Sell Your Audemars Piguet

While Audemars Piguet continued to thrive throughout most of the 20th century, the brand hit a wall in the early 1970s during what is now known as the quartz crisis. During the quartz crisis, all mechanical watchmakers were seeing sales plummet, due to the invention of quartz watches. Quartz watches were far cheaper than traditional mechanical watches and as sales of quartz watches rose, sales of mechanical watch sunk.Audemars Piguet was hit hard by the quartz crisis. In 1971, the brand realized that, without taking some kind of drastic step, the quartz crisis would quickly put them out of business. So Audemars Piguet’s managing director Georges Golay decided to take that drastic step. Golay tasked one of Audemars Piguet’s designers with creating an entirely new type of watch: a stainless steel luxury watch.
The designer assigned to this task was Gerald Genta, who would end up creating a watch that would save Audemars Piguet from ruin: the Royal Oak. Genta was told by Golay that they needed an “unprecedented steel watch,” a luxury sports watch that needed to be something completely new.
Genta had only a single night to come up with his design. Drawing inspiration from the octagonal diving helmets of the period, Genta came up with the design of the Royal Oak. The Royal Oak featured a large case, an octagonal bezel, exposed gold screws, a visible water resistance gasket, and an integrated stainless steel bracelet.
The Royal Oak was not an instant hit. Initially, the public was confused by the idea of a stainless steel luxury watch. The public was also not quick to warm to the unusual size and design of the Royal Oak— nor its steep price tag. At the time of its release, the Royal Oak was more expensive than a gold Patek Phillipe dress watch and 10x more expensive than a Rolex Submariner.
Though the initial response to the Royal Oak was lukewarm, this quickly changed. Watch collectors (and some famous figures) were drawn to the unusual design, unique concept, and impeccable craftsmanship of the Royal Oak. After some months, praise from horology enthusiasts and watch collectors swiftly changed public opinion of the Royal Oak, which became an enormous success.
The Royal Oak was so successful that it singlehandedly saved Audemars Piguet from going out of business. The Royal Oak, the first ever luxury sport wristwatch, also changed the world of watches as we know it. Without the Royal Oak, we would not have the thriving luxury sports watch market we have today. The success of the Royal Oak, still considered one of the most desirable and collectable watches today, cemented Audemars Piguet’s status as a legendary watch house.