WristWatch Magazine | Page 107

CALIBRE 2120/2800 MODEL 5554 (25554) In 1984, when Audemars Piguet fitted its Royal Oak model with the calibre 2120/2800 movement for the first time, the company’s watchmakers combined two legendary features: the unique design created by Gérald Genta and introduced in 1972 and the world’s thinnest selfwinding perpetual calendar with a central rotor, first introduced in 1978. During the 10 years covered by our investigation, 1,630 Royal Oak perpetual calendars were put into production. Of the 10 different models, six references were made in fewer than five examples. The initial version, reference 5554, was made in only 279 examples, most of which were cased in yellow gold and only one of which was cased in platinum. DOCUMENTED EXAMPLES 279 INDICATIONS Perpetual calendar: days, dates, months hands, age and phases of the moon. Hours, minutes. PRODUCTION YEARS 1984-1991 SALES 1985-1993 MATERIALS Yellow gold (229), steel (49), platinum (1) Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, prototype of model 25554. Inv. 455. 2016 | WRISTWATCH 105