Launched in 1972, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was the world’s first stainless steel luxury sports watch with a fully integrated bracelet. Designed overnight in response to an urgent request for an ‘unprecedented steel watch’, it was at the same time the most expensive stainless steel watch ever made. The brand sought famed designer Gérald Genta, who developed a brilliantly engineered, monobloc case, with a distinctively maritime feel, featuring an octagonal bezel secured by eight hexagonal, white gold screws, and a dial with tapisserie motif. While today the Royal Oak is a legend, at the beginning it was more than a bet, it was a true visionary revolution, the first appearance of what is today's most successful kind of wristwatch: the luxury sports watch in steel.
The Royal Oak model reference 5402ST has been produced in four different batches: A, B, C and D with small design details that made each slightly different.
The reference 5402 remained in the Audemars Piguet Catalogues for 25 years and was produced in 6,050 examples over the different series.
Double signed timepieces are a rarity highly cherished by collectors. On an intellectual level, they open a doorway into the largely discontinued practice of co-signing (with notable exceptions) which was obviously a marketing effort from before the field of horological "marketing" was even properly coded. On a collectible level, the conjunction of two brands on the same dial is invaluable to the connoisseur. Co-signing is a dwindling practice, and even back in the days when it was more mainstream only a fraction of a brand's production would be co-signed. If that is true for any brand, it is especially applicable to Audemars Piguet. In fact, only a handful of co-signed Royal Oak examples are known. The present piece, for example, is one of only 3 known Chaumet-signed reference 5402. Intriguingly, the caseback bears an additional number beyond the serial number: 1299RE. Chaumet's archives shed ample light on the subject, as it confirms that this co-signed watch was a special order numbered indeed "1299RE", and goes on to specify that this number was engraved on the back. Offered in spectacular condition, the present piece is an unmissable opportunity for those looking for the rarest variations of vintage Royal Oak timepieces.
