The history of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches ever offered at auction is simultaneously a narrative of the brand’s greatest achievements, its illustrious heritage, and the most exquisite models it has produced throughout its long corporate history. The timepieces’ lofty prices are, in a sense, a reflection of the rich tradition they carry, and their justification becomes clear when collectors are willing to pay for the stories behind the watches. To precisely understand what contributes to their extraordinary value, we are going to delve into the details of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches.
10. Audemars Piguet Ref. Photo Reference 831
According to archive information, the tenth most expensive Audemars Piguet watch is one of only ten known examples, of which only eight – including this watch – were made of yellow gold. According to the archives, the watch bears the photo number 831 and was produced on 14 August 1943. The earliest of the ten examples was originally sold in 1942, but was bought back by Audemars Piguet several decades later and is now on display in the AP Museum.
Ref. Photo reference 831
Credit © Phillips
The three-colour dial, consisting of a cream-colour main dial, salmon-coloured chronograph displays and a silver-coloured calendar, compresses this watch into a piece that combines everything that collectors value in a vintage wristwatch. The collector’s value of the Ref. Photo Reference 831 becomes even more apparent when one considers that Audemars Piguet only produced 20 chronographs with a full calendar function between 1941 and 1943, whose dials and cases differed either fundamentally or in minor details.
Credit © Phillips
At auction in 2023, the watch realised a sales price of 736,600 CHF.
9. Royal Oak Jumbo ‘Khanjar’ Ref. 5402ST
The so-called ‘Khanjar’ watches can be traced back to the former Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, who was thoughtful enough to commission the finest timepieces from renowned watchmakers such as Rolex and Patek Philippe as gifts to loyal servants and foreign dignitaries. The watch brands authorised him to add a symbol to the dials that is now considered iconic in watchmaking: two crossed swords with a dagger placed on top form the national symbol of Oman.
Credit © Phillips
The origins of these watches can be traced back to the young Qaboos, who attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. During this time, while living in London in his early twenties, he met a man called Tim Landon, who later became one of the richest men in England and helped Qaboos to develop Oman. He in turn introduced him to the key figure behind the ‘Khanjar’ watches: John Asprey. Asprey was given the task of satisfying Qaboos’ appetite for double-signed watches. It is assumed that it was, in fact, largely Asprey and not the watch brands themselves who printed the coat of arms on the dials in his London workshop. The coat of arms thus ended up on the dials of watches ranging from Rolex to Patek Philippe and IWC models.
Credit © Phillips
Whether this was also the case with number nine on our list is unclear. However, according to research by the Phillips auction house, we know that Audemars Piguet ordered a series of 6 dials without tapisserie, with diamond-set hour-markers and a coat of arms at 6 o’clock in the spring of 1973. The dial of this reference 5402 therefore differs from the regular production models because it is black – and not blue/grey – without the tapestry motif, but with elegant diamond indexes and with the ‘Khanjar’ coat of arms on the lower part of the dial.
Die Royal Oak Jumbo ‘Khanjar’ Ref. 5402ST
Credit © Phillips
What the ‘Khanjar’ watches have in common is not only their emblematic motif, but also the exorbitantly high prices they fetch at auction. Some of the models can reach fifteen times the value of their unsigned counterparts. This also explains why there has been a veritable flood of these watches on the auction market in recent years: many of the recipients are aware of these auction results and want to share in them.
The present ‘A-series’ is part of a handful of examples known as ‘Khanjar’ and was able to realise a hammer price of 756,000 CHF thanks to its exceptionally good condition.
8. Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25829TP
The significance of the perpetual calendar is considerable for Audemars Piguet in general, but for the Royal Oak collection in particular. First introduced in 1984 with reference 5554 (later renamed Ref. 25554), the perpetual calendar soon grew to become the most sought-after complication in the collection. As part of ‘The Royal Oak 50th’ auction, Phillips offered reference 25636PT, a model with a platinum and tantalum case whose skeletonised dial reveals the mechanism underneath and is fitted with midnight blue subdial counters.
Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25829TP
Credit © Phillips
This watch is strong evidence of some people’s belief that the caseback of some wristwatches is sometimes more beautiful than the dial – in a certain way, the exposed movement mechanism brings the watch to life. However, the watch is special not only in its design, but also in its production history. In reality, the model is far more limited than the number 25 on the caseback would suggest.
Credit © Phillips
Although Audemars Piguet produced 25 numbered cases in tantalum and platinum, these were used in non-consecutive case numbers for two different references: 16 cases were used for the present Ref. 25829TP with open-worked dial, while the remaining nine were used for its sister model, the Ref. 25820TP with a solid dial. This fact makes number nine on our list even rarer, as fewer examples were produced than previously assumed.
With an auction price of 768,100 CHF, the watch has been able to sell well above its former estimate of 120,000 – 240,000 CHF.
7. Royal Oak Jubilée Ref. 14802PT
Audemars Piguet celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak in 1992 with a limited anniversary edition that featured a crucial detail that made collectors’ hearts beat faster. Number seven on our list of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches is one of these anniversary examples, of which only 20 were made in platinum, and again only some of the few that featured a special ‘Tuscan’ dial. This is a very rare, hand-hammered dial that, in contrast to the tapisserie pattern, has a rougher and more irregular surface and was only used in Royal Oak perpetual calendars and a number of classic perpetual calendars, particularly in the 1990s.
Die Royal Oak Jubilée Ref. 14802PT
Credit © Phillips
What makes the watch even rarer is the fact that this is the only Royal Oak Jumbo model to feature the ‘Tuscan’ dial without an additional complication. All other versions of this dial can only be found in combination with a perpetual calendar. As there is only space for the simple time and date display on the dial, the specially crafted texture can be enjoyed in its entirety.
Credit © Phillips
A fact for which a buyer was prepared to pay 804,400 CHF at ‘The Royal Oak 50th’ auction at Phillips Auction House in 2022.
6. Karl Lagerfeld’s Royal Oak Ref. 5402ST
Karl Lagerfeld’s rise from womenswear designer at Fendi to head designer at French fashion house Chanel and mover and shaker of the international fashion scene was one of the most amazing stories the fashion world has ever seen. His personal trademarks – a white plait, high winged collar, black sunglasses and a fan – stylised him into a fashion icon; characteristics that are still associated with him today, following his death in 2019.
The German fashion creator Karl Lagerfeld
Credit © Siebbi / CC BY 3.0
These recognisable features also included a black Royal Oak, which the fashion designer was known to have particularly appreciated. Phillips claims to have discovered, through joint research with Audemars Piguet, that number six on our list of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches is in fact one of the Royal Oak models that Lagerfeld personally owned. According to their research, the watch was a regular reference 5402ST until it was sold in Italy in 1973 and immediately afterwards subjected to a PVD surface treatment. As a result, the formerly steel watch took on a completely black appearance.
Karl Lagerfeld’s Royal Oak Ref. 5402ST
Credit © Phillips
Lagerfeld is said to have acquired the watch when he happened to be working as creative director of Fendi in Rome at the time. Numerous images, including photos taken in 1974 during the Chloé fashion show, show Lagerfeld wearing a black Royal Oak with the logo at 6 o’clock, which is identical in every way to the watch on our list.
Credit © Phillips
Due to natural wear and tear on the PVD coating, which has become an attractive side effect here, and the otherwise excellent condition of the watch, Karl Lagerfeld’s Ref. 5402ST was able to realise an astonishing 937,500 CHF at auction.
