lot 02

Audemars Piguet

Royal Oak Chronograph

This watch was featured at the "Timed Pieces" auction

Starting bid CHF 15 000
Hammer price CHF 36 000
Buy now price CHF 40 000
Total bids 27

Specification

CaseOctagonal stainless steel case, with a solid stainless steel caseback, screwed down pushers & crown
BraceletIntegrated stainless steel bracelet
DialBlack Tapisserie dial, with applied luminous indices, 60 seconds, 30 minutes, 12 hour counters, small seconds at 12 o'clock, date indication at 3 o'clock
MovementRhodium-plated automatic movement, with Geneva stripes
Cal.2385
Ref.25860ST.OO.1110ST.03
Movement No.657366
Case No.F-83630
D=39mm
Year2007

Condition report

Case:Good, small signs of wear
Bracelet:Good, signs of wear
Dial:Mint condition
Movement:All functions working properly
Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52):Approx 260°
Accuracy (Dial on top):Approx +3 sec/day
Exctract from archives:Yes

Details

A fine, attractive and rare colour-change first-generation chronograph wristwatch of the famous Swiss watch brand Audemars Piguet, founded in 1875. Estimated production period: 2001–2007. Case in stainless steel, diameter 39mm, thickness 11mm, solid stainless steel caseback with engraved “Royal Oak” inscription, case number and model serial number. Dark blue dial with enlarged ‘tapisserie’ relief pattern, so-called ‘tropical’ light-cream toned hour and minute hands, dial marking of Type 1. Self-winding caliber 2385 with an inertial segment in 18k yellow gold, thin, with a power reserve of up to 40 hours. Functions – indication of time in hours and minutes, small seconds hand at 6 o’clock, chronograph with central seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour counters, and date between 4 and 5 o’clock. Audemars Piguet stainless steel bracelet, Audemars Piguet ‘AP’ stainless steel folding clasp.

Lot essay

Reference 25860 is the first Royal Oak chronograph wristwatch produced since 1997 on the basis of the self-winding caliber 2385, which had just been developed by the brand in collaboration with movement-blank producer Frédéric Piguet as a personalized version of its legendary caliber 1185. The Royal Oak Chronograph Ref. 25860 was available in different variations and was mostly produced in stainless steel, as the present example, and predominantly fitted with a dark blue or a matt silvered ‘tapisserie’ dial, featuring an original small or, later, enlarged ‘tapisserie’ pattern.

The dial design of the present example is characterized by such features as an enlarged ‘tapisserie’ pattern with 4 rows of squares between chronograph counters, round applied luminous markers at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, “05” on the peripheral minutes/seconds scale, and the digit “2” featuring a rounded top scroll in the “20” and “25” of the peripheral minutes/seconds scale (which is typical for reference 25860). The dial marking of the present example is of Type 1, which may be defined by the distinctive serif “7” digit marker on the chronograph hours counter, while the Type 2 marking has a sans-serif “7”. As usual in the Royal Oak Chronograph of that period with dark dials, the hands are painted white.

An extremely rare so-called tropical patina with the hour and minute hands having a light-cream tone. This rare colour change gives the watch an imposing appearance not intended by the manufacturer

Numerical execution and design variations make Royal Oak chronographs extremely attractive objects for collecting and research. In particular, rare specimens of watches from the early period of this collection appear on the market in which the original colour of some elements of the dial has changed, i.e., patinated. There are known examples with a patinated main colour of the dial, initially produced in matt silver or dark blue. We are very pleased to offer the present watch, featuring an extremely rare so-called tropical patina with the hour and minute hands having a light-cream tone. This rare colour change gives the watch an imposing appearance not intended by the manufacturer.

The watch case is fitted with screw-lock pushers and a screw-down crown, making it waterproof to a depth of 50 meters. The chronograph pushers are easy to unscrew and the requirement to apply smooth and pleasant pressure to activate the chronograph is a nice and very useful technical feature of caliber 2385 and its prototype Frédéric Piguet 1185.

Reasons to bid

The Royal Oak Chronograph ‘Tropical Hands’ Ref. 25860ST.OO.1110ST.03 would be an excellent purchase for the collector who desires an attractive, very rare and collectible wristwatch with distinctive patinated hands from a world-renowned traditional watch brand, one of the undisputed leaders in the haute horlogerie watch market. Royal Oak Chronographs are increasingly attracting collectors who appreciate the iconic design of the Royal Oak in its chronograph applications, and intriguing rarities are being discovered through the efforts of experts and connoisseurs. The present lot is particularly rare and attractive due to the appearance of a so-called 'tropical’ patina with the hour and minute hands having a light-cream tone, contrasting with the white of the applied indexes, all of which were originally white.