This Vintage Gold Royal Oak Is an Early Example of Audemars Piguet's Experimentation

In the market for a retro-fabulous 1970s gem-set gold watch made by one of Switzerland's most storied firms? Material Good, a watch and jewelry retailer with a chic second-floor showroom in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, recently acquired an unusual and highly collectible vintage Audemars Piguet Royal Oak on a yellow gold bracelet that has Studio 54 written all over it Purchased from a collector, the c 1979 18-karat yellow gold automatic model comes in a 35 mm yellow gold case accented with diamonds.

"The thing I love most about this piece is how avant-garde and uniquely odd it is It has a wonderfully patinaed yellow gold with this bezel that's the design language of Audemars Piguet, but also this early gem-set experimentation when they were still finding the voice and tone of gem-setting Royal Oaks." On sale for $22,000, the piece was probably designed as a men's model-"The Royal Oak was a little more industrial in its design language," says Ben-Yehuda-but given its size and diamond detailing, it feels more feminine today.

"It has this beautiful yellow on yellow And the dial is patinaed really lovely and it's so warm Sometimes yellow gold can read very bright, but yellow gold that's 30 years old has a sweet patina to it" Ben-Yehuda emphasized the diamonds on the Royal Oak were factory-set, as opposed to placed on the watch by an after-market seller.

"If you want a shiny new yellow gold watch, this is not the piece for you," Ben-Yehuda concludes. . Source