Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 5402ST 'A-Series'

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In the early 1970s, quartz watches - primarily, from Japanese brands as Seiko and Casio - conquered the Swiss watchmaking industry. This period is also referred to as the Quartz crisis. These new electronic watches were more accurate than mechanical watches and more important, they were cheaper. Therefore, they caused a decline of the traditional, mechanical watch industry. One of the brands that suffered from these developments was Audemars Piguet. Sales plummeted year after year.Finally, they turned to a man that we, at Amsterdam Vintage Watches, hold dear: Gerald Genta. What did he do? He designed a large, mechanical, steel sports watch with a futuristic design that was outrageously expensive. Exactly this watch, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, created a disruptive change and established the desirability for a new type of mechanical watches. We are always glad to add pieces to our collection that have such a rich history.The Royal Oak we can offer you is slightly more special as it is the reference 5402, which is the first reference and it even belongs to the first series. Namely, the A-series. A distinctive feature of the A-series is the placement of the AP-logo above the 6-hour position, which is referred to by collectors as 'AP Down Dial'. The series that came after, have the AP-logo placed below the 12-hour position. However, the one thing that truely makes this watch unique, is the discolouration of the tapisserie dial: at certain spots the black layer has faded away exposing the golden-brown base colour of the dial. This has only happened to the very first batches of A-series. According to the Extract of the Archives, the watch dates back to 1974. The watch has the original case size of 39 mm and runs on the famous calibre 2121, which was based on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ultrathin calibre 920. Considering the fact that this is watch belongs to the first series, is completely original and has been worn by its previous owner, it still is in fair condition.

Introduction

Audemars Piguet Royal OakIn 1970, Audemars Piguet instructed Genta to come up with an 'unprecedented steel watch'. As the story goes, he found inspiration whilst seeing a diver at work with an old-fashioned diver’s helmet near Lake Geneva. Staying up all night, Genta drew the design for a circular case with an angular, octagonal bezel, eight visible screws, and an integrated bracelet. The Royal Oak was presented in 1972 as the most expensive steel watch available and it caused an uproar: why was a distinguished maison d’horlogerie putting out a sports watch, let alone in such a pedestrian material? Some experts even predicted that the Royal Oak would put Audemars Piguet out of business. Though it took a while to catch on, the Royal Oak is now one of the most iconic and long-lasting watch designs, and has spawned an entire product line. It wouldn’t be the first time that Genta would prove a brand’s owners, customers, and industry experts wrong.

Shipping

Packages are generally dispatched within 2 days after receipt of payment and are shipped within the Netherlands by Registered Mail through the Dutch carrier PostNL and for other countries by Fedex. Consult us if you prefer another method of shipping. For most destinations tracking is available.