A seldomly seen 14790 in white gold. Enhanced with a Salmon dial.

Introduced in 1992, the ref. 14790 strikes a perfect balance at 36 mm, offering a more wearable alternative to the full-size “Jumbo.” Don’t be fooled by its dimensions, though; thanks to the Royal Oak’s sharp, angular case architecture, it wears with a confident presence on the wrist.

Like most Royal Oaks of the period, the 14790 was typically produced in stainless steel, yellow gold, or a two-tone configuration. Very few, however, were ever crafted in solid 18k white gold. This example is one of those elusive pieces, which explains our excitement.

Some of the most coveted watches ever made feature salmon dials, a color long associated with special orders and the brand’s most distinguished clientele. The story is no different for the ref. 14790. While a few salmon dial 14790s have come to market, these were never factory delivered as such by Audemars Piguet. As one can read on the papers, this was born as an /03. Instead, these pieces only exist because Audemars Piguet allowed a few privileged clients to order such a rare dial afterwards, making this model an ultra-rare subset of an already rare category of watches. The petite tapisserie dial remains extremely charming and features only a minor blemish above the word "Automatic".

Additionally the watch comes with box and papers. But more importantly is the stunning condition of the sharp case and strong bracelet. Only a handful 14790BC ever surfaced, with the last auction result dating back to 2022: when Phillips sold one for 120.000 euro. But this specimen has that extra Salmon spice added to it...