WT_2004_05: CULT WATCH: AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK

CULT WATCH: AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK 

INSIDE THE 

OCTAGON 

When the Royal Oak debuted in 1972, its launch was nothing short of 

revolutionary. Never before had a luxury watch been encased in steel. 

Although we’ve since become accustomed to this octagonal masterpiece, 

the Royal Oak still has the power to surprise. 

BY WITOLD A. MICHALCZYK 

88 WatchTime October 2004

Dark clouds loomed in the skies above 

Switzerland’s watchmakers in the 

early 1970s. Although the first 

quartz watches from Japan were still rather expensive, 

they were the heralds of a trend that 

would cause an upheaval in the watch industry. 

A conflict that had already begun to smolder 

in the Near East suggested that a global oil 

crisis was imminent. The times seemed to be 

singularly unfavorable for new wristwatches in 

the world of haute horlogerie. Confronted by 

this inauspicious situation, the Audemars Piguet 

manufacture decided that the best defense 

was a good offense and debuted at the 

1972 Basel watch fair a timepiece that would 

come to define an entirely new category of luxury 

watch: the water-resistant luxury sport 

watch with a steel case. 

Decision-makers at Audemars Piguet had reviewed 

the first sketches for the new product in 

1970. They considered ideas submitted by numerous 

designers, some of whom were quite 

well known, but none of these plans met with 

unanimous approval. Finally, a designer named 

Gérald Genta presented an idea that found favor. 

Genta envisioned a wristwatch with an octagonal 

case and a bezel affixed by eight hexagonal-headed 

screws. The wristband and case 

would unite to create an inseparable unity. The 

anthracite-colored dial would be embellished 

with guilloché in a sort of nail-head pattern. 

Genta opted not to include a seconds-hand. The 

watch’s name deliberately contradicted the futuristic 

appearance of the new model: Royal 

Oak. The name evoked visions of a venerable old 

timepiece, perhaps a pocket-watch, with a finely 

crafted golden case. But Audemars Piguet’s 

newest creation was conceived to be a sport 

wristwatch with a steel case. The price was set at 

3,300 Swiss francs – a high price to pay in those 

days, especially for a watch with a steel case. In 

contrast, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date with a 

steel case was available at the time for just 750 

Swiss francs, and a Patek Philippe Calatrava cost 

only 2,500 Swiss francs, and that was with a 

gold case! It wasn’t surprising that even Audemars 

Piguet remained skeptical and wasn’t entirely 

surprised when the model received an icy 

welcome at the Basel Fair. The firm’s representatives 

in Italy, however, were enthusiastic about 

the Royal Oak right from the start. The majority 

of the 1,000 Royal Oaks first produced were ex- 

Audemars Piguet developed 

the Model T3 in collaboration 

with Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

October 2004 WatchTime 89


The Royal Oak Offshore in rose gold with a 

black rubber bezel was an eye-catcher in 2003. 

A collaboration with yachtsmen was the 

occasion for the Alinghi special edition. 

ported to Italy. Audemars Piguet initially planned 

not to produce any more of these daring watches, 

but people in other countries gradually began 

to share the Italians’ interest in the Royal 

Oak, so production resumed in 1973. Today, the 

numerous members of the Royal Oak family are 

Audemars Piguet’s unchallenged bestsellers 

The first Royal Oak was a watch that embodied 

extremes. Its ample diameter (38.7 

mm) contrasted with a low height of just 

8-mm. This slimness was made possible by encasing 

the Caliber 2121, which is a mere 3.5- 

mm tall. The choice of this caliber surprised traditionalists 

because this extra-flat movement 

had previously been used only inside classical 

watches with gold cases. 

Despite its unconventional form, the original 

Royal Oak was essentially a sleek, no-frills 

watch. Its many fine points weren’t obvious at 

first glance. These refinements began, for example, 

with the orientation of the slits in its hexagonal 

screws: each slit was tangent to the circumference 

of the same imaginary circle. Further 

fine details included some 250 polished bevels 

on the edges of the case and its steel bracelet. 

These labor-intensive details, many of which required 

new machinery for their manufacture, 

were one reason for the watch’s high price. 

