case, the Royal Oak was the first luxury sports watch to feature a top-tier complication. Enter the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5554 – the very first complicated Royal Oak, and what an incredible place to begin.
Launched in 1984, just 12 short years after the first Royal was Oak launched, the Ref. 5554 features the automatic cal. 2120/2800 perpetual calendar movement, which led the charge as AP began to challenge the common perception that the Royal Oak was just another sports watch in the market. In keeping with its evolving identity, the Ref. 5554 also lost its "tapisserie" dial in lieu of a smooth face that marked the beginning of its evolution. While only 270 pieces were produced between 1983 and 1993 across yellow gold, steel and platinum (229, 49 and 1 piece respectively), the Ref. 5554 has had an enormous impact upon the Royal Oak's lineage and therefore, must be considered one of the collection's most significant milestones.
The Royal Oak Steel and Tantalum Ref. 56175TT ( 1990)
Burned into its identity as the very first stainless steel luxury sports watch, the Royal Oak's material is of grave importance to its aesthetic as a watchmaking icon. While the Royal Oak is just as comfortable as other watches to wax and wane in and out of case and bracelet materials, the ref. 56175TT marked an important milestone for the Royal Oak collection as AP continued to use the Royal Oak as a vessel for their creativity. Launched in 1990, the Royal Oak Ref. 56175TT was the very first monotone bi-metal configuration Royal Oak to be released. Made from tantalum and stainless steel, the ref. 56175TT set an important precedent as Audemars Piguet have since continued to create monotone bi-metal watches on the back of the success of the ref. 56175TT and its many descendants.
Today, the monotone Royal Oak ref. 56175TT's success and importance as a milestone for the collection is notable thanks to the slew of models that feature similarly-coloured materials like steel and platinum, steel and white gold, steel and titanium and many more. The importance of this design milestone for AP was exemplified by the brand’s presentation for Only Watch 2021, with a watch made from titanium and bulk metallic glass. A quirky piece of design that is now interwoven into the Royal Oak's DNA, the Ref. 56175 is often used to experiment with novel material combinations that you don't see elsewhere in the industry.
The Royal Oak Offshore and Concept (1993 and 2002)
Another pair of landmark milestones for the Royal Oak's "family tree" was the launch of the Royal Oak Offshore and Concept. These two Royal Oak-inspired collections (introduced in 1993 and 2002 respectively) marked significant steps forward for the Royal Oak lineage as a high-end sports watch. While the Offshore doubles down on the Royal Oak's sportiness, the Concept builds up on the Royal Oak's heritage as an avant-garde piece of trend-setting design.
Today, the Offshore is attributed with creating the hyper-sporty luxury watch space that we have seen a lot of brands enter in recent years, and the Concept exists in its own world after having built upon the Offshore's foundations as a collection of genuinely groundbreaking timepieces. From the Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher ref. 26221FT that I wrote about here to the Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie Ref. 26577TI.OO.D002CA.01 – the Royal Oak Concept is perhaps one of the most groundbreaking collections in watchmaking, as it constantly pushes the industry's boundaries and exercises AP's watchmaking muscles.
On the face of it, these two incredible collections have proven to be incredibly powerful means of asserting the Royal Oak's dominance as one of the most iconic watches we've had the luck to be graced with, and so, their standing as one of the Royal Oak's most important milestones cannot be overlooked just like the rest of the milestones we explored.
The First Royal Oak Tourbillon (1997)
While it might seem rather pedestrian by today's standards as we soak in the spoils of a hyper-developed watchmaking industry through our phone screens every day, the first Royal Oak Tourbillon marked a monumental occasion for the Royal Oak, and fittingly, for sports watches as a whole.
At the time of its launch in 1997, the tourbillon was an incredibly fragile complication that a brand producing a sports watch wouldn't never dream of attempting. However, AP went for it and launched the 25th-anniversary Ref. 25831ST.OO.1110ST.01 as a way to push boundaries and prove to the industry that the Royal Oak was not going to be dislodged as the number one sports watch.
Made of steel and featuring a stunning salmon dial with a power reserve indicator, a pointer date subdial and a tourbillon housed within an octagonal aperture framed by the same shape as the Royal Oak's bezel, the limited run of just 25 pieces marked a big step forward for the Royal Oak. No longer was it just a sports watch, but it was truly a high-end complication.
Primarily powered by an automatic movement, the Ref. 25831ST interestingly lacked a winding crown and was instead manually wound via the winding stem on its engraved caseback that celebrated the Royal Oak's 25 year run from 1997 to 1995. Audemars Piguet certainly knows how to pay homage to an anniversary, don't they?
The Royal Oak chronograph (1997)
RO Milestones
Besides launching their first-ever tourbillon-touting Royal Oak as a marker for the Royal Oak’s 25th anniversary, Audemars Piguet took the opportunity to also launch the first Royal Oak Chronograph model in late 1997. While following on from the Royal Oak Offshore as a chronograph model, the new 39mm Royal Oak Chronograph Ref. 25860 sported one of the thinnest chronograph movements of its time, AP’s Cal. 2385.
