One name: Gerald Genta.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is perhaps Genta’s most memorable work, and in many ways changed the shape of the watch industry.
The Royal Oak essentially created an entirely new category of 'luxury sport' timepieces, and with it came a new design language which inspired countless other manufactures. What's particularly delightful about the design of the Royal Oak is that it works brilliantly in a number of sizes and casing materials, from steel to carbon fiber or solid gold.
What we have here is amongst the earliest and most sought after models in existence - a 5402SA
This particular 'Jumbo' features a 39mm 18k yellow gold and stainless steel case with a matching and undoubtedly iconic integrated bracelet, a grey micro-tapisserie dial with applied Tritium baton indices, and Audemars Piguet's Calibre 2120 automatic-winding movement beating away within.
This piece, as with nearly all two-tone Royal Oaks, presents fantastic value next to their full-steel and full-gold counterparts, and we think it just works great with the the fundamental design of the Royal Oak.
Try it on the wrist once, and you'll have a tough time taking it off...
Don't say we didn't warn you!