167 Audemars Piguet Highly Rare and Extremely Well preserved, Royal Oak, Automatic Wristwatch in White-gold, With Diamond-set Dial, Reference 5402 BC, Retailed by Fred

Estimate: €100,000 –⁠ 200,000

Model: Royal Oak
Reference: 5402 BC
Case Material: White Gold
Bracelet Material: White Gold
Movement: Automatic
Caliber: 2120
Case N°: N° 19
Dimensions: 39 mm
Signed: Dial, movement and case

Iconic as very few other models have been in the history of horology, the Royal Oak model is the umpteenth creation of the immortal designer Gerald Genta. Launched at Baselworld in 1972, it represented a real novelty in the Audemars universe as it was the brand’s first true sporting pride. Its name comes from the “Royal Oak” tree under which King Charles of England was hid to save his life. It was so important that it gave the name to several British military ships whose portholes had the shape that inspired Gerald Genta and Audemars Piguet in the creation of the watch, calling it Royal Oak. It was the first luxury watch in steel with integrated bracelet and since its inception, Audemars Piguet would have made many of its variants and, in order to offer its customers a more precious but at the same time sporty alternative, it decided to launch a version of Royal Oak fully in gold. When Audemars introduced this first white-gold model, under the reference 5402 BC such as the present lot, wanted to realize few pieces just for selected people, in fact, this is one of only 149 believed to have been manufactured by the firm making this configuration the rarest variants of the original reference 5402. Compared to the same version in steel this piece is extraordinary in terms of heavy and luxuriousness. The present example is absolutely remarkable for its conservation: the whole bracelet and clasp are in excellent conditions and also the back still presents the case number engraved very crisp. The case and the immediately recognizable bezel are perfectly preserved still maintaining their original proportions. The surface of the originally black dial is starting to tropicalize but the guilloché mini-“tapisserie” pattern—a texture found on all early Royal Oak dials—is still nice and well defined. It is, furthermore, embellished with applied diamond-set indexes for the hours markers and the AP logo at 12, while at 3 o’clock is located at the date window. The present lot is a lavish example of one of the most appreciated models ever produced by the brand and, moreover, on the case back is engraved a firm of an important retailer: FRED. Fred Joaillier, more commonly known as Fred, is a French jewelry and watch brand founded in 1936 by Fred Samuel in Paris and operated by the company “Fred Paris”. The company has more than fifty of its own shops worldwide and various retail outlets in some thirty countries and signed orders for various dynasties around the world, such as the royal family of Nepal in the 1950s, the royal family in Monaco in the 1960s as well as Middle Eastern princes between 1970 and 1990.