AP first series Royal Oak, ref. 5402, cal. 2121

Hi,

I hate being wrong. But I hate misinformation even more, so...

The A series Royal Oaks started with the very first pieces made in 1972.

It was previously told to me by a very reliable source within AP itself that the first series of 1000 pieces produced of the Royal Oak were made without any alpha character lead, and the A series (and B, C, D, and so on) started with the second series.

I realize I am one of the leading sources for this misinformation, as I have repeated this error both on the internet and in print.

Well, I have looked at the actual handwritten "petit livre" specifically for the Royal Oak model line (the "Grand Livre" usually refers to the overall models and lines of the entire company, as well as their "books") to once and for all find out the ultimate, conclusive historical facts on this matter.

And yes, the A series started from the very beginning.

The only sub-models that were numbered without alpha leading characters were the early SA models - steel and gold.

So there you have it.

And sorry for perpetuating the error for the so long.

Cheers,

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Thanks for sharing the info and clarifying all this! [nt]

By: DRMW : February 22nd, 2010-09:24

No message body

very welcome, and I feel bad...

By: ThomasM : February 22nd, 2010-10:28

unknowingly perpetuating the error for so many years/decades! Cheers, TM

Why?

By: DRMW : February 23rd, 2010-13:00

Why would you feel bad? TM If you think about it, you should actually feel proud that you got to the bottom of it all. In the past, you were given info from direct high up official reliable sources and related the info to the rest of us, now the info is u...

Thanks.

By: ThomasM : February 23rd, 2010-17:56

Thank you, Thomas, for sharing this additional information

By: respo : February 22nd, 2010-09:39

It is good to know. But, what do you mean by "The only sub-models that were numbered without alpha leading characters were the early SA models - steel and gold"? What are the early SA models? Thanks again, as always, for ALL that you do in sharing your kn...

The original Royal Oak was all steel.

By: ThomasM : February 22nd, 2010-10:28

very shortly afterwards, a steel and gold version was released (-SA) - these cases did not have the leading alpha letter lead character. Cheers, TM

Thanks. Useful info.

By: VMM : February 22nd, 2010-10:51

I guess we all like to know what we are saying and even more if we know 100% we are right. Thanks for the clarification. Vte

The AP RO first series information

By: ED209 : February 22nd, 2010-18:53

Hi TM, Thanks for sharing the information and for pursuing the facts about the first series of the AP Royal Oak. It's always a interesting to learn more about the history of the RO. Regards, ED-209

Thomas, a last question, to be sure I got it well.

By: amanico : February 22nd, 2010-22:40

So, the RO without " A " ( the first 1000 pieces ) and the A came together in 1972? Thanks for these informations, Thomas. Best, Nicolas

Sorry for the confusion. There was no "first 1000 pieces without leading alpha character"

By: ThomasM : February 23rd, 2010-07:55

Hi, Amanico, All RO started out with Axxxx; the first series, a limited edition of 1000 pieces, started with A0001. There was no "first series without A..." That was the misinformation, which I unfortunately repeated. The only RO series without leading "A...

Thanks, Thomas, for this clarification.

By: amanico : February 23rd, 2010-07:57

I got it all perfectly, now! Best, Borat.

Thanks Thomas

By: small-luxury-world : February 23rd, 2010-01:52

for clarification. Oliver

Thank you very much, dear Thomas !!

By: Gatsby : February 24th, 2010-11:52

Hope you are well, my friend !!! Thanks for this great information !! Best to you! Werner

Thanks TM good to know. . .

By: Jack Forster : February 26th, 2010-06:11

. . . and I agree with other comments that you are rather to be commended for getting to the bottom of this than censured for propogating a falsehood. After all, as you have pointed out recently elsewhere, considering the huge gaps in both individual memo...

Follow up question, Thomas

By: respo : March 4th, 2010-07:17

In light of the clarification on the RO beginning with the A series, when did the RO "jumbo" become the "Jumbo?" I had thought that the RO became known as the Jumbo with a capital J with the beginning of the A series, but I am not sure about that at all. ...

I would hate to add confusion but

By: FrancescoR : March 5th, 2010-01:00

last year I handled a first series RO in steel without any alpha character. Everything looked correct – dial, hands, bracelet, crown, etc - the number was in the 800’s range; I was actually considering buying it but the price was too high, eve...