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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, 2000s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Audemars Piguet (maker)
Date
2000s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 39 mm
Stock no.
40990410
Credit line
Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990410)
Catalogue title (original)
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40990410), this is a wristwatch by Audemars Piguet, made in Switzerland, dated 2000s. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 39 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

One name: Gérald Genta. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is perhaps Genta’s most memorable work, and in many ways changed the shape of the watch industry. The Royal Oak essentially created an entirely new category of 'luxury sport' timepieces, and with it came a new design language that inspired countless other manufactures. What's particularly delightful about the design of the Royal Oak is that it works brilliantly in a number of sizes and case materials, from steel to carbon fiber or solid gold. This particular model, a reference 15300BA.00D088CR.01, features a 39mm 18k yellow gold construction, a matching white tapisserie dial with applied, lumed baton indices and matching handset, and Audemars Piguet's Calibre 3120 automatic-winding movement within. Furthermore this piece, with its unworn, stickered bracelet, remains in virtually NOS condition, and is suitable for nearly any wrist! Dating to the 2000s, it features its inner and outer boxes, books, and undated papers from Vicci Fine Jewelry in Las Vegas, NV. Try it on the wrist once, and you'll have a tough time taking it off — don't say we didn't warn you!

Historical context

Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)

Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.

Mechanical watches returned as cultural and luxury objects. Complications, tourbillons and new materials proliferated; independent watchmakers such as George Daniels, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour revived artisanal watchmaking; collecting vintage watches became a major field.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Quartz Revolution

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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