The CEO of Audemars Piguet, François Bennahmias, revealed yesterday that the Royal Oak 15202ST Jumbo will be discontinued starting in 2022, and will be replaced by an entirely new model.
The Royal Oak Jumbo is a hugely important model in the history of Audemars Piguet
Before we dive into this huge breaking news regarding the 15202ST, let’s just give a little bit of background so everyone’s on the same page.
The Royal Oak was first introduced in 1972, and was born from the creative genius that is Gerald Genta, one of the greatest watch designers of all time.
Although it is now iconic, the first Royal Oak (ref. 5402) wasn’t that big of a hit. Why? Back then, the world simply was not ready for the sportiness and versatility of steel watches, let alone ones with unprecedented octagonal cases. Then, there was the price tag: 3,750 CHF. That’s about four times what you would expect to pay for a regular steel sports watch at the time. Despite this initial reaction, Audemars Piguet kept on pushing the envelope, knowing they were bound to start a revolution.
The 40th Anniversary Edition of the Royal Oak: the 15202
2012 marked the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak 5402. Audemars Piguet decided to celebrate the occasion with a very special edition: the ref. 15202.
The 15202 went through a handful of evolutions following its initial release. With each iteration, its appearance became more faithful to the first 5402.
The 15202ST in steel will be out of production, but will be replaced by an entirely new model
The CEO of Audemars Piguet broke this news yesterday via a YouTube Livestream alongside Michael Friedman. During the AP Social Club livestream, one viewer asked if the 15202 was to receive any updates. They likely asked this in anticipation for the 50th anniversary next year. But little did they know what Bennahmias was going to reply.
Initially, François made a seemingly cryptic reference to Patek Philippe, who only recently announced that they would be discontinuing their iconic ref. 5711 Nautilus.
He then cleared the air by stating: “Let’s just say that there will be new references next year. There won’t be the 15202ST, but it will be replaced by another model, for reasons which we will not discuss today”.
These reasons are rather obvious: a huge release regarding 50th anniversary of a timepiece as iconic as the Royal Oak is not something that you mention in passing. Nonetheless, that little bit of information that he revealed is enough for people to start talking: we know that there will be a big announcement soon, it won’t be made from steel, and the Royal Oak 15202ST will be discontinued.
What about the other metal variants of the 15202 series?
Our only doubt, or question, at the moment is whether or not this discontinuation will also affect the rose gold variant. The yellow gold configuration (and both of its dials – champagne and blue) already met its end recently, meanwhile the white gold is still in production… albeit in very limited numbers.
The all-platinum version that has only just been announced is presumed (at least for now) to remain in the catalogue, therefore unaffected by this news.
How will the market react?
In short, it will very likely go crazy (probably starting right now), but we don’t want to incite any chaos. Let’s just say that we will be surprised if we don’t see the same phenomenal level of financial speculation and re-evaluation that we saw for the 5711. To stay up to date on this story as it develops, follow us on Instagram and keep an eye out for more articles on our website.
-Translated by Patrick R.
