Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15202ST

Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin, Reference 15202ST | A stainless steel wristwatch with date and bracelet | Circa 2016 Audemars Piguet

Dial: blue Calibre: cal. 2121 automatic, 36 jewels Movement number: 974’540 Case: stainless steel, sapphire crystal display back secured by 8 screws Case number: J08’257, 6’638 Closure: stainless steel Audemars Piguet bracelet and double-folding clasp Size: 39 mm diameter, bracelet circumference approximately 180 mm Signed: case, dial and movement Box: yes Papers: yes Accessories: Audemars Piguet guarantee, instruction manual, sales receipt dated 2016, service papers dated 2024, travel case and presentation case with outer packaging At the height of the “quartz crisis” in the 1970s, Audemars Piguet released a watch that was disruptive both in design and price. The stainless steel Royal Oak was famously more expensive than both Jaguar sports cars and conventional gold watches of the period and finished to a degree not thought possible before on a steel wristwatch. The high polish and beveling techniques found on the case were pioneered specifically for this wristwatch and were so difficult to achieve that when the watch was unveiled at the Basel Fair of 1972, the prototypes that sat in the showcase were, in fact, made of the easier to machine white gold. Fast forward to 2012, and the original design from 1972 is reintroduced back to the Audemars Piguet collection in the present 15202ST. The proportions, case finishing and even the original Jaeger based movement are all presented as they would have been in 1972, except with some hardware upgrades to ensure the watch is more suitable to tackle the modern world.