Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400ST automatic 41 mm Full Set 2015

The brief history

The beginnings of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak date back to 1971, exactly one year before its presentation at the 1972 Basel Fair. Following the quartz crisis, Audemars Piguet indeed found itself with its back to the wall: the brand had to quickly find a revolutionary idea, or else AP could say goodbye to more than a century of watchmaking expertise. Then CEO Georges Golay contacted watch designer Gérald Genta, asking him to design a stainless steel sports watch that could meet the needs of the Italian market - all within a very tight timeframe.

Genta met this challenge with a watch that had a revolutionary design for its time. The result was the world's first luxury sports watch in stainless steel for the price of a gold watch. With this launch, nothing will ever be the same again. Inspired by a diver's helmet, its design is avant-garde, with an octagonal bezel secured by eight screws, visible seals and a dial adorned with the brand's exclusive Grande Tapisserie guilloche pattern. A surefire way to defy watchmaking codes.

At the time, its slim case measured only 7 mm thick for 39 mm in diameter. The watch beat to the rhythm of the superb self-winding caliber 2121, the result of a collaboration between Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Patek Philippe.

Presentation

Today we offer a modern 41mm diameter Royal Oak powered by the caliber 3120. While this movement bears the Audemars Piguet aesthetic signature (the bridges align harmoniously, the finishing and decoration of the components are handcrafted), it offers an elegant balance reinforced by the through balance bridge and an engraved 22-carat gold oscillating weight. A refinement revealed by the sapphire back of the case. Sturdiness, reliability and running precision: this self-winding movement also displays its mechanical qualities with a power reserve extended to 60 hours.

For information, the reference 15400 was marketed between the 15300 and 15500 for a short period. It is a confidential reference in the history of the Royal Oak possessing a very promising future in the collection.

Its dial is inspired by the original Royal Oak. Indeed, the brand's initials, which were applied at noon, are now replaced by a double baton index, as on the original 1972 version. A detail that purists will appreciate!

The package

Audemars Piguet offers us with this Royal Oak 15400 a very successful modern interpretation of its iconic model. It revisits its look in a gentle way and makes appreciable nods to the original model that gave birth to this watchmaking legend 50 years ago now!

This 15400ST dates from 2015. It is in perfect condition and comes with Full Set. FYI, this watch originally had a gray dial, but it was changed to a blue dial. It has just come out of a full service at Audemars Piguet, with polishing and satin finishing. This service is guaranteed for two years by the brand. Like all of our watches featured on 10h10, this Royal Oak has been tested and authenticated by our watchmaker.