One day, One Watch #1

A true icon

When I was thinking about how to start this new series. I couldn't think of a better watch than the icon that Gerald Genta only had a day to design: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.

When the quartz crisis hit the Swiss in the 1970s, well-established watch brands started crumbling, unable to compete with the prices of their eastern counterparts. This forced the Swiss brands to change their objectives into something that would keep the company alive.

What followed was a move so bold and so risky it should never have worked...

It is easy to forget that at this point in time Rolex and Omega, were simple everyday brands, just like Apple, not cheap, but still pitched to a broad audience that wanted quality and reliability. The luxury brands of the time, Audemars included, earned their luxury trough precious metals and complications, which were rendered obsolete by the quartz watch. Until this point watches were simple tools, just like the mobile phone is today.

This was changed by the fresh visions of painter Gerald Genta, a man who openly admitted he doesn't even like watches, who nonetheless​ pivoted the focus from function to form. The Royal Oak was a big, bold stainless steel watch with angular designs unlike anything seen ever before. And as if this wasn't enough there was the price, the Royal Oak was one of the most expensive watches anyone had ever seen. For reference, ​it cost ten times more than the Rolex Submariner at the time. This obscene gamble should have made Audemars bankrupt, but it didn't​. It was a huge success​, even starting a new segment the sports luxury watch.

The design of the watch itself was inspired by the window in a divers helmet​, not only for the aesthetics​ but for the engineering as well​. Just like a helmet, the watch uses compression to seal it from water. It uses the bezel screws​ all the way through​ to keep the sandwich of components together.

Whether​ you like the design or not, you have to admit the design pushed the industry forward, in a high stakes game of whether or not Audemars would still be in business tomorrow or not.