Audemars Piguet Royal Oak: 50 Years of Innovation (1972-2022)

One watch released on April 15, 1972, dramatically changed the course of watch history. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
This watch is full of anecdotes, such as the advanced design by the late Gerald Genta and the difficulty of manufacturing the case, and it is still famous as one of the most difficult watches to obtain.
- Why is the Royal Oak so difficult to make?
We would like to answer this simple question by looking at the details of the fully renewed new model.

ROYAL OAK 1972-2022

　The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, released in 1972, is a watch that should be remembered as a turning point in modern watchmaking history. The integrated bracelet case, designed by the late Gérald Genta, was the forerunner of what we now call luxury sports watches, and was also a precursor to steel watches, which were surprisingly expensive by the standards of the time.

　The mastermind behind the Royal Oak was Georges Golay, also known as the founder of Audemars Piguet's revival. Golay joined the company as an accountant in 1945 and initiated a restructuring plan for Audemars Piguet amid the unstable situation immediately after the war, successfully achieving a turnaround. After becoming global CEO in 1966, he demonstrated his skills in everything from expanding sales channels to product development. On the eve of the development of the Royal Oak, Golay was apparently planning to utilize the sales channels of SSIH, the predecessor of the Swatch Group, to further develop the market. At that time, SSIH requested the development of a steel watch, which was beginning to become popular in the Italian market.

　Upon receiving the request, Golay contacted Gérald Genta, a young and talented designer who had just launched his own design studio in 69. Golay called Genta at 4 p.m., and the first sketch was completed the next morning. This is how the legend that "Genta designed the masterpiece Royal Oak in one night" was born, but it also led to a "misunderstanding of the century." Golay's request was likely for an "innovative steel watch." However, Genta apparently interpreted "innovative" as "waterproof." Whether he misheard or misunderstood, there's no way to know, but the Royal Oak design project began with a thin, waterproof steel bracelet watch.

　As readers of this magazine know, the first Royal Oak was completed as a monobloc case (i.e., a two-piece case) with the movement removable from the bezel. However, this development also presented significant challenges. One was the technology required to ensure water resistance, and the other was the need to realize the complex design in solid steel. In June 1970, four prototypes were ordered from case supplier Favre-Perret, but at the time it was not possible to realize them in steel, so a styling prototype was completed in 18k white gold. The following year, it was sent to SSIH, officially launching the project. On May 16th of that year, a contract was signed with Favre-Perret to manufacture 1000 steel cases. Records show that Audemars Piguet ordered a total of 237 models (6271 pieces) in 1971. Of these, 90 models were ordered for fewer than 10 pieces, while only 23 models were ordered for more than 100 pieces.

　Golay had already completed the prototype and had concluded purchase negotiations with SSIH, which is why it's not hard to imagine that this led to an unusually large order. However, the manufacturing difficulties had not been resolved, and the watch was initially priced at an unprecedented 3300 CHF. Incidentally, a standard gold dress watch sold by Audemars Piguet in the same year was priced at 2990 CHF, making it the most expensive steel watch in the world at the time.

　A steel watch with a complex design. Its manufacture would certainly have been extremely difficult in the 1970s. However, with the modern manufacturing techniques that have been used for half a century since then, it is a natural question to ask: Shouldn't it be that difficult? Surprisingly, even today, most of the processes for the Royal Oak's case and dial are still handmade. The quickest way to understand this is to watch the official movie.

　First, there's "Making a Royal Oak Case," which follows the bezel manufacturing process.

　The entire process begins with cutting the round bar on a lathe, followed by milling, overall surface finishing and polishing, and finally, hand-applied hairlining. The entire process is full of highlights. The first step, cutting the round bar, begins with carving the back of the bezel, then carves the outer periphery of a cam, creating an octagonal outline. The angled facets are then carved out, and the surface that will become the bezel top is cut out. The next step, milling, drills the eight screw holes that fasten the bezel, each hexagonal for aligning the screws. To smooth the overall surface and further polish the facets, a Zaratsu polishing machine, somewhat deified in Japan, is used. Although not captured in the video, mirror polishing is likely performed after the painstaking surface finishing. The hairlining on the bezel top is hand-finished using a surface plate and wrapping film. It's clear that the satin-grained finish on the bezel side was also applied with hand tools.

In the dial manufacturing section, "Making a Royal Oak Dial with Tapisserie Pattern," a hand-guilloching lathe is used to carve a petite tapisserie dial.

　Here, you can see the process of engraving a trapezoidal pattern by copying it from a 10x scale sample using an old-fashioned pantograph. The guilloched patterns, which differ on the top surface and grooves of the trapezoid, are engraved by hand, which is truly impressive. Although it is a small detail, you can see how, after the applied indexes are inserted, the legs are cut off and the back surface is carefully smoothed.

"Making the Bracelet for a Royal Oak" begins with the buckle being annealed and rounded after being pressed, and the shape of each link is adjusted one by one before fastening with pins. Laser welding is then carried out, and a satin grain is applied with a belt sander to match the shape of the bracelet's side. These photographs were taken using a sample Royal Oak from one generation earlier, but the basic process remains the same for the latest collection.

Special Exhibition: "You've Never Seen a Royal Oak Like This"

Audemars Piguet Boutique Ginza has been holding a special exhibition titled "You've Never Seen a Royal Oak Like This" since May 2022, displaying rare examples of Royal Oaks from the collections of Japanese collectors. The exhibition is scheduled to run until the end of December.

Venue: Audemars Piguet Boutique Ginza, B1F
Address: 6-5-13 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Inquiries: 03-6830-0789
Opening hours: 12:00-19:00 (last entrance 18:30)
Register

Official website
https://borninlebrassus.audemarspiguet.com/event04/