Royal Oak
52 references catalogued, spanning production starts from 1972–2022.
Gérald Genta drew it overnight for the 1972 Basel fair. AP priced a steel watch above its gold ones, which the industry considered commercial suicide, and built 1,000 A-series pieces to limit the damage. It rescued the company during the quartz crisis and created the luxury sports watch as a category — the Nautilus, the 222, the Overseas and the Ingenieur all follow from it. The exposed hexagonal bezel screws are functional and hand-aligned.
Collection history
Generations.
1972–1977
A-series Jumbo
5402ST. 39mm, 7mm thick, the first 1,000 pieces.1992–2012
14790 / 15300
36mm and 39mm mid-size models broaden the line.1999–2022
15202 Jumbo
Keeps the original 39mm ultra-thin proportions throughout.2012–present
15400 / 15500
41mm becomes the volume reference.2022–present
16202
50th-anniversary Jumbo with the new calibre 7121.References
Browse the Royal Oak collection.
Oldest to newest
015402STJumbo1972–1990025402BA18ct Yellow Gold1977–1990035402SASteel/18k Yellow Gold1978–19850425594STStainless steel1984–20060525654Stainless Steel / Gold1987–19990614790STStainless Steel1992–20050714802STStainless Steel1992–20020814800STStainless Steelfrom 19940915000STStainless steel1995–20061025860STStainless Steel1997–20081115202STJumbo2000–20221215300STStainless Steel2005–20121315300OR18k Rose Gold2005–20121415202OR18ct Rose Gold2006–20221526300STStainless Steel2008–20121615400STStainless Steel2012–20191715400OR18ct Rose Gold2012–20191815450STStainless Steel2012–20191926320STStainless Steel2012–20172026574STStainless Steel2015–present2126574OR18k Rose Gold2015–present2226331STStainless Steel2017–20212326579Black Ceramic2017–present2415202IPTitanium / Platinum2018–20212515500STStainless Steel2019–present2615500OR18k Rose Gold2019–present2715202BC18-carat white goldfrom 20192826530OR18k Rose Gold2020–present2926240CECeramic2021–present3026240STStainless Steel2021–present3126240OR18k Rose Gold2021–present3215202PTJumbofrom 20213326239OR18k Rose Gold2021–present3415510STStainless Steel2022–present3515550STStainless Steel2022–present3616202STJumbo 50th Anniversary2022–present3716202BA18k Yellow Gold2022–present3816202PTPlatinum2022–present3915050ST—Record pending4015302ST—Record pending4115303BC—Record pending4215303ST—Record pending4315400CE—Record pending4415450OR—Record pending4515500IP—Record pending4615502ST—Record pending4725954SK—Record pending4815510OR18-carat pink goldRecord pending4915510BC18-carat white goldRecord pending5016202ORPink goldRecord pending5115551STStainless steelRecord pending5226331ORPink goldRecord pending
References without production years are catalogued but do not yet carry a verified production record. Those fields are added as they are confirmed rather than estimated.