Name-dropped by rappers and finance bros alike, perfect replica Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak would by now have reached peak ubiquity if it weren’t for its transcendent design. The oft-recited story of the watch’s origin is near mythical: Legend has it that, on the eve of 1970’s Swiss Watch Show, an aaa quality fake Audemars Piguet exec called up the visionary Swiss watch designer Gérald Genta to present a watch strong enough to tip the scale back into the brand’s favour.
It’s difficult to imagine a time when luxury replica Audemars Piguet was out of style, but the maison, along with the mechanical watchmaking industry as a whole, was facing an existential crisis. Changing social tides and the emergence of the affordable, quartz-powered watch (the Casios and Swatches of the world) painted a picture of high-end mechanical super clone watches online as luxury items edging on irrelevancy.
But in comes Gérald Genta (or “GG”, affectionately) with his sketch for the cheap fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, a sports watch ditching the traditional round shape characterising contemporary timepieces and dismissing public expectation. GG’s octagonal bezel, inspired by a deep-sea diver’s helmet, was sharp-edged and bold, complemented by a dynamic “petite tapisserie” blue dial and a painstakingly constructed integrated bracelet oozing sporty, masculine elegance.
Debuting in 1972, haughtily, as “The costliest stainless steel watch in the world,” this iconoclastic Swiss movement copy Audemars Piguet reached icon status with time, appealing to a base yearning for irreverent, rule-breaking luxury. We see it now on the wrists of everyone from LeBron James to those rich and powerful enough to watch him play court side (DJ Khaled, high-powered sports agents, Silicon Valley billionaires, etc). Mark Ronson, one of high quality fake Audemars Piguet’s brand ambassadors, cites Jay-Z as an early inspiration for his decade-plus loyalty to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak replica for sale, validating the watch’s deep roots in the music community. Hova is just one of the few founding fathers of its ever-relevant cultural significance; and that first-ever, 1972 Royal Oak itself is a founding father of more models, which you can read about next.