Gérald Genta, the giant of Swiss watch design, once said: “I don’t like watches! For me watches are the antithesis of freedom. I’m an artist, a painter, and I hate to follow the limits of time. It angers me.” Even so, the designer, who was an artist in every sense of the word, turned time into a work of art.
One afternoon in 1969, Gérald Genta received a phone call from Georges Golay, director of Audemars Piguet, one of Switzerland’s leading watchmaking brands, saying that he needed a design for a sporty watch, and that he wanted it early the next morning. That night, the muse from the deep visited Gérald Genta, who drew up an octagonal bezel inspired by old diving helmets, while the exposed screws used to secure the helmet to the upper body armour were transformed into a design with embedded hexagonal screws on the bezel,replica audemars piguet watches which Gérald Genta handed over early the next morning. 1972 saw the creation of a 39 mm diameter The Royal Oak was launched in 1972.
With its distinctive bezel, large Grande Tapisserie dial, integrated case and bracelet, and large sporty steel case at a time when precious metal watches were the norm, the Royal Oak was a bold prelude to contemporary classics.
A timeless design and craftsmanship worthy of further refinement, the most iconic self-winding watch in the Royal Oak collection has been given a contemporary twist over time,replica watches with subtle adjustments including a more off-centred date window, wider hour markers, a minute circle printed on the disc ring rather than on the guilloché dial, making everything more legible and the light of that year’s overnight dive more elegant.