The Royal Oak’s audacious appearance appealed 

to the spirit of the times. Society was 

reeling in the wake of the upheavals of the late 

1960s. Wearable status symbols were either 

rejected outright or worn unostentatiously. 

The concept of understatement had been 

born. At the same time, however, people were 

abandoning outworn traditions and questing 

for viable new ideas. The Royal Oak fit perfectly 

into this experimentally inclined era. It didn’t 

take long before other brands internalized Audemars 

Piguet’s concept and created corresponding 

timepieces of their own. Baume & 

Mercier, for example, launched its 12-sided 

Riviera in 1973. Patek Philippe followed suit 

with the Nautilus and IWC jumped on the 

bandwagon with its Ingenieur in 1976. The 

concept had carved a niche all its own. 

As the years went by, Audemars Piguet 

gradually augmented its best-selling model to 

create a whole collection that currently includes 

a wide variety of complications and materials. 

Gold and platinum models were 

launched as well. This was somewhat contra- 



Three of the British navy’s mightiest ships 

were christened with the name Royal Oak 

between 1802 and 1914. 

Audemars Piguet underscored the relationship between itself and 

water sports by supporting Switzerland’s Alinghi team, which won 

the America’s Cup. 

dictory to the understatement philosophy, but 

it appealed to customers nonetheless. The 

watch’s success was in no way diminished 

when quartz movements were encased in the 

late 1970s. Extraordinarily precise, batterypowered 

quartz calibers were regarded as innovative 

in those years and hadn’t yet acquired 

an aura of mass-produced mediocrity. 

No changes were made in the original Royal 

Oak for the next seven years. Not until 1979 did 

Audemars Piguet decide to 

replace the basic model with 

a smaller variant. The case’s 

size (36 mm) appealed to 

contemporary tastes, especially 

in Italy, where the majority 

of Royal Oak watches 

were sold. A new movement was encased inside 

the smaller steel case. The 26-mm Caliber 

2125 was somewhat smaller in diameter than 

the original Caliber 2121, but was 0.25 mm 

taller. Its greater height necessitated a corresponding 

increase in the thickness of the new 

Royal Oak, which nevertheless remained fairly 

slim: its overall height was just 8.2 mm. The balance 

inside the new version oscillated faster 

(21,600 vibrations per hour) than its counterpart 

in the original watches (19,800 vibrations 

per hour). A rocker alternator mechanism enabled 

the gold oscillating weight to wind the 

mainspring in both its directions of rotation. 

Also new was a mechanism added to support 

The name “Royal 

Oak” was meant to 

contradict the futuristic 

design of 

the timepiece. 

the rapid adjustment of the date display, a feature 

not found on the original model. The 

smaller size and the addition of a seconds-hand 

were the two most obvious changes that distinguished 

the new Royal Oak from the older 

model. According to the development department 

in Le Brassus, the seconds-hand was 

added in response to numerous requests from 

customers. This smaller model serves as the basis 

for today’s collection. Audemars Piguet began 

encasing a different 

movement (Caliber 2225) inside 

this wristwatch some 

time ago. The successor to 

the 2125 is very similar to its 

predecessor, but its balance 

oscillates at a fast 28,800 vibrations 

per hour. This classic timepiece currently 

retails for $8,900. The steep price confirms 

the fact that high prices and the high art 

of watchmaking have always gone hand in 

hand. 

The 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak in 

1992 provided Audemars Piguet with a welcome 

occasion to revive the original model. As 

the manufacture had done in 1972, it again 

produced a limited series of 1,000 watches. 

Caliber 2121 was resurrected especially for this 

jubilee edition. Unlike the original model, these 

20th-birthday watches were equipped with a 

sapphire crystal in the back so that connoisseurs 

could more readily admire the movement, 

which included a skeletonized rotor. Earlier 

models hid their movements beneath massive, 

opaque, screwed backs. The larger variant 

(which is the size of the original model, 38.7 

mm) currently augments the collection under 

the name Royal Oak Jumbo. 

The Royal Oak line continued to expand 

steadily during the years following the jubilee. 

Audemars Piguet could rely on the many fine 

complications that it had developed in-house. 

