For over 50 years, the watch manufacturer Replica Audemars Piguet has captivated the watch industry with its extraordinary Royal Oak model. The Swiss designer Gérald Genta supposedly conceived the legendary timepiece in just one night. The design of the first sports watch in the luxury price segment caused a stir in 1972 due to its bold design and size – a diameter of 39 millimeters was still considered oversized at the time.
Royal Oak: 50 years of Royal Oak
In 2022, Audemars Piguet celebrated 50 years of the Royal Oak: This was honored, among other things, with a new, ultra-flat “Jumbo” made of stainless steel, platinum, rose or yellow gold – there is also a skeleton version for special fans.
While the original Royal Oak exudes a cool, masculine elegance, the Replica Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore has powerful, almost martial accents. The watch goes well with the actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wore it in the films End of Days and Terminator 3 (Read more: Watches in films).
With their numerous limited special editions, the Royal Oak and the sporty Offshore are among the most sought-after timepieces in the luxury watch industry. The implementation of the models – from elegant to sporty – is also reflected in the choice of housing material: the variations are countless, from carbon to yellow gold to ceramic.
A pioneering Swiss watch manufacturer
Audemars Piguet’s innovative strength is reflected in the elaborate complications with which the Royal Oak collection is equipped, from the Royal Oak Chronograph to the perpetual calendar. But also in skeleton versions such as the AP Royal Oak Skeleton.
At the World Exhibition in 1889, the Swiss watch manufacturer won a medal of honor for its “Grande Complication”, a chronograph that was also equipped with a perpetual calendar and minute repeater.
Audemars Piguet brought numerous innovations onto the market for the first time, for example in 1892 a wristwatch with a minute repeater, i.e. a timepiece that can give an acoustic signal after a minute has elapsed. Even today, mechanical watches with this function are considered particularly valuable because they require a complex additional mechanism, the repeating striking mechanism.
Audemars Piguet’s willingness to innovate continues unabated to this day: in 2008, for example, the Swiss manufacturer brought the world’s first wristwatch onto the market with a movement and case made of carbon – the material of the 21st century.
In 2018, AP set a world record: With the Royal Oak RD#2, the Swiss watch manufacturer introduced the thinnest wristwatch with a perpetual calendar.
The design of the Royal Oak: tapestry and octagonal bezel
The design of the Royal Oak is characterized by the octagonal bezel, the tapestry dial and the integrated bracelet that narrows towards the clasp. Eight screws hold the glass edge and the rubber seal to the body. The hex heads are recessed into the bezel and are tightened from the back of the case. The first models were equipped with a monobloc housing, which means there was no clamped or screwed housing cover. Accordingly, the original Royal Oak could only be opened via the glass
Even if Audemars sticks to the defining design elements, small changes can be identified over the years, for example to the tapestry:
The vintage petite tapestry can be found on the first Royal Oak Jumbo models, on most Royal Oaks from the 80s and 90s and also on the first Royal Oak Offshore models with the reference 25721. The squares are extremely small and the pattern appears tighter .
The Petite Tapisserie is installed exclusively in the Extra-Thin Royal Oak Jumbo Reference 15202 and the Reference 26510 Extra-Thin Tourbillon. It is also used as a replacement dial for vintage Royal Oaks, for example reference 5402 of the 25721.
The Grande Tapisserie can be found on numerous Royal Oaks (including references 15300, 15400, 15450, reference 26320 with chronograph function, 26330 with date display, 26120 with second time zone, 26252 with perpetual calendar, 26603 with equation of time and 25977 with tourbillon/chronograph). The squares on the pattern are at least fifty percent larger than those on the Petite Tapestry. Flat areas are maintained on the dial for the ‘Audemars Piguet’ and ‘Automatic’ lettering:
Finally, the Méga Tapisserie is the largest pattern of all dials and is typically found on most Royal Oak Offshore models, including the Royal Oak Offshore Diver, Safari, Themes, Bumble Bee, Rubberclad, some of the limited editions and all models within the 44mm references from the Royal Oak Offshore line.
While the dials of the Royal Oak have been guilloche with precision mechanical machines from Canada since 2012, the Méga Tapisserie is stamped and not engraved. This special embossing creates an attractive appearance and impressive light reflections.
Family business with a global reputation
Audemars Piguet is one of the few Swiss watch manufacturers that still operates as an independent family business. The timepieces are still made in the cradle of watchmaking: Le Brassus (Canton of Vaud). There, in 1875, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet – both in their early 20s – joined forces and opened a joint watch production facility in their own living room. It was only six years later that they officially founded the company “Replica Audemars Piguet & Cie., Manufacture d’Horlogerie” and began their successful journey with the production of pocket watches – and the development of new, innovative ideas.