153 Audemars Piguet Limited Edition Royal Oak Offshore in Pink Gold and Titanium, Reference 26079IR.OO.1000IR.01, With Black Dial, Diamond-Set 8 and Extract From the Archives

Estimate: € 10.000 –⁠ 20.000

In 1993, Audemars Piguet decided to “update” the iconic Royal Oak with a sporty and even more masculine aesthetic. Emmanuel Gueit was charged by the AP’s managing director Stephen Urquhart to give a new an more fresh look to this model, enlarging the size of the case from the standard 39 mm to 42, in order to attract younger and more recreational buyers. The result was a massively new watch, with way thicker case and featuring a chronograph and calendar mechanism, along with a prominent rubber gasket sandwiched between the bezel and case and therban coated chronograph pushers and screw down crown. The present watch is a very rare and extremely impressive iteration of that famed design, featuring a date and chronograph complication. This reference 26079IR.OO.1000IR.01 has been manufactured in titanium and pink gold in the occasion of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, an annual horse race held in Hong Kong from 1995, and that is testified by the engraving on the back. The black dial has an outer circular engraved decoration while internally theres a chessboard one. The counters are located at 12, 6 and 9 o’clock while at 3 is positioned the date. The big arabic numerals have pink gold border and white inside, except for the number 8, fully paved with small, brilliant cut diamonds since the number 8 has long been regarded as the luckiest number in Chinese culture.