5. Royal Oak ‘Grande Complication’ Ref. 26605CE.00.1248CE.98
Long before the Royal Oak heralded a new era at AP, AP stood for complications, and none of these is more closely associated with the brand than the perpetual calendar. Even before Jules Louis Audemars founded the brand with Edward Auguste Piguet in 1875, he had to produce a demanding piece as proof of his skills as part of his master watchmaking training. This masterpiece, a pocket watch made of 18-carat red gold, combined a quarter-hour repeater mechanism with – you guessed it – a perpetual calendar. It would be decades before the brand created its very first perpetual calendar wristwatch, reference 5516, in 1948, part of the production run of which was the first perpetual calendar wristwatch with a leap year indicator on the dial. The complication becomes even more significant in light of the fact that, for much of the 20th century, only Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet produced wristwatches with a perpetual calendar in series.
Royal Oak ‘Grande Complication’ Ref. 26605CE.00.1248CE.98
Credit © Sothebys
Number five on our list of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches ever sold at auction not only includes the perpetual calendar complication, but also the minute repeater and split-second chronograph complications, elevating it to the glorious rank of ‘Grand Complication’ watches. What is special is that although the watch is encased in a black ceramic case in the Royal Oak style, the reference to the first versions is clearly recognisable in the typography and choice of hands.
Credit © Sothebys
It realised a price of around 967,117.99 CHF at Sotheby’s auction house.
4. Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25654PT
The number 4 of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches won over prospective buyers at ‘The Royal Oak 50th’ auction in 2022 not only with a platinum case, but also with a copper-brown dial with a traditional Royal Oak tapisserie motif and sunburst sub-dial counters. It is part of reference 25654, which replaced the first Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar reference 25554 in 1987 and was produced until 1998 in 315 pieces in steel, 430 pieces in yellow gold, 68 pieces in steel and yellow gold and 38 pieces in platinum.
Credit © Phillips
In addition to the small production quantity, the fact that the watch was numbered ‘1’ and distributed by Asprey in London (as engraved on the caseback) increased its desirability to unimaginable heights, ultimately culminating in a retail price of 1,022,200 CHF.
3. Royal Oak ‘No. A2’ Ref. 5402ST
The Royal Oak, which Gerald Genta described as ‘the masterpiece of his career’, was famously created overnight by the designer at the request of Georges Golay, who was General Manager of Audemars Piguet from 1966 until his death in 1987. This is how the Royal Oak gained its distinctive features: the interplay of an octagonal bezel with eight hexagonal screws and a monobloc case characterised the aesthetic, making the watch stand out from the crowd for the first time as the most expensive steel watch of all time. With this frenzy for geometry that Genta helped Audemars Piguet achieve, coupled with the brand’s watchmaking sophistication, the Royal Oak marked a turning point as ‘the world’s first luxury sports watch’. For the first time in history, a timepiece combined robust functionality with the watchmaking prestige of the Vallée de Joux, while also laying the foundations for the luxury steel sports watch with a fully integrated bracelet.
However, the true strength of Genta’s Royal Oak, which goes beyond its innovative power, would only become apparent years later in its universality and timelessness. As a good design that fully fulfils its purpose and is aesthetically pleasing at the same time, the Royal Oak was launched on the market in ever new variations that took up and further developed the basic concept. As a playground for creativity, the Royal Oak Offshore followed in 1993, which, after the market demanded something new, presented a Royal Oak with a larger case and an overall more masculine appearance. This gave the first reference, the Ref. 25721ST, the nickname ‘The Beast’. In 2002, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak, AP presented the Royal Oak Concept Watch 1 (Ref. 25980), a watch that not only amazed the watch world with its futuristic design, but also with its material composition. The alloy of the case consists largely of cobalt and chrome, which until then had only been reserved for the aerospace and medical industries.
Number three on our list of the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches, the Royal Oak in its heyday and the epitome of what Gerald Genta described as ‘the magical realisation of his childhood dream’, has a unique connection to this story. For this is the second Royal Oak ever produced.
