The highly anticipated Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo 50th Anniversary has just been announced at Le Brassus. It was since March 2021, when the CEO of the brand François-Henry Bennahmias had announced that 15202 would be discontinued, that the world was wondering about the possible novelties in store for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak.
Today we received the answer with 4 models and a whole new collection.
The inspiration for the anniversary
Born in 1972, the Royal Oak is among the most celebrated Gerald Genta‘s designs in the history of watchmaking. Few people probably imagined the influence it would have had in the 50 years to come. The revolutionary feature was the use of steel in a new way, with extremely complicated finishing, which made a non-precious metal more expensive than gold models from other brands.
The inspiration for the four new models certainly comes from the first 5402 but with more modern features, which you can discover in the next lines.
The four new Royal Oak Jumbo 50th Anniversary Ref. 16202
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand’s most iconic watch, Audemars Piguet has chosen to create a new reference, the 16202, in four different metals. In our interpretation, each of them represents a historical chapter: steel represents the beginnings, yellow gold and rose gold an era of transition, while platinum the present.
There were no changes in the design, but many small aesthetic and functional improvements. The bracelet has been made slightly thinner and more ergonomic to try to return to that enveloping feeling that the 5402 and in general the other vintage models had. In the dials we will see substantial changes in the gold models and some finishes on the steel and platinum models.
The stainless steel 16202ST
The new 16202 in steel at first impact faithfully reproduces the 15202 but inside it beats the novelty of the year that you will discover by reading the article.
The classic Bleu Nuit dial, Nuage 50, was developed by the Genevan manufacturer Stern Frères, who remained in business until 2016. The galvanic technique used to make these dials with Petit Tapisserie is quite complicated, requiring expert eyes and hands to obtain the right colors.
The Maison of Le Brassus took over some of the machinery that the company used to create the dials, and then created in 2010 an entire in-house atelier dedicated to this so important part of the watch.
The exact reference is 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01
The yellow gold 16202BA and the rose gold 16202OR
The two Jumbo 50th Anniversary gold models both sport a smoked dial. In the yellow gold version, the hue takes up the color of the case, fading from light to dark, while in the pink gold version they opted for a smoky gray dial in which the effect is slightly less pronounced than the yellow one.
The first Royal Oak in yellow gold was introduced in 1977 on the female reference 8638 to respond to the growing market demand. Both the Royal Oak “Jumbo” with reference 5402ST, and the so-called 35 mm “Royal Oak III” with reference 4100ST, received a yellow gold version a few months later. Rose gold, on the other hand, arrives in the mid-1980s, before joining the extra-thin line in 2006, with the reference 15202.
The respective references are 16202BA.OO.1240BA.01 and 16202OR.OO.1240OR.01
The platinum 16202PT
Adding to the three models shown above is a new all-platinum version of the RO Jumbo. This model was initially introduced in 2021 as the reference 15202PT and named as the overall winner of the year in the “Icons” category of the Grand Prix D’Horlogerie De Geneve.
The 16202PT differs from the previous version for the new caliber and for the oscillating weight in the same shade of the metal of the case.
The exact reference is 16202PT.OO.1240PT.01
The new Caliber 7121
What makes this reference 16202 special is certainly the caliber. For the first time in the history of the Royal Oak Jumbo, a new in-house caliber is introduced: the 7121.
The previous mechanism, the 2121, at the 1972 presentation was the thinnest of its kind, at just 3.05mm thick. After 50 years of activity in the various ultra-thin references of the RO, AP retired it to make room for a caliber that could reflect the brand’s innovation and constant watchmaking research.
But what’s new? First of all the quick date setting, a wider barrel and therefore a greater power reserve, as well as improved accuracy, and finally a bidirectional rotor with two inverters. We do not deny that we would be curious to have an in-depth explanation directly from Lucas Raggi, Director of Research and Development at AP, because such an important step for the manufacture requires an expert on the subject to be able to fully understand.
The oscillating weight of the 50th Anniversary
A very distinctive feature of this celebratory series is the skeletonized oscillating weight. For the occasion, the 50-year name and the engraved Audemars Piguet signature were reported on it, a distinctive sign that will only differentiate all the models produced in 2022 from those to be produced in the next few years.
The last interesting feature is the choice of making a different one for each watch, coordinating with the color of the metal of the case. In the past, this feature was only granted to AP’s complicated watches.
Retail price and availability
The new 50th Anniversary will have a list price of € and will not be produced in a limited edition. The only peculiarity will be that the models produced after 2022 will not have the oscillating weight with the 50-Years designation. For the rest, all models will remain regularly in the collection.
Conclusions
The introduction of the new caliber and this year’s entire collection is a great tribute to Gerald Genta’s masterpiece. We can’t wait to see the new Jumbo live, as well as the whole collection. Will it be time to go back for a tour of Le Brassus?
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All photos © Courtesy of Audemars Piguet.
