Audemars Piguet
Royal Oak, Reference 14790BC.OO.0789BC.03 | A white gold wristwatch with date and bracelet | Circa 2000
Auction Closed
May 11, 11:29 AM GMT
Estimate
35,000 - 55,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Dial: white
Calibre: cal. 2225 automatic, 33 jewels
Movement number: 449'161
Case: 18k white gold, bezel secured by 8 screws
Case number: E35'094, 123
Closure: 18k white gold Audemars Piguet bracelet and folding clasp
Size: 36 mm diameter, bracelet circumference approximately 185 mm
Signed: case, dial and movement
Box: yes
Papers: yes
Accessories: Audemars Piguet Certificate of Origin, instruction manual, setting pin, and presentation case with outer packaging
After the introduction of the original Royal Oak, the reference 5402 in 1972, Audemars Piguet started to experiment with both the size of the Royal Oak and the materials used to manufacture it.
In 1992, Audemars Piguet released a slightly scaled-down Royal Oak Ref 14790 with a diameter of 36 mm. Unlike some rescaling of the iconic designs, the original Royal Oak’s aesthetic was faithfully preserved in its new case size and remained in production until 2005.
This new case size allowed Audemars Piguet to experiment with some new dial and case designs, including the so-called Yves Klein blue and Ferrari red dial colors, as well as introducing a number of case materials previously not used.
The present watch however is apart from the very vast majority of the 14790. Indeed, it is crafted in white gold. Scholars consider that only a handful of these pieces were made, making this present lot an extraordinary rare opportunity.