Audemars Piguet

Launched in 1972, The Royal Oak has been an icon and a watch to define modern Audemars Piguet. Starting as a time-only (with date) watch, the Royal Oak has become a canvas for Audemars to experiment with a multiple of complications, dial designs, and materials.

The Perpetual Calendar complication was introduced to the Royal Oak line in 1983 with the Ref 5554. This was somewhat of a daring move, combining a high complication with a sports watch, something Patek didn’t try with the Nautilus form many more years. The current watch, a Quantième Perpétuel ref. 25829TA takes this experiment to extremes. The TA in the reference describes the case metal, a bimetal combination of Tantalum and 18k yellow gold. Tantalum is an expensive material ordinarily used in the aeronautical and medical industries characterized by its hardness, high resistance to corrosion and wear but also by its extreme difficulty to machine and tool. The majority of the watch - the mid-case and larger links - are made out of dark grey tantalum contrasting elegantly with its yellow gold bezel, crown and center links. The bracelet features a steel clasp featuring the stamps of the famed bracelet makers Gay Freres who produced not only the bracelets for early Royal Oaks but also early Oyster bracelets for Rolex and bracelets found on many a vintage Patek Philippe.

As confirmed by Audemars Piguet, the skeletonized Quantième Perpétuel Royal Oaks were made in a handful of configurations including the current tantalum and yellow gold, tantalum and pink gold and platinum and pink gold. Audemars Piguet has also confirmed that all were produced in a limited edition of 15 pieces only per combination. Whilst the case back features the number 28, this is the ‘Royal Oak’ number, not the limited-edition number.  

The watch is accompanied by its original winding stand and box and open papers.