Various Royal Oak models appeared in quick 

succession during the 1990s, including versions 

with a second time zone display, watches 

with a hand-type date display and a perpetual 

calendar model. The movement in the lastmentioned 

variant was based on the Caliber 

2121 and is generally acknowledged to be the 

slimmest of its kind. A chronograph was added 

toward the end of the 20th century. The 

watch’s 25th birthday in 1997 was celebrated 

with the release of a Royal Oak whose steel 

case enclosed a self-winding movement and a 

tourbillon. In place of a rotor, automatic winding 

was accomplished by an oscillating weight 

made of a platinum-iridium alloy. 

The technology to support these complications 

had obviously come a long way from the 

original sporty intentions, but the appearance 

of the new Royal Oak watches nonetheless preserved 

the timepiece’s uncompromisingly athletic 

aura. Audemars Piguet was well aware of 

this tendency to stray – and made the necessary 


The full opulence of Caliber 2121 was first revealed 

to watch enthusiasts in the anniversary 

model, which was launched in1992. 

Audemars Piguet is frequently present in 

the world of golf as well: the Nick Faldo 

Special Series, 2002. 

The eight screws in the back plate echo 

the design on the bezel. 

course corrections. The renewal of the original 

idea came in 1993 and was another dramatic 

moment in the Royal Oak’s colorful history. The 

Offshore line debuted with a chronograph 

model. A screw-down crown, visible silicon insulators 

for the push-pieces, and a reworked 

bracelet with “butterfly” folding clasp were the 

stylistic attributes that Audemars Piguet used to 

attract attention to the new model. Another 

new feature was an inner case of soft iron, 

which made the watch less susceptible to the ill 

effects of magnetic fields. The traditional Royal 

Oak had had a frameless monocoque case and 

a screw-down bezel. The screws on this bezel 

were held in place by threaded nuts, which 

were recessed into the back. The new Offshore’s 

case, on the other hand, consisted of 

three separate parts and the screws in its back 

were independent of the ones on the bezel. 

This facilitated assembly and also made the case 

more stable under extreme conditions. 

The new member in the Royal Oak family 

was enthusiastically received, and new offspring 

quickly followed. The Offshore was released 

with numerous complications and in 

several variants, thus creating an entire collection. 

The Chronographe Perpetual undoubtedly 

ranked among the technical high points 

in this collection. It was based on the same Caliber 

2226 that had served as the basis for the 

first Offshore, but an extra module augmented 

the caliber here. Fully in keeping with Royal 

Oak tradition, this model was also an extremely 

slender wristwatch. 

Several of the latest variants are more than 

merely interesting in terms of their appearances. 

For example, collaboration between Audemars 

Piguet and the Alinghi team, which 

won the America’s Cup in 2003, led to the creation 

of a small series of distinctive watches. The 

Alinghi collection blurs the boundary between 

the traditional Royal Oak and the Offshore variants. 

The sailing-yacht logo first appeared on 

the Royal Oak City of Sails. This chronograph relied 

on a Caliber 2835 and was available with 

either a steel, platinum or rose gold case. A rubber 

strap further enhanced the watch’s good 

looks. Audemars Piguet thus reinstated the 

sporty aspect to the focus of the collection and 

simultaneously alluded to the Royal Oak’s origins. 

The City of Sails was soon joined by anoth- 

Audemars Piguet augmented the series 

with traditional complications. Pictured 

is a perpetual calendar. 

The original Royal Oak (1972) casually 

displayed the AP logo near 6 o’clock. 

The Royal Oak Offshore (1993) heralded a 

sporty renewal for the collection and has 

since become an important pillar for the line. 


Depending on the model, the case of a Royal Oak 

may consist of as many as 72 individual components. 

er Offshore model, the “Alinghi.” Caliber 

2229/2845 ticked inside its titanium case. The 

dial featured a power-reserve display, a handtype 

date indicator, and a display of the time in a 

second time zone. The last-mentioned complication 

was a practical addition, 

as the Swiss yacht was 

competing for the coveted 

trophy in New Zealand, so 

the team had to bear in mind 

the many hours of difference 

between Kiwi time and Swiss time when transmitting 

progress reports home to the Alps. The 

most interesting technical aspect of the watch 

was its combination of a titanium case and a 

platinum bezel, juxtaposing two materials that 

have become increasingly important in the 

highly technical world of watchmaking. (Audemars 

Piguet caused a bit of confusion among its 

fans when it decided to increase the run of the 

limited edition from 750 to 1,000.) 

