Last week we showed you five watches from the May sales from Audemars Piguet that were all pretty awesome, and yet none of them were Royal Oaks. Today, we are showing you two watches from AP in a May sale that are indeed Royal Oaks, but they aren't just any Royal Oaks, they are two very special, super early Royal Oaks...
The Very First Royal Oak Reference 15400 41mm, Ever.
You see, Antiquorum has a special section in their May 2012 sale that is dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak, and they have a ton of interesting RO's to choose from, including several LE's. But, the two RO's from the collection that we're most excited about are relatively simple watches. The first, as seen above, is actually the very first 41mm Royal Oak, period, - the reference 15400 that was introduced at SIHH this year.
You can tell it's the first 41mm RO by the serial number shown above: "N° 0001". The estimate on this is a reasonable $13,000-$20,000 (current retail is around $16,400 for the 15400) so you could even get a bargain the first first watch in this entirely new reference Royal Oak. All the proceeds from the sale of this watch will go to the Royal Oak foundation in preservation of forests, wildlife, and the education of children. More details on the very first 41mm Royal Oak can be seen here.
The 88th Royal Oak, Ever.
The other highlight of this octagonally themed sale is an incredibly early "A-Series" Jumbo Royal Oak. We've seen that these early RO's dating to 1972 have become really hot sellers, and this one could take the cake for a variety of reasons. First, it's incredibly early - one of the first 100 RO's ever produced in fact. Second, it's in relatively good condition with original dial in nice shape and a case that is true to its original lines. It has a bracelet with little stretch that has the proper early Gay Freres signature, and is dated to the first quarter of 1972.
Oh, and did we mentioned it's number A 88? Hello China! This watch will surely attract a lot of attention due to its original, early nature and lucky serial number. The pre-sale estimate of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak No A 88 is $16,000 - $22,000 and more details can be found here.
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