Important Watches

Important Watches

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 107. Royal Oak 'A-series Jumbo', Reference 5402ST A stainless steel wristwatch with date and bracelet Circa 1974 |  愛彼 | Royal Oak 'A-Series Jumbo' 型號 5402ST 精鋼鍊帶腕錶備日期顯示,製作年份約 1974.

Audemars Piguet

Royal Oak 'A-series Jumbo', Reference 5402ST A stainless steel wristwatch with date and bracelet Circa 1974 | 愛彼 | Royal Oak 'A-Series Jumbo' 型號 5402ST 精鋼鍊帶腕錶備日期顯示,製作年份約 1974

Auction Closed

November 9, 01:29 PM GMT

Estimate

60,000 - 80,000 CHF

Lot Details

Description

Audemars Piguet


Royal Oak 'A-series Jumbo', Reference 5402ST

A stainless steel wristwatch with date and bracelet 

Circa 1974


愛彼

Royal Oak 'A-Series Jumbo' 型號 5402ST 精鋼鍊帶腕錶備日期顯示,製作年份約 1974


Dial: anthracite tapisserie

Calibre: cal. K2121 automatic, 36 jewels

Movement number: 146'682

Case: stainless steel, back secured by 8 screws

Case number: A1'755, 80'755

Closure: stainless steel Audemars Piguet bracelet and folding clasp

Size: 39 mm diameter, bracelet circumference approximately 165 mm

Signed: case, dial and movement 

Box: no

Papers: no

Accessories: Audemars Piguet Certificate of Authenticity

Please note that this lot comes with an Audemars Piguet Certificate of Authenticity.
Debuted in 1972, the Audemars Piguet reference 5402 is nothing short of a masterpiece. The forefather of luxury sports watches, it is a watch every collector aspires to obtain and recognised as one of the most iconic bracelet watches ever produced. Upon its release, the Royal Oak was the most expensive stainless-steel watch ever made, costing more to manufacture than their gold dress wristwatches due to the incredible amount of work put into the finishing.

Bearing the nickname “Jumbo”, the case is 39 mm in diameter; colossal in comparison to most of its contemporaries. We can perhaps attribute this new, larger size as to why initial sales were slow. Created by Gerald Genta, the case design is groundbreaking with an octagonal bezel secured by eight visible, hexagonal, white gold screws, replicating that of a deep-sea diving helmet. Add to this Audemars Piguet’s perfectly executed Tapisserie dial and it is easy to see why the Royal Oak caused significant waves throughout the watch industry. The ref. 5402 housed caliber 2121, once the thinnest automatic movement with a central rotor and date function, allowing the watch to sit comfortably on the wrist. Audemars Piguet used the same caliber for nearly 50 years including the recently discontinued reference 15202. The version of the caliber present in this watch is the early K2121 with a Gyromax balanc wheel.

The A- series for the 5402 is the Royal Oak to add to any serious collection. The genesis of an icon that shaped modern sports watch design, and still indeed does to this day.