Audemars Piguet Royal Oak La Boutique NY: 1/150 Rare Watches Celebrating A New Address

Besides watches, what we reference most here is the great town, New York City. We love it, and so does Audemars Piguet. After all, they chose New York for their very first state-side boutique back in 2003. To commemorate the opening of this boutique they produced a limited edition watch (as is their MO), but this one we rather like.

Called the "La Boutique" Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph, it is essentially a completely blacked out version of their traditional Royal Oak, a watch we have a lot of love for. The case and pushers are covered in black PVD, the face is black with white dials, and it very much looks the part of a Royal Oak. The biggest difference, and what makes this watch so unique, is its case back. Engraved on the back of this Royal Oak is the entire facade of the Audemars Piguet boutique here in NY. Surrounding this image are the words "Audemars Piguet La Boutique New York 40 E 57th". Yes, the address of the AP boutique is actually engraved on the back on the watch, useful if you ever forget where you're going when you need service.

La Boutique Royal Oak comes on a black alligator strap with deployment clasp, and with a wooden presentation box that features the very same engravings as the caseback. There were only 150 of these Audemars Piguet watches made, so finding one for sale is quite rare. The original selling price for this piece was $13,900 back in 2003. Something tells us you'll have to fork over around the same to pick one up these days, if not a little more.

As lovers of Audemars Piguet and of New York, this is a watch we'd love to own someday. You don't see too many black Royal Oaks, and the fact that there are only 150 of these watches in the world make it even cooler. We just wish Hodinkee was around back in 2003 so we could've seen the boutique open.

http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2009/6/15/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-la-boutique-ny-1150-rare-watches-c.html

History of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

1972

A "vintage year" for Audemars Piguet and an historic one for the craft of watchmaking with the launch of the world's first luxury sports watch, the Royal Oak. Its octagonal shape, steel edges and the use of prominent hexagonal screws as a design feature strike a perfect balance between power and elegance. Worthy of its name, the Royal Oak has since become a legend.

Audemars Piguet's Success Story

Audemars Piguet watchmakers found themselves confronted with a new challenge: to reinterpret the classical watch for a new age. The solution they came up with is the refined heir to an aristocratic lineage: the peerless Royal Oak. Its octagonal design, originally produced only in high-grade steel, took the breath away even of many professionals. When the initial shock abated, some in the industry hinted that Audemars Piguet had taken a wrong turning. However, when the Royal Oak was unveiled at the 1972 European watchmaking fair in Basel with a price tag of just Sfr. 3,300 unheard of for a watch bearing the Audemars Piguet name its success was beyond even its creators' expectations!

The Legend Of The Royal Oak

The legend of the oak stretches back to the dawn of history, when man discovered the virtues of wood as a toolmaking material. The oak's structural strength was prefigured in the majesty of the tree itself. The oak has another, more recent association with majesty. In 1651 after the Battle of Worcester, King Charles the II of England, Scotland and Wales found refuge from pursuers in the hollow of an ancient oak. A "royal oak" indeed.

The name Royal Oak was adopted by the Royal Navy for a series of vessels of the line, in the days at the height of imperial glory when Britain "ruled the waves".

The ships naturally distinguished themselves, in the Napoleonic wars and in the great wars of this century. It is this ancient, royal and naval heritage of the name Royal Oak that inspired Audemars Piguet in the creation of a legendary watch. The porthole, that symbol of the high seas, was the starting point for this virile design. The choice of an octagonal form, with a bezel secured by hexagonal screws in white gold, followed naturally. And how does one turn a hexagonal screw, to drive it home? That is just one of the closely guarded trade secrets of the engineers and designers in Le Brassus.

The "rugged" look of this luxury sports watch is emphasized by the use of steel, satin-finished to highlight the quality of the Royal Oak's design. The bezel's rounded contours, somewhat soften the impact.

The Royal Oak is also distinctive as the first successful use of integrated design, for watch and bracelet. The octagonal porthole motif is echoed in the bracelet, with its hand-made links of progressively diminishing size.

1993

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Introduced in 1993 , water-resistant to depth of 100 metres and designed for extreme sports. Crafting Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore cases calls for more than 250 successive operations including all types of hand-made finish: bevelling, lapping, polishing, brushing, sandblasting and circular-graining. Initially introduced in steel, representing a revolution in the world of luxury watches, the cases of the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore are currently made from a wide variety of metals, some of which originate from the latest research in the aeronautical and spatial industries.

Around its legendary octagonal dial, eight visible white gold screws hold together the bezel, the exclusive water-resistance gasket and the case-back and middle. The crown and pushpieces on the Royal Oak Offshore are protected by a rubber guard and the metal bracelets are assembled by hand.

Article source: http://www.kronosclub.com/ROC/