Accompanied by Audemars Piguet travelcase and one additional link.

Case back no. 94. Case no. B12945. Serial no. 172232.

50 years ago, Audemars Piguet launched what was to become an icon of its era. Previous to the introduction of the Royal Oak, a luxury wristwatch was understood as one made of 18k gold and usually fitted with a leather strap. The iconic watch designer, Gerald Genta, wanted to change this conception by introducing a steel wristwatch with an integrated bracelet that cost as much as a good Swiss gold watch. Not everyone understood why you would pay more for steel than gold. Nevertheless, within its first year of existence, it already became the best-selling watch of the company.

The Royal Oak has been in made in more than 500 iterations during the last half century and began with the legendary reference 5402 in steel. The first variation of the Royal Oak in gold was the reference 5402BA. This differs from the model from 1972 only in the different case metal and the dial colour. The 5402BA, together with a white gold and a steel and gold version, was introduced in 1977. These variants broke the “rules” of the Royal Oak by being made in precious metals. They were much more expensive than the steel version, hence early examples are much rarer to find in good condition than their steel counterparts.

This particular version of the Royal Oak, the reference 5402BA, is one of the first of the approximately 750 pieces of this reference to ever be produced. The number 94 can be found in crisp writing on the caseback, indicating its production number. Whereas the steel version of this reference has a letter written in front of the production number to indicate the series (A, B, C or D), the gold version only had the number. The indication of the series can however be found on the inside of the caseback – this being a B-series, which was the first series to include the gold iteration.

Apart from the usual iconic trademarks of the Royal Oak, such as the applied baton indices, the petite tappiserie dial and the small date window at 3 o’clock, our example has the so-called “AP-down” dial. This was only to be found on the earliest models, making the watch even more collectible. Moreover, the writing on the dial is as legible as on the day it was originally sold, underlining the incredible condition of the dial.