Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15500ST.OO.1220ST.03

Gerald Genta sketched the Royal Oak in a single night in 1972, and half a century later the silhouette still needs no introduction. This 2020 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, reference 15500ST.OO.1220ST.03, carries that lineage in a 41mm stainless steel case beneath a black dial, the modern evolution of the watch that redefined what a luxury sports piece could be.

The case is crowned by the octagonal bezel and its eight exposed hexagonal screws that remain the Royal Oak's unmistakable signature. Steel was a provocative choice for a luxury watch in 1972 and it remains the line's spiritual home, the metal that best shows off the interplay of brushed surfaces and polished chamfers. The integrated bracelet flows from the case in a seamless taper that is as much a part of the design language as the bezel itself.

The black dial is dressed in the Grande Tapisserie pattern of small raised squares that catches light in a way no flat surface can. It is a texture that gives the Royal Oak its depth, pairing the applied white-gold markers and hands against a ground that shifts from near-matte to luminous as the wrist moves.

Driven by an automatic movement, the 15500 marked the generation that introduced AP's in-house caliber 4302 to the time-and-date Royal Oak, a modern self-winding movement with a longer power reserve and a refined balance over its predecessor. It is the engine that brought the Jumbo-era icon fully up to date.

This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is preowned with a history of case retouch that brings it to its current flawless condition.

It is offered with its Audemars Piguet box and papers, the documentation collectors rightly expect of a Royal Oak at this level.