A Royal Oak strapped to your wrist is a status symbol. The iconic octagonal Audemars Piguet watch line is one of the most recognizable and sought-after of any collection with the luxury Swiss watch pantheon of brands. It comes with a legit sentimental origin story, major design cache, and unquestionable watchmaking quality and brand status – it’s priced accordingly, too. You want one? You’ll have to dig a little deep, and prepare to wait in line.
The Royal Oak – and its more rugged cousin, the Royal Oak Offshore – is the bedrock on which the Swiss watch company has built an empire. That empire is now worth CHF 2 billion according to the brand’s CEO, Francois-Henri Bennahmias, who proudly announced the watchmaker’s entrance into the “two billion club” at a recent press conference in its home town of Le Brassus.
But, while the demand for APs (and Royal Oaks in particular) continue to vastly outpace the watchmaker’s total annual production of 50,001 pieces, as any (two) billion dollar company knows, to accumulate, you must speculate.
That ‘speculation’ came 2019 with the introduction of a new collection and case design, Code 11.59. A more versatile product (and shape) that could just as easily ‘scale up’ by accommodating more complex watchmaking, but also, in its simplest form, be used as a more accessible entrance point for people wanting a piece of that Audemars Piguet status.
Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with the flurry of new releases from the brand in February. Among a set of new Royal Oaks (naturally), the Code 11:59 range made waves as it included AP’s new answer to entry-level watches, as well as the most complicated automatic wristwatch the brand has ever made.
Clever one first. The Universelle RD#4 is an ultra-complicated piece of kit inspired by a heritage pocket watch that sits as the centerpiece of the company’s stunning watch museum. With 23 different complications and a hefty 40 functions, the new (remarkably easy-to-wear) 42mm wristwatch chimes (every quarter hour), times (in split seconds), flies back, and does so in different time zones. It will tell you the time, day, date and month, and even what the shape of the moon should be. It is so well made that you could wear it when playing golf or take it swimming. However, with only eight pieces made per year (costing CHF 1,450,000 for the standard dial; and CHF 1,600,000 for the open-worked models), it will be a timepiece that only very few will ever get near, let alone take near a pool. In short, it is a watchmaking flex.
Conversely, the introduction of a new stainless steel version of the Code 11:59 Self-winding Three-hand timepiece, opens up the clearest new path to those with AP aspirations. The three, 41mm, self-winding, full stainless steel options are available with a new radial dial pattern in green, beige and blue colourways, and set a new ‘entry-level’ price for the Code 11:59 collection – a more ‘approachable’ price of approx. AED100,000.
Make no mistake about it, AP knows that its pieces are a status symbol to those who wear them. The question asked by its newest releases is what status do you want to have?