When it debuted in 1972, the Royal Oak raised eyebrows as a luxury watch in a steel case. Such audacity was matched with a case diameter of 39mm, a proportion that’s quite normal today but considered outrageous then.
Then there was the groundbreaking shape designed by the late Gerald Genta – an octagonal bezel with eight visible hexagonal screws inspired by the diving helmets of the crew doing maintenance work on a dam in Geneva. It took a while but collectors – among them, John Mayer and Karl Lagerfeld - eventually warmed up to its rule-breaking ways, and an icon was born.
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In 2002, on the occasion of the Royal Oak’s 30th anniversary, the first Royal Oak Concept was unveiled to showcase the coming together of high tech materials and super innovative micro engineering. Clearly inspired by the Royal Oak’s groundbreaking DNA, it allowed the Le Brassus watchmaker to go wild creatively.