
Charles Dower
Head of sale, Knightsbridge
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Sold for £25,500 inc. premium
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Head of sale, Knightsbridge

Head of Department

Senior Cataloguer

Cataloguer

Global Head
When Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak in the early 1970s, the whole Swiss watchmaking industry was suffering an agony brought by the introduction of quartz watches. However, the Royal Oak soon became the life saver and keystone for Audemars Piguet, and furthermore revolutionized the industry with the new notion of "high-end sport watch".
The first Royal Oak was given the reference 5402 and was produced in four series - A, B, C and D. Initially 1000 'A' series pieces were produced and in a little over a year were all sold before being followed up by a further 1000 pieces. Shortly after this they moved onto the 'B' series, of which the current lot is an example, and it is believed there were again only around 2000 pieces made.