Produced for only a few short years before its 2022 successor arrived, this generation of the steel Royal Oak is the one that quietly perfected Gerald Genta’s octagon for the modern wrist. Built for the collector who wants the icon in its purest and most versatile form, it glides from boardroom to beach club without missing a beat.

Presents itself in mint condition with little to no signs of wear. Set beneath the sapphire crystal, a deep black Grande Tapisserie dial ripples with hundreds of tiny raised squares that catch the light at every angle, framed by white gold hour markers and luminous Royal Oak hands. Crowned by the signature octagonal bezel and its eight hexagonal screws, the case plays satin-brushed surfaces against mirror-polished bevels that flash with every turn of the wrist. Wrapped around the wrist, the integrated bracelet tapers link by link into a slim AP folding clasp, finished by hand to match the case.

Functions include hours, minutes, seconds, and date. Everything is set through the screw-down crown on the right side of the case: unscrew it counterclockwise until it pops free to hand-wind, pull it out one click to quick-set the date, and pull it out fully to set the time. After the watch has been resting, give the crown about 30 to 40 turns, move the hands to around 6 o’clock, quick-set the date to the day before today, then turn the hands forward past midnight until the date clicks over and continue on to the current time before screwing the crown back down. Beneath it all beats the in-house selfwinding Calibre 4302, with a 22k rose gold openworked rotor on display through the sapphire caseback, a power reserve of approximately 70 hours, and water resistance to 50 meters.

Comes as a full set, double-boxed with the International Warranty Card, International Sales Warranty booklet, Calibre 4302 instructions booklet, and document folio.

Few steel sports watches carry as much presence as a Royal Oak, and fewer still come from the brief window when Audemars Piguet reimagined it from the inside out. For the collector who wants the legend without compromise, this is the kind of piece that rarely stays in one place for long.