2016/17 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 41mm Blue Dial 15500ST
Ref: 15500ST.OO.1220ST.01
Specification
Lugs : 25.5mm (Integrated)
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with an Audemars Piguet presentation box and paperwork.
It comes paired with its AP 25.5mm brushed and polished integrated brushed steel bracelet with a signed hidden clasp. The watch is from Circa. 2016/17 and is sold in worn condition, but overall, it is in very fair condition, coming fresh from a light polish, as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WbpOhzkvc_5GvarOXDvk7tL5Gcui01k2?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 2:12 - https://youtu.be/_GNA2qNUNwE
The Watch
Here we have the iconic 2016/17 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 41mm Blue Dial 15500ST, designed by Gerald Genta in 1971 the original Ref 5402A design is inspired by a commercial divers scuba helmet; he got the name Royal Oak from a series of eight ships of the Royal Navy that took their naming convention from the hollowed oak tree that King Charles 2nd hid whilst escaping the roundheads who were supporters of the English parliament during the English civil war 1642-1651. The 15500ST was launched in 2019 and remained in production until 2022; its distinctive 41mm tonneau-shaped brushed and polished stainless steel case flows over your wrist with angular sloped screwed lugs that perfectly encompass the integrated bracelet, the polished chamfer-edge leads the eye to a lug-to-lug length of 50mm and a case thickness of 10mm ensure a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side, the characteristic hexagonal crown, the polished and brushed octagonal bezel, has screw detailing reminiscent of a commercial divers helmet holding a flat sapphire crystal above a blue Grande Tapisserie (waffle) dial. An outer minute chapter ring surrounds applied multi-facet baton indexes filled with Super-LumiNova to mark the hours; at 3 o’clock, a date window, slender baton steel baton hands sit majestically in the centre complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand. At 12 o’clock, we have the Audemars Piguet motif complete this iconic, versatile luxury sports watch. On the reverse, a screwed-down case back with “Royal Oak” engraved at the top, inside an Automatic Audemars Piguet Cal. 4302, 32 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour. It comes paired with its AP 25.5mm brushed and polished integrated brushed steel bracelet with a signed hidden clasp, and the watch comes with an Audemars Piguet presentation box and paperwork.
Personal Note
Some watches truly are deserving of their hype and attention, and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is one of them. This is the 41mm blue dial reference 15500ST, a grail watch to many, and with good reason. This reference continues the history and legacy of the Royal Oak, but in a larger, more robust format, but remains surprisingly wearable and comfortable on the wrist. I would not hesitate to book an appointment to see this one in the metal for yourself!
The Brand
Audemars Piguet was founded in Le Brassus, a small village inside the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. In the early 1870s, two watchmakers worked independently. Their names are Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet. In 1875, they joined forces to create the brand Audemars Piguet. In 1892, they created the first-minute repeater wristwatch. 1899 saw the first Grand Complication pocket watch released, featuring a minute repeater, alarm, perpetual calendar, deadbeat seconds, chronograph, and split-seconds hand. They released the thinnest pocket watch calibre in 1925, while the first skeletonised pocket watch was released in 1934. In 1946, they released the world's thinnest wristwatch. On the eve of the 1972 Swiss Watch Show Baselworld, Audemars Piguet met with Genta, where they tasked him to create a luxury sports watch. The next day, Genta introduced an idea, and the Royal Oak was born. Their Royal Oak Offshore collection was launched in 1993 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak; Emmanuel Gueit, a 22-year-old Swiss designer, was asked by Stephen Urquhart, CEO of Audemars Piguet, to create a youthful sports enthusiasts watch.