Posts Tagged ‘Royal Oak’
25654BA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual
While the Royal Oak was intended to be a time-only sports watch, its abilities quickly diversified after the 5402 with a range complications. The most iconic of these must be the Quantieme Perpetual (or perpetual calendar moonphase to us peasants). It is a beautifully contrasted blend of sporting pretense and haute watchmaking that, before the…
Read MoreTropical A-Series 5402 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
A-series; whether for history, rarity, investment, or ego, the first-ever Royal Oak run holds a special place in the heart for many enthusiasts. There can be no denying the attractiveness of the first 5402, perhaps the purest expression of Genta’s pen in steel form. Consensus holds that over the course of the A-series, about 2000…
Read More‘Ferrari’ Red 14790ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Through both a design and historic lens, the 14790 is perhaps the truest iteration of the mid-sized Royal Oak. After introduction taking over from the first ref. 4100 in 1992, it remained in production longer than any other mid-sized Royal Oak to date. This open window allowed for a huge degree of variants to emerge…
Read MoreTropical 25730ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dual Time
Is there a more unique intersection of steel 36mm Royal Oak, usable complication, petite tappisserie, and character? This is, without question, the most outrageous dial I have ever seen to grace a 25730ST. Outrageous is an adjective chosen carefully; some will describe this dial as the work of the heavens and others as outright damage.…
Read MoreD-Series 25721ST ‘The Beast’ Audemars Piguet Offshore
Often, that which was once violently unpopular has way of eventually coming back to grace with equal fervor: consider Eames chairs, the 993 911, high-waisted shorts, and even Ja Rule (okay, perhaps not that last one just yet). The Royal Oak chronograph’s versatile and anabolic sibling has long taken back seat since introduction in the…
Read More25572BA ‘The Owl’ Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Day Date
Shortly after the 5402 graced the world with its presence, AP experimented with a few variations on the theme. Out of this early/mid 80s era came many of the iconic complicated Royal Oak offerings we revere today. However, the very first complicated offering to feature in AP’s midsized 36mm case was this ref. 25572. Unlike…
Read More14790ST.05 ‘Yves Klein’ Blue Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
We love a Royal Oak around here. However, not all are created equal. In the pantheon of neo-vintage Royal Oaks, a few dials are clear standups. Right up near the very top are the rare electric-blue Yves Klein dials. Klein was a French artist who became known for frequent use of an electric blue hue…
Read More25860ST ‘Kasparov’ Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph
Given recent world events, the moniker this Royal Oak holds is keenly poignant. Nonetheless, chess grandmaster and political activist Garry Kasparov is proving quite the fountain of insight during troubled times for all. Something of a reminder that many Russians are only hostage to a government operating as a mid-century New York mobster. Topical digression…
Read More6005BA Audemars Piguet Rectangular Royal Oak
‘The further from home one ventures, the more they know themself.’ This was a shower thought that flew through my mind many years ago while living in a foreign country for the first time. I’m not even sure it’s accurate. But the horological equivalent might be, which is to say; the further a collector strays…
Read More25865BC AP Royal Oak Grande Complication
There are not many watches which can be said to truly be daily-wearable grand complications. Fewer still which execute this trick so nonchalantly. Let’s be honest, since ~2018 the Royal Oak has become a category unto itself, one with . . .associations (by which I mean baggage). However, this pinnacle of watchmaking hails from an…
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