Audemars Piguet

Audemars

Royal Oak 'Jumbo"

5402BA B-Series

1977

Perfect 18ct yellow gold 39mm. diameter case with the original winding crown and signed Royal Oak and further charmingly inscribed by the original purchaser “29.4.65 Darling, gold cigarette case replacement. With, All my love 7.7.78”. The inside case back is inscribed AUDEMARS PIGUET SWISS B 12845

Perfect tapisserie ‘purple' grey dial with the original hands with original lume, hour markers and the original lume

Original fully signed and serviced Cal 2121 automatic movement. Serial number 172179

Original gold AP bracelet with fully signed early gold clasp

£85,000

Sold with the original green leather travel box and an Audemars Piguet Extract from the Archives stating that this watch was registered on 18th October 1977. Also sold with an early compliment slip from AP London to the owner Robert Fyshe of 24, St. Peter's Square, London SW6, dated 13th July 1978 inscribed “Further to our telephone conversation yesterday, herewith the two 18ct gold links that were removed from your “Royal Oak”. I hope that the watch will give you complete satisfaction.” The touching inscription on the back of the case reads “29 April 1965 Darling, gold cigarette case Replacement, with all my love 7 July 1978” The watch was bought by Mrs Angela Fyshe in 1978 because she had given her husband Robert Fyshe a gold cigarette case as a wedding present, but the case was subsequently lost so in 1978 his lovely wife very generously bought this watch to replace it. Service and condition This watch has recently undergone a complete service, and the case has been professionally re-polished by a master craftsman who used to polish cases for both AP and Patek Philippe – this watch could not have been better serviced – even by AP themselves! The AP 5402 history The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 5402 was originally introduced at Basel Fair in 1972. Revolutionary and disruptive, the Royal Oak redefined the meaning of luxury timepiece with the use of stainless steel. Envisioned by the famed designer Gerald Genta, the timepiece was brilliantly engineered. Simple yet lean and sporty the Royal Oak was set to become and has proven to be a design icon. In 1977, the model was made available for the first time in precious materials: yellow gold, white gold and two-tone. The reference 5402BA in yellow gold, like the present example, was produced in a total of 736 units, sold between 1977 and 1980. This example is one of the earleri to be made in gold, the first 20 or so pieces had the logo at the 6 o'clock position, a few months later when this piece was made the logo had moved to 12 o'clock. Made available in several dial variants, the present timepiece showcases a beautiful grey/purple dial that complements the case beautifully. To add rarity to an already extremely beautiful timepiece, a grand total of 736 examples of reference 5402BA where produced that being less than half of the total production of 5402 steel A-series. Cased at 39mm in diameter, the timepiece sits extremely comfortably on the wrist with a pleasant heftiness coming from the yellow gold case and bracelet. In perfect overall condition, the present Audemars Piguet reference 5402BA is a rare and seldom opportunity for the astute collector to acquire a significant and historically important model from the Royal Oak collection.

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