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Audemars Piguet is the smallest of the “big three”. It produces fewer watches than Rolex or Patek Philippe, operates from the same village in the Vallée de Joux where it was founded in 1875, and remains owned by the descendants of the founding families. In an industry increasingly dominated by large conglomerates, AP stands apart as one of the last fully independent haute horlogerie (“high art of watchmaking” in English) manufacturers.
The brand’s influence on modern watchmaking is disproportionate to its size. In 1972, Audemars Piguet introduced a watch that changed the trajectory of the entire industry. Fifty years later, that watch and its descendants still define the brand, drive its commercial success, and shape how collectors think about the intersection of luxury and sport.
Origins
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet founded their company in 1875 in Le Brassus, a small village in the Vallée de Joux, the remote Swiss valley that has been the center of complicated watchmaking for centuries. Audemars handled movement construction while Piguet managed regulation and quality control. From the beginning, the firm specialized in complicated movements, producing minute repeaters, perpetual calendars, and chronographs for other brands as well as under its own name.
Throughout the early and mid-twentieth century, AP built its reputation as a maker of exceptionally complicated and finely finished watches. The brand was respected within the trade but not widely known to the general public. It produced small quantities, sold primarily through a network of elite retailers, and cultivated relationships with collectors who valued mechanical artistry above brand recognition. This changed dramatically in 1972.
The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is one of the most important watches ever made. Designed by Gérald Genta (who also designed the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the IWC Ingenieur), it was introduced at the Basel watch fair in April 1972 as an answer to a specific brief: create a luxury sport watch in stainless steel.
The idea was radical. In 1972, luxury watches were made of gold. Stainless steel was for tool watches and military timepieces, not for high-end pieces with prices to match precious metal models. Genta’s design broke every convention. The case was octagonal with eight hexagonal screws visible on the bezel, inspired by a diver’s helmet. The bracelet was integrated into the case, flowing seamlessly from the lugs. The dial featured a tapisserie pattern (a repeating grid of small squares) that became the model’s visual signature. The watch was 39mm, ultra-thin for a sport watch at just 7mm, and it retailed for a price comparable to a gold dress watch.
The initial reception was mixed. Traditionalists found it jarring. But the Royal Oak gradually found its audience, and by the 1980s it had established the category that Patek’s Nautilus and dozens of subsequent designs would follow: the luxury steel sport watch with an integrated bracelet. Today, the Royal Oak is not just AP’s most successful product. It is the template for an entire segment of the watch market.
The current Royal Oak lineup spans a wide range. The time-only ref. 15500ST (41mm) and its successor the 15510ST are the core references, retailing for approximately $28,000 to $33,000 in steel. The Royal Oak Chronograph adds a flyback chronograph complication. The Royal Oak Offshore, introduced in 1993, is a larger, bolder interpretation designed for a younger and more flamboyant clientele, with cases ranging from 42mm to 44mm in materials including forged carbon, ceramic, and titanium. And the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is one of the thinnest perpetual calendar watches in production, a technical achievement that combines AP’s complication expertise with the Royal Oak’s sport watch DNA.
Beyond the Royal Oak
AP’s dependence on the Royal Oak is both its greatest strength and a persistent point of discussion among collectors and analysts. The Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore account for an estimated 80 to 90% of the brand’s total production. This concentration gives AP extraordinary focus but also raises questions about what happens if tastes shift.
The brand has been working to broaden its catalog. The Code 11.59, introduced in 2019, was AP’s most ambitious non-Royal Oak launch in decades. It featured a round case with a complex multi-layered construction, offering time-only, chronograph, perpetual calendar, and minute repeater variants. The initial reception was polarizing. Collectors criticized the design as uninspired compared to the Royal Oak. AP responded by iterating on the collection, introducing new dial treatments and complications that have gradually improved its reputation. Today, Code 11.59 is finding its audience, particularly among buyers who want an AP other than a Royal Oak.
The Royal Oak Concept line serves as AP’s laboratory for experimental design and materials. Tourbillons, flying tourbillons, GMT complications, and avant-garde aesthetics define the Concept range. Prices are typically six figures and above, and production is extremely limited. These watches are more about demonstrating what AP is capable of than about driving commercial volume.
Manufacturing
Audemars Piguet manufactures all of its movements in-house at its facilities in Le Brassus and Le Locle. The brand’s movement portfolio ranges from the caliber 4302 (an automatic time-and-date movement with 70 hours of power reserve) to the caliber 2952 (an ultra-thin perpetual calendar) to the caliber 2956 (a minute repeater with a supersonnerie mechanism designed to produce louder, clearer chiming).
Finishing is executed to a standard consistent with AP’s haute horlogerie positioning. Côtes de Genève on bridges, circular graining on base plates, polished bevels, and hand-applied decoration throughout. The Royal Oak’s case finishing is particularly notable. The combination of brushed and polished surfaces on the octagonal bezel, the alternating finishes on the bracelet links, and the precision of the screw heads all contribute to a visual depth that photographs rarely capture but becomes apparent immediately in person.
AP on the Secondary Market
The Royal Oak’s secondary market trajectory mirrors the broader luxury sport watch boom and correction of 2020 to 2024. During the peak in early 2022, steel Royal Oak references traded at two to three times their retail prices. A ref. 15500ST that retailed for $24,000 was selling for $50,000 to $60,000 on the secondary market. By late 2023, prices had corrected significantly, falling 30 to 40% from their highs.
As of early 2026, the steel Royal Oak trades at a premium above retail, though a more moderate one than the 2022 peak. Current secondary market prices for the time-only steel Royal Oak sit roughly 20 to 40% above the latest retail price, depending on the specific reference and configuration. The Offshore trades closer to retail, with some references available below list price on the secondary market. Code 11.59 references depreciate more meaningfully, often trading 20 to 30% below retail.
AP has been developing its own certified pre-owned program, which was expected to launch in mid-2025 as an online-only offering covering both modern and vintage timepieces. The program, run by a dedicated team at AP headquarters in Le Brassus, follows the model established by Rolex’s CPO initiative. As with Rolex CPO, the goal is to give buyers the confidence of brand authentication and warranty at a price premium over the open market.
Buying AP Today
Buying a new Royal Oak from an authorized dealer requires patience and, in most cases, an existing relationship. AP has been tightening its distribution network, reducing the number of authorized points of sale and investing in its own boutiques. The waitlist dynamic is similar to Rolex and Patek for popular steel references, though AP’s smaller production volume means fewer watches are available overall.
The secondary market provides immediate access. Entry points for AP start around $15,000 to $18,000 for older Royal Oak Offshore references and certain discontinued models. Current-generation steel Royal Oaks begin around $35,000 to $45,000 on the secondary market. Complicated references, particularly perpetual calendars and tourbillons, range from $80,000 into the hundreds of thousands.
For buyers drawn to the Royal Oak’s design language, its combination of sport watch functionality and haute horlogerie finishing, there is nothing else quite like it. Genta’s 1972 design remains as striking and as modern as the day it was introduced. That kind of longevity in design is rare in any field, and it is the foundation on which Audemars Piguet has built its place among the most important watchmakers in the world.
Browse Audemars Piguet listings on Tempo, where every transaction is escrow-protected and both buyers and sellers pay zero fees. Explore AP’s history in the Timeline. Visit tempo-watches.com.
This article is for informational purposes only. Prices, secondary market values, and production details are approximate and based on market conditions as of early 2026. Audemars Piguet is a registered trademark of Audemars Piguet SA. Tempo is not affiliated with or endorsed by Audemars Piguet.