Granted, it might seem novel enough by today’s standards; this new model ushered in a beefier aesthetic for the Royal Oak. It introduced crown guards around the Royal Oak’s octagonal winding crown, a pair of pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock that had never been seen in the collection before and a taller case for the chronograph movement. While thin for a chronograph, this new movement enlarged the Royal Oak from its 7mm tall frame as a time and date-only model to 11mm tall – beefy indeed, at least for the famously-thin Royal Oak.
Royal Oak double Balance Wheel Openworked (2016)
In terms of the Royal Oak’s modern evolution as a wide-ranging display of Audemars Piguet’s impeccable ability as watchmakers, one exceedingly obvious milestone is the Double Balance Wheel Openworked ref. 15407 that AP launched in 2016. Designed to highlight the Royal Oak’s beating heart, its balance wheel, the Ref. 15407 sports one of watchmaking’s best finished and most wonderfully openworked movements, the AP Cal. 3132 that notably presents two superimposed balance wheels in 18k rose gold that stands out against the Cal. 3132’s ruthenium-plated bridges.
With vastly improved stability and precision, the Ref. 15407 explored new corners of the Royal Oak’s watchmaking credentials that none of its sibling models had ever explored. Now one of the Royal Oak’s most sought after variants, this wonderfully unique timepiece has, rather rapidly, become a significant milestone in the Royal Oak’s development.
Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in Black Ceramic (2017)
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Arguably one of the Royal Oak’s greatest modern achievements came in 2017 when AP launched the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Black Ceramic ref. 26579CE in 2017. While the Royal Oak has had perpetual calendar variants in its rank since 1984, the Ref. 26579CE is notable for its all-black ceramic construction. While this might seem like a rather pedestrian achievement given the plethora of ceramic watches we see today, in 2017 the market wasn’t where it is now and the Royal Oak was an unusual watch to be offered in all ceramic.
While some very complex movements have called the Royal Oak home, much like the Cal. 5134 in the Ref. 26579CE, one of the Royal Oak’s truly remarkable feats is just how complex its construction is. Ask any watchmaker what the most difficult watch to polish is, and it will more than likely be the Royal Oak. With its intricate bracelet, polished bevels, sharp lines and geometric shapes, it is quite a challenge to create this icon.
So, considering that, producing the Royal Oak, and its intricate bracelet in an extremely durable ceramic was not something to be taken lightly. While the production process for the ceramic parts was extremely daunting in and of itself, polishing all of the constituent parts of the case and bracelet to as high a finish as the Royal Oak’s traditional metal construction was a milestone in itself. Renowned for its hardness, ceramic is not an easy material to polish or work with. Yet, AP embraced the challenge and continued their tradition of using the Royal Oak as their vehicle to deliver mind-boggling feats of engineering as they have now been doing for 50 years.
The Royal Oak Supersonnerie (2019)
Following along the Royal Oak’s contemporary journey, we hit 2019, the year when Audemars Piguet launched their most complicated Royal Oak variant yet, the Royal Oak Supersonnerie Ref. 26591. While the Supersonnerie complication has been in the Royal Oak family since 2014, it was only offered as part of the Royal Oak Concept collection. So in 2019, AP launched the Royal Oak Supersonnerie, their most wearable and astounding supersonnerie to date.
Featuring in the Ref. 26591 the manual-wind Cal. 2959 is arguably one of the finest, and loudest, minute repeater movements on the market. And it is even housed within a sports watch designed to battle the rough and tumble of daily life, not the elegant dress watches traditionally used to carry these incredibly complex watchmaking marvels. Once again, Audemars Piguet went above and beyond the status quo to create a watch that crossed borders that no one had ever attempted before.
Royal Oak 16202ST (2022)
Finally, we have the watch of the hour, the ultimate milestone in the Royal Oak’s 50-year journey, the newly-introduced 50th-anniversary model, the ref. 16202ST. While closely linked to the Royal Oak’s past, it goes without saying that the Ref. 16202ST is a considerable step in the Royal Oak’s journey. While its construction is largely unchanged, its heritage-inspired “Bleu Nuit” dial is a feast for the eyes and its new Cal. 7121 is a significant step up from the cal. 2121 that featured in the Royal Oaks of the past.
While it might not be a horological achievement worthy of challenging what I’ve explored already, its 55-hour power reserve, quickset date and reduced thickness mean that the ref. 16202ST carries on the Royal Oak’s 50-year journey of continuous self-improvement.
An incredible watch that deserves all of the plaudits it gets, the Ref. 16202, and the Royal Oak as a wider family tree of sprawling collections, variants, and colourways has had a profound impact on the world of watchmaking over the last 50 years. There is no doubt in my mind that the Royal Oak will continue to make its impact in the coming years. As it has always shown, AP is dedicated to marching forward and challenging the status quo in ways that few other watchmakers, if any, have ever dreamt of.
