Audemars Piguet Royal Oak "Jumbo Extra-Thin" "50th Anniversary" 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 - Review & Buying Guide

Audemars Piguet is often cited as the pioneer of integrated bracelet watches. While the brand is synonymous with the Royal Oak collection, the most emblematic of the famous Swiss manufacturer is the iconic 'Jumbo'. Designed by the renowned watchmaker Gerald Genta, the AP Royal Oak made its debut in 1972 and since then, the model has been celebrated as the timepiece that first upheld the concept of luxury sports watches.

The Royal Oak is regarded as one of the true icons in the horological world and a cornerstone offering in AP's extensive catalogue. But what is the matter with the 'Jumbo' – the Royal Oak 'Jumbo'? Well, in that case, we have to walk down memory lane and go back to when it all started.

Brief History of the all-time great Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

The story of the Royal Oak didn't start in 1972, but two years before, just before the Basel watch exhibition of 1970. At that time, Audemars Piguet manufactured approximately 6,000 watches annually, primarily focusing on dress watches, along with a selection of remarkable timepieces featuring complications and many ultra-thin models.

The Royal Oak has its origins in Italy. Italian watch distributor Carlo de Marchi wanted a versatile sports watch that could be worn during sailing, board meetings, visiting a formal dinner, or going to a club. As the news reached Audemars Piguet, the officials called Gerald Genta right before the Basel exhibition in 1970 and asked him to get a stylish and water-resistant sports watch design ready by the very next day.

The overnight 'Royal Oak' design by Gerald Genta

Genta, already responsible for creating two iconic watch designs of the 1950s and 1960s for Omega and Universal Geneve, pulled off a fantastic new design. As weird as it may sound, He drew inspiration from a diving helmet featuring eight bolts and a rubber gasket to create the design of the 'Royal Oak’, the watch that would forever change the course of AP's future.

Relying solely on his creative genius and without the assistance of computer-aided design, Genta crafted an ultra-thin sports watch featuring an octagonal bezel with eight hex bolts that attach to the monobloc stainless steel case. The case featured an integrated steel bracelet with a brushed finish and polished edges, creating a captivating interplay of light.

The cobalt blue dial featured a unique patisserie motif and an AP monogram at 6 o'clock. This was Audemars Piguet's 'first'.

Interestingly, this master creation lacked a name at this stage. Initially, AP used the name 'Safari' for this timepiece, as it evoked visions of adventure. However, this name was only used on the premises of Audemars Piguet.

This Royal Oak was powered by the ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 2121, which is still being used today in all the 'Jumbo' models.

Journey of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo'

Finally, the star was born! At the 1972 Basel fair, Audemars Piguet dropped the Royal Oak with reference 5402. It featured a 39mm case, which was quite large at the time, and hence, the crowd referred to it as the 'Jumbo'. Just so you know, the nickname "Jumbo" was not coined by AP; it was conceived by the Italian distributor Carlo de Marchi.

The AP Royal Oak 5402 combined the best of both worlds. It was as thin as a dress watch and as large as a sports watch. Those curious about what the AP Royal Oak Jumbo truly is– it is the traditional 39mm version of the brand's most famous integrated bracelet sports watch. The 39mm sizing of the watch was necessary to house its movement and the water-resistant construction of the case. Since 39mm was considered fairly large for wristwatches of that era, the model garnered the nickname 'JUMBO'.

However, since the Royal Oak Jumbo has been around for more than fifty years, various generations of the standard Jumbo have emerged.

The AP Royal Oak Jumbo is easily the most famous version of the brand's most famous sports watch. The brand has created numerous iterations from various materials and fitted with different dials, including skeletonised versions of the Jumbo.

While there are plenty of variations in the AP Royal Oak collection, all (barring a few exceptions) share the following defining design characteristics:

• Octagonal bezel
• Eight hexagonal screws in the bezel
• AP refers to a hobnail-patterned dial, also known as a Clous de Paris dial, as a 'Tapisserie'. There are different types, such as Mega Tapisserie, Grande Tapisserie, and Petite Tapisserie.
• Integrated bracelet

50th Anniversary of the Iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' 

Audemars Piguet celebrates Royal Oak's 50th birthday, paying a well-deserved tribute to this iconic collection. In February 2022, AP launched many stunning pieces to commemorate this notable event, but the most desirable and rarest release is the new Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Ref: 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01.

This new 'Jumbo' embraces the quintessential Royal Oak design, but the watch has been thoroughly and smartly upgraded in many respects, especially in terms of engineering and functionality.

Garnering all the essential traits of the ultimate 'hype' watch, the special Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Ref: 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 serves as an ideal successor to the Ref. 15202, and even the original Ref. 5402 from 1972.

