Lagerfeld, Genta, and an original Royal Oak: Take your pick
Look at our watch auction calendar for the next month or so, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed. There are easily over 1,500 lots up for sale, and that’s just at the four big auction houses — Phillips, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Antiquorum in Geneva.
But this is the year of the Royal Oak. On May 6, Phillips is holding the Royal Oak 50th sale, and they’re not the only ones celebrating. As you’ll hear Eric Wind say in an upcoming episode of Significant Watches, there are 223 Royal Oaks on sale in Geneva this weekend, nearly 13 percent of all lots. In other words, catalogs are chock full of the octagonal model.
But really, there are only three Royal Oak lots that truly everyone is paying attention to this weekend. Two for their provenance, and one for its condition and historical importance. Let’s take a look.
Karl Lagerfeld’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
First thing’s first. We don’t actually know this was the Royal Oak of Karl Lagerfeld, the late fashion designer. Here’s the evidence presented: (1) we only know of two guys in the 1970s that were wearing blacked-out PVD Royal Oaks: Lagerfeld and former King of Spain Juan Carlos I (and he’s in self-imposed exile nowadays); (2) this particular Royal Oak was delivered to Italy in 1973, and Lagerfeld happened to be hanging out in Rome at the same time. Back in the 70s, PVD a difficult, expensive process, so it’s not something that was available to just anyone.
So yes, this is what My Cousin Vinny might call “circumstantial evidence,” but we’ll allow it. Either way, it’s an absolutely badass-looking watch.
Phillips is placing the estimate at CHF 100-200k, but this has to go at least a million, right?
By the way, Sotheby’s has been selling off a ton of other items from Lagerfeld’s estate recently. It’s fun to envision how a blacked-out Royal Oak fits exactly into the designer’s aesthetic. An all-black Rolls Royce Phantom with a PVD Royal Oak? It might not be your vibe, but it was definitely Lagerfeld’s, and it just made sense.
Check out lot 88 at Phillips.
Gerald Genta’s Personal Royal Oak
Lagerfeld’s Royal Oak isn’t the only historically important octagon up for sale this week. The personal Royal Oak of Gerald Genta, the designer of the Royal Oak, is also for sale. If there’s one watch designer that’ll go down in history among the ranks of fashion designers like Karl Lagerfeld, it’s Genta. And the Royal Oak is his greatest achievement, perhaps the one watch that can be legitimately described as a sculpture. It’s why the catalog for this lot calls Genta the “Picasso of Watches.”
Sotheby’s calls this Royal Oak “possibly the most important example that has ever been made,” and it’s hard to think of one that'd be more important. AP archives confirming it was acquired by Genta in 1978.
Genta’s Royal Oak is made more interesting by the gold bezel, the first stainless steel 5402 with a gold bezel known to the public. According to Genta family tradition, the bezel was made by Genta’s atelier. There’s no record of it in AP’s archives either, which seems to corroborate the story.
The estimate for Genta’s Royal Oak is CHF 300-500k. It’s worth pointing out that original drawings by Genta of the Royal Oak and Nautilus have sold for $500k+ already this year, so don’t be surprised if this goes for more.
See lot 72 at Sotheby’s
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, A2
Finally, this Royal Oak doesn’t have the provenance of the first two, but it’s just as historically important. This is an original Royal Oak from 1972. And not just any first series Royal Oak, but number A2, meaning it was the second Royal Oak ever made. It was one of four Royal Oak models presented by Audemars Piguet at Baseld watch fair in 1972 to introduce the model.
This is the earliest Royal Oak Series A to have ever been found. It’s believeed that A1 was sold to the Shah of Iran and has been gifted/worn since, which makes A2 even more special.
According to Phillips, the consignor of A2 had already purchased a Royal Oak right when it launched, so when his brother-in-law (an AP retailer) offered him a Royal Oak as a wedding gift, he tucked the gift away, rarely wearing it.
That means the A2 is in remarkable condition. So much so that Phillips says they’ve not even dared to open the watch or turn the hands.
Phillips has placed an estimate of CHF 200-400k on A2, but like the others, there’s no telling how high it could go.
Check out lot 8 at Phillips
So there you have it, three of the most important Royal Oaks, ever. Money not an object, I’d probably take Lagerfeld’s, buy a bunch of black Chanel clothes to match (hey, I said money’s not an object), and just rock it every day. There’s no telling which one of these might achieve the biggest result this weekend, but no doubt it’ll be exciting to watch.