Model T3 is the most recent and without a 

doubt also the most impossible-to-overlook 

The Royal Oak was 

the first sporty 

luxury watch to use 

a steel case. 

member of the Royal Oak Offshore clan. It measures 

a whopping 57.2-mm in width. Its length 

is even more imposing: 61 mm. The dial alone is 

32.5 mm in diameter. The overall height is a 

hefty 15.65-mm, but the ample width and 

length enable the watch to 

look slim. Need we say that 

the T3 is the largest Offshore 

model ever manufactured 

Another new detail: hinged 

stirrups cover the pushpieces 

and crown. They can be swung open so 

you can operate the chronograph. This model 

was developed expressly for and in collaboration 

with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is extremely 

massive…and makes makes no secret 

of his fondness for Audemars Piguet. Of 

course, this Brobdingnagian watch looks great 

on the thick wrist of California’s latest governor, 

but it also feels right at home on the wrists of 

wimpier gentlemen. And now that some 

women have begun wearing Panerai-size wristwatches, 

the T3 may well be one of the last 



The bracelet and case unite to form a single 

unit. This convincing design concept has been 

typical of the Royal Oak right from the start. 

The first Royal Oak was just 8 mm thick. 

The ultra-flat Caliber 2121 is encased within 

the steely house. 

Trimmed down to 36 mm in diameter, this variant 

of the Royal Oak (with seconds-hand) has 

been the collection’s basic model since 1979. 

timepieces reserved for the stronger sex. The 

manufacture’s designers have once again succeeded 

in creating an extraordinary timepiece. 

Incidentally, the gargantuan T3 is surprisingly 

lightweight. Titanium’s low specific gravity 

helps to pare unnecessary 

poundage off this macho 

chronograph. When the 

Royal Oak debuted in 1972, 

its trailblazing technology 

and daring design made it a 

milestone in modern watchmaking. 

Its manufacture marked the first time 

that case-makers had treated steel as though it 

were a precious metal. The 32-year history of 

the Royal Oak is lined with events that represented 

the state of the art in watch technology. 

The Concept Watch, which first appeared in 

2002, currently stands at the high-water mark 

The majority 

of the first Royal 

Oaks were 

exported to Italy. 

in the line’s evolution. The watch’s movement is 

based on a hand-wound caliber with a built-in 

tourbillon mechanism. The complex caliber also 

supports a torque display and an indicator to 

show how many more times the barrel will continue 

to rotate before it runs 

out of steam. Another innovative 

feature is the watch’s 

winding and hand-setting 

system: a special push-piece 

lets you choose among the 

crown’s several functions 

(“wind,” “set,” and “neutral”). This means 

that it’s no longer necessary to extract the 

crown when you want to wind the mainspring 

or set the hands. Also, after the push-piece has 

commanded the crown to assume the “neutral” 

position, the crown is entirely uncoupled 

from the gear train. A designated display on 

the dial indicates the crown’s momentary status. 

The Concept Watch also relies on an unusual 

material for the lower portion of its case: 

alacrite 602, a lightweight alloy that was specially 

developed for aeronautical applications. 

With the radical design of the Concept Watch, 

Audemars Piguet builds a bridge from the present 

day back to the first Royal Oak from 1972. 

The Royal Oak had already acquired truly 

mythological status before the Concept Watch 

was a gleam in a watchmaker’s eye. Although 

it can look back on more than three decades of 

history, the watch always reappears with a 

fresh face, surprising technological facets, and 

a wide variety of designs. Each Royal Oak model 

can stand proudly on its own, and when 

they’re considered as a group, this extensive 

and diverse clan comprises a fascinating microcosm 

in the horological universe. 

The Royal Oak is more than 30 years old. The collection has grown into an extensive family 

with numerous complications and a wide variety of different materials. 

The newest Royal Oak: the Offshore 

Juan Pablo Montoya debuted in a limited 

edition in 2004.

WT_2004_05: CULT WATCH: AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK

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