SIGNED AUDEMARS PIGUET, ROYAL OAK '50TH ANNIVERSARY' MODEL, REF. 16202BA, CASE NO. JJ5569C, CIRCA 2022

The 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak in 2022 was an important milestone event, not only for Audemars Piguet, for whom it was an incredibly significant year, but also in the broader history of watchmaking. Any retrospective assessment of the Royal Oak’s wider impact on modern wristwatch design and the luxury wristwatch market in the modern era will identify its introduction in 1972 as a fearlessly bold and seminal moment that was truly the birth of a legend.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, Audemars Piguet unveiled the new ‘Jumbo’ reference 16202BA, which replaced the now iconic reference 15202. The new reference features a new automatic movement caliber 7121, which took more than five years to develop, with a quick date-set and a 55-hour power reserve. For the anniversary year only, such as the present timepiece, it is fitted with a 22k gold ‘50-years’ rotor. Although the movement is slightly larger in size than the previous caliber 2121, remarkably, the external case size remains identical to the reference 15202. Four versions of the new reference 16202 Royal Oak were released for the 50th anniversary: the present yellow gold model, as well as stainless steel, pink gold, and platinum, each with a different-colored dial.