How the Royal Oak Paved Way to Luxury Sports Watch Market

The Royal Oak is the most well-known piece of Audemars Piguet in Las Vegas today. It first debuted at Baselworld Watch and Jewelry Show during the quartz crisis back in 1972. Audemars Piguet crafted the Royal Oak out of need because of the rising demand for the more affordable quartz movement watches. This increasing popularity of quartz watches was seen as a problem by watchmakers who make delicate and expensive mechanical watches.

As Audemars Piguet was severely affected by the quartz crisis, they realized that they would soon be out of business. As a result, they made a risky decision to design a new type of watch—a luxury sports watch.

Watch designer Gerald Genta was tasked to design and make the watch. According to Genta, an executive told him to “design a watch that has never been made before, and it has to be new and waterproof,” and it was due the very next day. 

When designing the would-be Royal Oak, Genta drew inspiration from a deep-sea diving helmet. Thus, the Royal Oak’s stainless steel case nods to the era’s marine diving helmets. It also has the same type of exposed screws and octagonal bezel.

Then, in 1972, when the Royal Oak debuted, it did not sell well. The idea of a luxury sports watch was unusual at that time. With its unusual design and high price tag, consumers were a bit wary. It was, after all, more expensive than a gold Patek Philippe and some Rolex stainless steel watches.

It took three years for the Audemars Piguet to sell its first 1,000 Royal Oak watches. Afterwhich, the interest in the Royal Oak suddenly rose. It is also said that the first Royal Oak was sold to Iran’s Shah—King.

While it took some time for the Royal Oak to become a success, Audemars Piguet’s risky decision to design and make an entirely new watch paid off, especially since it has made an impact in the world of luxury watches. We have Audemars Piguet to thank for paving the way in the world of luxury sports watches.