Royal Oak ‘No. A2’ Ref. 5402ST
Credit © Phillips
The watch with the reference 5402ST was produced in four different series: A, B, C and D and remained in Audemars Piguet’s catalogues for 25 years. The example with case number A2 is the earliest Royal Oak ever to appear at international auction and sold for 1,058,500 CHF.
2. Gerald Genta’s Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Ref. 5402
Gerald Genta was born in Geneva on 1 May 1931 to a Swiss mother and an Italian father. After training as a goldsmith and jeweller, he was recruited by Universal Genève, which was particularly renowned for its chronographs. Here, at the age of 23, he designed the SAS Polerouter, a watch reminiscent of the Scandinavian airline’s polar flights.
After his work for Universal Genève, which lasted until the mid-1960s, several Swiss watch companies approached the young designer. First there was Omega, for whom Gerald Genta revamped the Constellation collection. Audemars Piguet followed in 1970, commissioning him to design the Royal Oak, which is now their most iconic model. Patek Philippe, hoping to benefit from Genta’s flair for balanced design and his creative energy, also approached the designer, resulting in the design of the Patek Philippe Nautilus. From then on, it was clear that some of the most expensive watches in the world were made of steel.
In second place among the most expensive Audemars Piguet watches is a Royal Oak, aka the pinnacle of Genta’s career. However, this is not just any watch, but his own Royal Oak – and therefore the only example on the market that was in his possession. The Audemars Piguet archives confirm that this watch was acquired by Genta on 15 May, 1978. It was also the only reference 5402 in stainless steel with a gold bezel ever offered at auction. According to Phillips, the bezel was made in Gérald Genta’s workshop.
Gerald Genta’s Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Ref. 5402
Credit © Sothebys
Due to the history of the watch and the man who wore it, this timepiece realised a price of 2,107,000 CHF.
1. Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin Only Watch Ref. 15202XT.GG.1240XT.99
The most expensive Audemars Piguet watch, the Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin Only Watch, is a unique piece that not only marks the end of a period, but also a new beginning. In this timepiece, reference 15202 and its calibre 2121 were used for the last time before they were retired from the company’s history in 2021 and replaced by a new generation. This was particularly significant as the calibre 2121 was the thinnest automatic movement with a central rotor and date display when it was introduced in 1972.
The most expensive Audemars Piguet watch: Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin Only Watch Ref. 15202XT.GG.1240XT.99
Bulk Metallic Glass, a palladium-based alloy used for the bezel and the frame of the sapphire crystal caseback, was also introduced to the collection with this unique piece. The alloy offers the advantage of high strength and is also resistant to corrosion and wear.
The Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin Only Watch was the most expensive Audemars Piguet watch to be sold at the Only Watch auction, a charity auction that brings the watchmaking world together to support research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for a price of 3,100,000 CHF.
This article features the most expensive Audemars Piguet wristwatches to date,
as of September 2024.
| Model | Price realised |
|---|---|
| 10. Ref. Photo Reference 831 | CHF 736,600 |
| 9. Royal Oak Jumbo ‘Khanjar’ Ref. 5402ST | CHF 756,000 |
| 8. Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25829TP | CHF 768,100 |
| 7. Royal Oak Jubilée Ref. 14802PT | CHF 804,400 |
| 6. Karl Lagerfeld’s Royal Oak Ref. 5402ST | CHF 937,500 |
| 5. Royal Oak ‘Grande Complication’ Ref. 26605CE.00.1248CE.98 | CHF 967,117.99 |
| 4. Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25654PT | CHF 1,022,200 |
| 3. Royal Oak ‘No. A2’ Ref. 5402ST | CHF 1,058,500 |
| 2. Gerald Genta’s Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Ref. 5402 | CHF 2,107,000 |
| 1. Royal Oak 15202 ‘Jumbo’ Extra-Thin Only Watch Ref. 15202XT.GG.1240XT.99 | CHF 3,100,000 |
