25800BA, Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, Black Dial, Yellow Gold

The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar was Audemars Piguet’s flagship product in the early 1990s. Introduced in 1984, it was by the early 90s a success. In 1996, Audemars Piguet released this diminutive Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, ref. 25800, at a spectacular 33mm. It remains today the most compact Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ever made, with calibre 2141/2806 developed specifically for this reference alone. Very few were made, kept deliberately scarce from the very start. This remains the only example known to the market in this specification: BA (yellow gold) with a black dial. 

The 25800 first appeared in the catalogue as a men’s mid-sized reference, but interviews have shown that management still intended it to largely still be purchased for women’s wrists. Between all ‘holy trinity’ brands, it remains the smallest iperpetual calendar integrated sports watch yet made to this day. Production ceased in 2002, leaving just 6 years of manufacture. It was also the first Royal Oak QP to enter production in white gold. Its proportions wear a touch stronger than the size suggests, closer to a 34.5mm impression. Otherwise the case is constructed exactly like its larger sibling, with even tighter tolerances. It is a rare contrast: high complication with extremely tight proportions. 

The case sports finishing precisely mirroring its 39mm counterpart. The dial is flat, with leap year indication and automatic signature. The main handset and indices are luminous in tan tritium, a vintage aesthetic which brings warmth to the black dial. It may have been marketed as the mid-sized in period, but is affectionately known as the Royal Oak Mini-QP to collectors today and stands quite apart from the rest of the collection. 

Sightings of the 25800 are an interesting study. One appears at auction roughly once every year at the major houses. More known 39mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars such as the 25654 are known to have been made in 851 examples across all metals. We see the 25654 many times yearly, maybe 15-20 times. Extremely rare comparisons like the 14802PT, of which 20 were made, we see every other year or less. This frequency would lead us to believe speculatively that production numbers were somewhere in the range of 75-125 examples, but the actual number remains quite opaque.  

The 25800 defies conventions of its category, to the extent that neither Patek Philippe nor Vacheron Constantin followed. It is both vintage-leaning and quite advanced for its time, an R&D expense that was almost certainly not recovered from the small number of examples sold. It is a category-defying, quite pretty, very complicated Royal Oak—a small watch with outsized presence.

This 25800BA presents in great overall condition. Its case sports proud bevels and above average edges. There is light surface wear on nearly all surfaces. The bezel is at full height with flush or slightly recessed bolts. Its dial is in excellent condition, it should be noted there is the tiniest mark to left of the date hand, pictured in the dial macro photography as clearly as possible. It is barely visible with the naked eye looking closely. The handset and indices are tritium, a golden tone that matches precisely under UV. Its calibre 2141/2806 is running well in spec on our timing equipment. It comes with an Extract of Archive noting sale in 1997. The bracelet will accommodate wrists up to roughly 6.7".

This watch is modelled on a slightly smaller than average-sized 6.4 inch woman's wrist.