Pre-Owned Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 40990364/AS05681

Why We Love It

The Royal Oak.

It was the design that made Gerald Genta's career and remains, without question, the most celebrated collection in Audemars Piguet's near 145-year long history.

In 1993, the Royal Oak line expanded to include the Offshore Chronograph, which drove the bulk of sales for AP in the past few decades. Debatably, the Offshore is responsible for carrying AP into the 21st century and ushering it into the powerhouse position in which it exists today. 

Housed in a substantial 42mm stainless steel case with a black macro-tappisserie dial, this particular Offshore ref. H50979 is an immediate attention-grabber: Oversized luminous Arabic indices combined with a matching handset, a tri-register chronograph layout and white printing all come together to give a look at once tactical and fashionable. Complementing the industrial vibe is the signature octagonal Royal Oak screwed bezel, plus an inner tachymeter scale and matching black crown and pushers. 

A sapphire crystal and integrated leather strap with hidden, signed deployant clasp complete the picture of one of the coolest timepieces AP has ever released — and this is to say nothing of the in-house automatic Calibre 3126/3840 ticking away within, providing 50 hours of power reserve. 

In excellent condition throughout, this is a tremendous opportunity to pick up one of the most loved Royal Oaks to date!

The Story

Audemars Piguet, the vaunted manufacture from Les Brassus, wasn't doing so well at the end of the 1960s.  Their horological prowess aside, times were changing, customer tastes were evolving, and AP was stuck firmly in a very traditional past. Fortunately for us, their executives recognized this, and bet it all on the launch of an avant garde timepiece the likes of which the world had never seen.

Utilizing the talents of a designer named Gerald Genta, who would make his name for designing this very watch, AP planned from the beginning to make this new watch - dubbed the Royal Oak - a contradiction to tradition, and it became the world's first luxury sports watch.  Made in steel.  The gamble paid off, and the watch world clamored to get their hands on the cutting edge design, which featured a sharply angled watch with integrated bracelet, micro tapisserie dial, and ultra thin movement.

The response was so positive that their initial allocation sold out, resulting in an extension of the line as they scrambled to meet demand.  It can be said without question that the original Reference 5402 "A Series" - nicknamed by collectors as the "Jumbo" for its massive 39mm size - single handedly paved the way for a very bright future for Audemars Piguet.