Audemars Piguet Gold Watches: An Overview

When Audemars Piguet released their famously expensive Royal Oak in 1972, nobody else was making stainless steel sports watches in that price range. “Steel for the price of gold” is how their marketing materials put it. But prior to the Royal Oak, gold was actually the norm for AP. Interesting vintage Audemars Piguet gold watches are easier to find than steel ones. And nowadays, the Royal Oak is available in countless gold configurations, including an interesting new alloy and an exotic diamond-hammered texture. Here’s our quick guide to Audemars Piguet gold watches.

AP Gold Case Model Codes

Audemars Piguet reference numbers start with a five-digit model number (or four digits if it’s vintage), and then a two-letter code that denotes the material of the watch–as in 5402BA. The “BA” means the watch is yellow gold. Here are all the two-letter codes for Audemars Piguet watches with gold cases:

• BA = Yellow Gold
• BC = White Gold
• CN = White Gold with Ceramic Bezel
• BB = White Gold with Yellow Gold Bezel
• OR = Rose Gold
• CR = Rose Gold with White Gold Bezel
• OI = Rose Gold with Titanium Bezel
• RO = Rose Gold with Ceramic Bezel
• OK = Rose Gold with Rubber Bezel
• SG = Sand Gold

For more, see Understanding Audemars Piguet Model Numbers.

The First Gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Watches

Legendary watch designer Gerald Genta had been working for Audemars Piguet for roughly two decades before he came up with his career-defining Royal Oak in 1972. It was only available in stainless steel at first (ref. 5402ST), but by 1977 the Royal Oak was available in yellow gold in three sizes. Some even rarer white gold versions appeared shortly thereafter, but rose gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watches wouldn’t come until later. Here are the reference numbers of all the first-generation gold Royal Oaks:

Reference	Case Size	Model Name	Case Material
5402BA	39mm	Royal Oak	Yellow Gold
5402BC	39mm	Royal Oak	White Gold
8638BA	29mm	Royal Oak II	Yellow Gold
8638BC	29mm	Royal Oak II	White Gold
4100BA	36mm	Royal Oak III	Yellow Gold
4100BC	36mm	Royal Oak III	White Gold

The AP Brick/Pounder

The bulky and sporty Royal Oak Offshore debuted in 1993, initially in stainless steel only (“The Beast”). Ref. 25721BA, the first gold model in the ROO line, came three years later. It’s one of the most infamous gold Audemars Piguet watches, and it’s not hard to see why it’s often called “The Brick.” You may also hear it called “The Pounder” because it weighs almost a pound. That’s a lot of gold, and a lot of nicknames for AP watches. 589 examples were made in yellow gold, while only 21 were made in white gold (ref. 25721BC).

First-Generation Gold Royal Oak Offshore Specs

Model	Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph
Reference	25721BA (Yellow Gold, 589 made) 25721BC (White Gold, 21 made)
Case Material	18k Gold
Case Size	42mm Diameter 14.05mm Thickness
Water Resistance	100m
Movement	AP 2126/2840 (Automatic, Jaeger-LeCoultre 889 base movement)
Power Reserve	45 hours
Functions	Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph
Market Price (Sep. 2024)	~$80,000

Popular Audemars Piguet Rose Gold Watches

As you can see in our list of material codes above, Audemars Piguet rose gold watches have a greater variety of bezel materials than their white gold and yellow gold counterparts. All yellow gold Audemars Piguet watches have yellow gold or gem-set bezels. Very straightforward. Some white gold Royal Oak Offshores have black ceramic bezels, and there are a few white gold references with yellow gold bezels. Rose gold models, meanwhile, have been combined with a variety of bezel materials–like rubber, titanium, ceramic, and white gold (ref. 15210CR). Audemars Piguet seems to treat their rose gold watches as a slightly more “modern” canvas.

The history of Audemars Piguet dates back to 1875, and they’ve made several rose gold (or as they like to say, pink gold) watches over the years. But rose gold Audemars Piguet watches were always much rarer than yellow gold and white gold ones until about 1992, when the first Royal Oak on a leather strap (ref. 14800) was released. The 14800 model was made in rose gold, yellow gold, and steel. Since then, rose gold AP’s have become at least as common as the other shades of gold. Here’s a couple of our favorites:

Lebron James Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore

AP is no stranger to celebrity collaborations, and the Lebron James Royal Oak Offshore is an interesting one. Limited to 600 pieces, ref. 26210OI debuted in 2013. This rose gold Audemars Piguet watch has a titanium bezel, which might seem like an odd combination, but the light grey rubber strap pulls it together. AP doesn’t put titanium bezels on any other shade of gold.

