Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 14790BC.OO.0789BC.03

Royal Oak, Reference 14790BC.OO.0789BC.03 | A white gold wristwatch with date and bracelet | Circa 2000 Audemars Piguet

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 packagingAfter 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 36mm. 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 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.