Audemars Piguet

lnurmo
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Which Royal Oak 14790 to Get?!

Hi everyone,

I am an infrequent poster but a long time lurker on this forum. I recently visited Paris and a very kind salesperson at one of the watch stores I visited was wearing a Royal Oak 14790, a predecessor to the 15300. I had long ruled out the 14790 thinking that 36mm would be far too small for my wrist. He let me try it on and I was surprised by how well it fit on my 6.75" wrist. Since that day, I have done as much reading on that reference as possible, using the search function on this and other forums. I am surprised by its relative affordability on the secondary market and am contemplating getting one if I find the right condition/price.

Before I do that, I want to understand the variations within the reference and whether later versions of the model have technical improvements that make them "better" (e.g., more accurate or durable). So far, it seems that there were many different variations, but I can only tell them apart by appearance and want to know whether one of the variants should be more desireable for me to acquire.

For example, with respect to dials, I have seen what I think are the earliest models with long indices and each letter of "Audemars Piguet" on the dial is written at the same height. A later version of the model has the same long indices but the "A" and "P" in "Audemars Piguet" are capializedinstead of written at the same height. Finally, it seems the latest models (before the reference was discontinued in, I believe, 2007) had short indices and also had arabic numerals in multiples of 5 used to indicate minutes.

With respect to crowns, I think earlier models generally have unsigned crowns while the later models have signed AP crowns, although it seems that the signed AP crowns may be on both longer and shorter indices dials.

Finally, with respect to bracelet clasps, I have seen both a "standard" single deployant clasps and then a AP logo deployant clasp. I believe the AP logo deployant is only on the latest models with the shorter indices.

Can anyone generally confirm the above and/or correct me if I'm wrong? Is anyone else aware of other variations and or technical improvements in one variation that are absent from another? For example, is there a compelling reason for me to only look for the shorter indices models (apart from the fact that they appear to have been manufactured later) because, for instance, a technical improvement was made to the movement or the case?

Does anyone know (or care to make an educated guess as to) when a longer indexed D-model would have been manufactured?

Finally, any information about the general history of the 14790 or experiences with ownership would be appreciated.

(Sorry if you also read this post on another forum, but I also wanted to post it here to broaden the range of opinions. If it is considered bad etiquette, please let me know and I would be happy to remove or delete the post.)

Thanks in advance!

LNURMO