AP Diver Japan Edition

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver has been made in many variants since its debut in 2005 as the “Scuba,” and almost all of them are stainless steel. So the 2018 release of the AP Diver “Japan Edition,” limited to 500 pieces, was notable. Like the Lebron James Royal Oak Offshore, the Japan Edition Diver has a rose gold case and titanium bezel.

Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked 50th Anniversary in Rose Gold

Skeleton watches are hot right now in general, and openworked AP Royal Oaks are some of the hottest. The “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked ref. 16204 was released in 2022 to celebrate the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary. It was only made in stainless steel and rose gold versions. Nice rose gold examples can sell for over $250,000.

Best White Gold Audemars Piguet Watches

White gold had a bit of a heyday in the 1980’s. In the 1990’s and 2000’s, rose gold seemed to largely supplant the waning popularity of white gold. But notable white gold models have consistently been part of the Audemars Piguet catalog. In 1997, the first Royal Oak Offshore Perpetual Calendar ever released was a white gold model (ref. 25854BC).

John Mayer Audemars Piguet

Out of all the watches named after John Mayer, the Audemars Piguet ref. 26574BC.OO.1220BC.02 is the most exotic. This white gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is a perpetual calendar watch with a unique “Crystal Sky” dial. Limited to 200 pieces, this 2024 John Mayer collab has been selling secondhand for more than double its suggested retail price of $180,700.

White Gold Audemars Piguet “Jumbo” Tuscan Dial

The unofficial term “Tuscan dial” first referred to AP’s from the 1990’s with a distinctive hammered texture. And in 2023, Audemars Piguet released a white gold version of their Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin, ref. 16202BC, with what they call a “grainy blue dial.” Some collectors are calling this modern PVD-treated dial a Tuscan dial, too. You’ll probably have to pay 1.5x its retail price of $80,700 to snag one secondhand. Aside from the John Mayer, this is one of the hottest white gold Audemars Piguet watches on the market right now.

What is Sand Gold?

“Sand gold” is a proprietary gold alloy made by Audemars Piguet that debuted in 2024. It involves both copper and palladium, giving it a look somewhere in between rose gold and white gold.

The first watch to be made of this 18k alloy was the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked, ref. 26735SG.OO.1320SG.01. More sand gold models are likely to follow.

Frosted Gold Audemars Piguet Watches

The Frosted Gold finish, developed in collaboration with jewelry designer Carolina Bucci in 2016, is created with a diamond-tipped hammer that makes tiny indentations on the gold surface–which is why you may also hear it called “hammered gold.” No matter what you call them, Frosted Gold Audemars Piguet watches have an unmistakable shimmery look.

All Frosted Gold AP’s have “GG” or “YG” in their full reference number just after the metal designation code, as in 15550BA.GG.1356BA.01 or 15468BC.YG.1259BC.01. Frosted Gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watches are made in four sizes (33mm, 34mm, 37mm, and 41mm) and all three main gold hues (rose, white, and yellow), ranging from time-only quartz models to high complications like the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked.

Vintage Gold Audemars Piguet Watches

Audemars Piguet has made gold watches in innumerable shapes and sizes. In fact they were making octagonal watches long before Gerald Genta was even born. Despite their mostly timeless lineup of watches, AP isn’t entirely immune to fashion trends. Some of their watches, like the asymmetrical ref. 5182 from 1960, very much look “of their day.” But not in a bad way.

Ref. 5233 is an example of a charming “very 1970’s” Audemars Piguet watch case shape. And the increasingly popular “Disco Volante” (“flying saucer”) models designed by Gebhard Duve in the 1950’s (ref. 5093) were made in both white and yellow gold. One of the most distinctive and historically significant gold vintage Audemars Piguet watches of all, though, is the Cobra. The AP Cobra is an integrated-bracelet model designed by Genta in 1971–a year before the Royal Oak. The bracelet work, done by Roland-Gilbert Gaschen, is phenomenal.

AP Royal Oak Green Dial Chronograph

One last gold Audemars Piguet watch to keep an eye on is the green-dial version of ref. 26331BA. The Royal Oak Chronograph debuted in 1998 and it has been a huge hit for AP ever since. Most modern gold examples sell for around $100,000, but the green 26331BA, released in 2021, goes for about twice that. Because of its limited production volume (only 125 pieces) and the enduring popularity of green-dial yellow gold watches, I don’t expect those prices to plummet anytime soon.

That should cover the basics of Audemars Piguet gold watches from yesterday and today. If we missed one of your favorite gold AP’s, let us know!

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2024 Audemars Piguet Watch Releases
The Cheapest Audemars Piguet Watches
Hands-On: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 37MM Review
Audemars Piguet’s North American Service Center Will Move to Raleigh, NC