15202BC Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Finds. People get all up in arms when you call this dial salmon, so instead I’ll call it what it is: a damn beautiful nod to the 14802, a 1000 example limited edition from the early 90s that is the peak of Jumbo time-only RO collecting for many. But it’s a touch warmer in tone than that example was, which is why we call it pink gold in tone, much like Journe. And it’s actually kind of rare, unlike almost every other modern RO. It was made from 2019-2021, at 75 examples per year. You don’t have to be able to solve Smale’s problems to know that that’s just 225 watches or fewer. The Royal Oak was synonymous with steel until it wasn’t. The 15202BC celebrates the fact that the Royal Oak has elevated to become something else entirely.

While the case construction was simplified and made a bit thicker in the 15202, this is its best execution, hands down. The white gold salmon aesthetic, the classic special-order palette, is perfect. At the AP logo is where it belongs on a RO at 6. Though it detracts for some, I adore that this a calibre 2121, which goes right back to the 5402. Interestingly, this was the one metal the 14802 salmon dial wasn’t made in: it was steel, yellow, and platinum, but not white gold. It’s almost like AP have been plotting this since the 90s. It’s actually the only 15202 that remotely elevates my heart rate (sorry). If there is a great truly modern RO, this is it.

The white gold elephant in the room is that these sold at retail under five years ago for 55.4K USD and the market has seen examples now trade hands in excess of 250K, though it’s more like 140K today after Royal Oaks returning to Earth. That’s a lot for some Omega 3, but, actually, I’d expect the secondary to be higher. When you’re talking about comparable watches this rare and this historic-leaning, they’re often order of magnitude multipliers to their more normal counterparts. So what is this RO then? It’s a recently-forgotten about future-classic. No question. It also is definitely salmon, you punctilious idiots.

This example has been on the market for some time, because where there were three available in 2020, there are ten to fifteen now. That's half the pricing variance. But it's lovely. The case is full, as you'd expect on something of this vintage, and the set is full. It comes from a well-regarded London retailer.