Year: 2005
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OBW Collection
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A wonderful Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, in the quintessential design of stainless steel and solid 18k yellow gold . Undoubtedly one of the finest pieces of horological design, the royal oak stands apart from the rest with it's distinctive octagonal bezel, brushed top profile and polished chamfered edges.
This piece is in amazing condition, looking almost like the day it left Switzerland. These automatic iteration of the reference do not come up for sale often and virtually never in such fine condition. With the releases last year at Basel harking back to the original designs of the Royal Oak and the astronomic rise in value of the original jumbo models, the 14790 is seeing great appreciation, which we only see set to increase further.
This piece also comes complete with it's original boxes (inner and outer) and papers, making a complete set and a fantastic way to top off an incredible watch. It even has spare links and original hang tag. The Sapphire crystal is impeccable, giving a perfect view through to the beautiful tapisseries guilloché dial and solid yellow gold hour markers. Even though it does look amazing in pictures, photos don't fully do this watch justice, we have also filmed a hd video for you to try and aid this, but the way the finishes of the case pick up the light is something even more special in person. What also can’t be seen is the amazing sunburst effect that you get across the beautiful guilloché dial, designed to reflect the light as you move the piece. This truly is one of the best examples of an iconic watch and piece of design.
The case measures 36mm excluding the crown and 39mm including the crown, so sits really nicely on any wrist.
Of course being a vintage piece, if you were to comb it you would find small signs of wear, but we truly believe you will not find a better example of this watch anywhere. Well serviced and keeping good time, this piece is ready to be enjoyed for years to come.
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The Royal Oak was released in 1972 after Audemars Piguet commissioned the greatest watch designer of the 20th century, one Mr Gérald Genta to create a watch to dig them out of the quartz crisis. Genta of course famous for designing the Universal Geneve Polerouter, Omega Constellation, Patek Philippe Ellipse and Nautilus amongst other iconic designs. AP, feeling the effects of the Quartz crisis identified that their needed to be a change in the high end Swiss watch industry in order to survive. As such they decided they wanted to created a revolutionary Haute Horologie, stainless steel sports watch with the most incredible level of finish for which the emphasis was on quality of the movement, design and execution as opposed to what fine metal it was made from.
With such a bold decision came a bold design, with it’s octagonal bezel, integrated bracelet, visible gasket and stainless steel case with a multitude of the most incredible finishes. Initially the industry did not respond well, with many suggesting that the company would go bust that year. However collectors and the public could not resist the bold design and soon began sporting it in a trend setting fashion until the industry was forced to eat their words. Of course now the design has risen to be utterly iconic and the flagship design for the brand.
The name Royal Oak actually comes from a fleet of boats in the British Royal Navy, of which there were eight, tying in with the Octagonal, diver’s helmet themed design of the Royal Oak. The Navy fleet took its name from the hollowed oak tree King Charles II hid in to escape the roundheads in the battle of Worcester in 1651.
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Brand: Audemars Piguet
Model: Royal Oak
Reference: 14790ST
Year: 2005
Movement: Automatic
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Diameter: 36mm
Lug Width: N/A
Box/Papers: Original Box, Original Papers and original purchase receipts
