Rare 1970's Audemars Piguet AP Royal Oak 5402 Stainless Steel 39mm Watch with Original Box and Papers

Audemars Piguet AP Royal Oak 5402 B Series Watch

Stainless Steel, 39mm, Automatic Movement

An early Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 5402 B series with the AP logo at 6 o'clock is extremely rare. The first Royal Oak 5402 was presented to the public at Baselworld in 1972. The new wristwatch combined sportiness and elegance. A sleek 39mm stainless steel case, an octagonal bezel held in place with 8 visible screws, and a petit tapisserie dial. This ingenious design was created by Gerald Genta and is still considered revolutionary. Gerald Genta, who designed watches for Universal Genève, Omega, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, claimed that the AP Royal Oak was the masterpiece of his career. Today the Royal Oak is one of the most famous watches of all time.

The reference 5402 was produced in four series A, B, C and D up to the end of the 1970s, each of them showing only subtle design differences. An important characteristic for collectors is the position of the AP logo on the dial. Only the A series and early serial numbers of the B series have the AP logo at 6 o'clock. Later versions of the B series and all watches of the C and D series bear the logo at 12 o'clock. While around 2000 pieces of the A-series were manufactured, the B-series is even the rarer version with 1000 examples being produced.

The present Royal Oak is a B-Series with an early serial number and the AP logo at 6 o'clock. 

When it comes to mechanics the Royal Oak 5402 belongs to Creme de la Creme of the automatic watches thanks to its caliber 2121. This movement has become famous for its small thickness. To date, it is the thinnest full-rotor automatic movement in the world. Caliber 2121 is still used in the Royal Oak Jumbo Ref. 15202.

Original Box and Papers Included  

1 Year Warranty on All Watches - Covers Movement Only; No water damage, broken parts or pieces, does not cover normal wear-and-tear damage, loss, theft, or damage due to misuse.