The PHILLIPS Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXI takes place on 21-23 November 2025, at our West Kowloon headquarters. The auction includes more than 300 of the world's finest watches – and though we are loath to boast, we truly think it's one of the best catalogues we've ever put together. We'll be highlighting a number of the most interesting lots and stories featured in the sale, including the two Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks presented below.
– By Logan Baker
You don’t need to scroll long on Instagram to see the shape of the modern Royal Oak conversation.
A few references dominate the feed, the same way a few colors dominate the showroom floor. But part of understanding the Royal Oak is knowing where the design stretches. That’s where two of the Royal Oaks in this weekend’s Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXI come in. They sit outside the usual discourse, yet they capture two very different sides of Audemars Piguet’s approach to its most celebrated creation.
The Royal Oak Tourbillon Japan Limited Edition is the subtler of the two, but it tells a clear story.
AP has experimented endlessly with the Royal Oak – but we bet you've never seen this reference before. It was created for a single market (Japan), capped at forty-five total pieces, and feels quintessential Royal Oak at a glance. The black petite tapisserie dial feels grounded in the 1970s design language that started it all.
The 41mm stainless steel case is familiar, but the sapphire crystal exhibition caseback exposes a movement that isn’t. The manual-wind calibre 2924 is thin and beautifully executed, with a tourbillon at six o'clock and a lengthy 70-hour reserve.
The appeal of this Japan-only release lands in the space between rarity and understatement. The watch carries all the seriousness of AP’s high-complication workshop, yet it wears with the ease of a standard Royal Oak on the wrist. It’s a tourbillon wristwatch for someone who doesn’t feel the need to announce they’re wearing one.
The Royal Oak Concept Watch CW1, on the other hand, adopts a different approach. If the Royal Oak Tourbillon Japan Edition exudes quiet confidence, the CW1 embodies raw experimentation.
When AP unveiled the Royal Oak Concept in 2002 to mark the model's 30th anniversary, it felt like a complete reboot of the collection's core ideal. The case material alone set it apart. Alacrite 602, an aerospace alloy of cobalt chrome, tungsten, carbon, silicon, and iron, had never been used in watchmaking before, and it hasn’t been used since.
The final result? An impressive 44mm Royal Oak that feels half sculpture, half "skunkworks" research project.
The design pushes the Royal Oak aesthetic language to its zenith. The curved bezel accommodates a domed crystal without softening the sharp geometry that defines the collection. Inside, the Renaud & Papi-developed movement strips away mass by utilizing titanium plates and bridges, while adding complications and functions rarely seen on any wristwatch. A linear power reserve. A function selector that shifts between winding, neutral, and setting with a discreet pusher at four. A dynamograph at twelve that tells you how much productive torque remains stored in the mainspring. And, of course, a tourbillon set off to the left. It’s dense, unconventional, and totally confident in its purpose.
The CW1 became the starting point for everything Audemars Piguet would later develop under the “Concept” banner. Without it, the later Concept Chronographs, GMTs, and other innovative complications wouldn't make as much sense. This first one still feels the most radical because it wasn’t designed with precedent – it set the precedent.
With only approximately 150 made, and with its one-off alacrite case material never repeated, it's remarkable even within AP’s own catalogue.
If you place the Royal Oak Tourbillon Japan Edition and Royal Oak Concept CW1 side by side, you'll uncover an interesting theme.
The Royal Oak became an icon, but it also became a full platform for Audemars Piguet. The brand utilizes it to showcase technical ambition and explore new materials just as often as it turns to it to honor its own history. These two watches sit at opposite ends of that idea. One leans into understatement, the other into mechanical audacity. Both deserve a closer look.
You can view the complete Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction: XXI auction catalogue here.