Our Initial Thoughts

Upon putting it on the wrist, here’s what The Luxury Hut has to share about this remarkable mechanical masterpiece.

This classic stainless steel "Jumbo" embodies Genta's original vision for the Royal Oak. With its stainless steel case, blue tapisserie dial and steel integrated bracelet, this new version of the Royal Oak' Jumbo' 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 offers all of the hallmark traits of the classic Royal Oak. It is easily one of the most desirable and easily recognisable luxury watches on this planet!

A new reference doesn't always have to have dramatic changes, and in this case, it's a wonderful thing. That's because sometimes you don't mess with the icons. You keep them as they are with the goal of making them just better. This is what it has exactly done with the 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01.

Even though the aesthetics are similar, here are some of the most notable differences:

• For the first time, AP has upgraded the previous Calibre 2121 to the new Calibre 7121, which is slightly larger
• Increased power reserve of 52 hours
• The diameter of the watch is now 29.6mm over 28mm

In one sentence: the Ref. 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 is the Ref. 15202 (the predecessor) with a new dial design and new Calibre. To someone who appreciates the original 5402, it cannot get better than this.

Now, let's dive into the details of this terrific timepiece.

REVIEW: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'JUMBO' Extra-Thin "50th Anniversary" Ref.16202ST.OO.1240ST.01

Key specifications:

• Model: 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01
• Case Diameter: 39mm
• Material: Stainless Steel
• Dial: Bleu nuit nuage 50 dial with "Petite Tapisserie" pattern
• Bezel: Stainless Steel With Screws
• Bracelet: Stainless Steel
• Crystal: Sapphire
• Movement: Automatic, Calibre 7121 (New)
• Water-resistance: 50 metres
• Power Reserve: 52 hours

Case & Bezel

As said, the case still measures 39mm and is 8.1 mm thick. It has a body of hand-finished steel. Wide but flat, the new 'Jumbo' is easily distinguishable from other Royal Oak models. Most Royal Oak models are generally thicker, regardless of their diameter, which makes this Royal Oak 'Jumbo' particularly elegant.

It is yet again characterised by its eight-sided, octagonal bezel punctuated with eight white gold exposed screws, making the watch immediately recognisable.

Dial

The dial has some very subtle new updates, but the Petite Tapisserie guilloche defines the Jumbo dial. 

Although the layout, thankfully, remains the same, you can see some new techniques at play here. For instance, the classic steel Royal Oak of 1972 came with a recognisable blue Petite Tapisserie dial with Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 – translating to "night blue, cloud 50" in English.

This vibrant blue hue was developed by Stern Freres in the early years of the Royal Oak, utilising a delicate galvanic bath technique for the dial, which was subsequently coated with a varnish blended with black. The dial displayed a captivating pattern of small truncated pyramids with square bases, meticulously carved into the thin metal plate by a vintage guilloche copying machine, which recreates the matrix design.

Now, in this new dial, AP uses PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition), a technique widely adopted by high-end brands for their resulting colours, which in this case was to achieve the exact same blue dial that is less sensitive and more streamlined.

Perhaps because of this production technique, the dial colour of the Ref. 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 appears slightly bluer than the average Ref. 5402.

In addition to that, there are white gold applied hour markers (bagnoire, meaning bathtub-shaped), applied AP logo, minute markers, date window at 3 o'clock, 'Audemars Piguet automatic' printing at 12 o'clock and Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating. 'Swiss Made' is down at the dial bottom, and the minute track is printed directly onto the dial. A very minute observation shows that the date display has been moved a fraction of a millimetre towards the dial edge.

However, the AP logo positioned beneath the 12 o'clock mark is now displayed in a serif font. Additionally, the hands feature slimmer borders, allowing for broader sections of luminous paint. Another improvement is the applied "AP" emblem above 6 o'clock, which is now slightly wider than the original but, more importantly, thinner. This slight change provides the clearance needed for the hour hand to pass smoothly over the emblem as opposed to the original vintage Royal Oak that required bending the hour hand slightly over the emblem.

Bracelet

AP has smartly revamped the bracelet, which looks virtually identical to the original but fits substantially better. The geometry of the bracelet is tweaked to ensure a better fit on the wrist. This is evident as the bracelet elegantly drapes downward, creating a narrower angle with the lugs, which enhances its fit for smaller wrists. However, this integrated bracelet is still stiff enough to form an "O" when placed vertically on a desk, preserving a key feature of the Royal Oak.

This key feature ensures the Ref. 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01 fits a wider range of wrists and also wears more comfortably.

The bracelet is still hand-finished with polished chamfers and satin brushing and is closed with a double-folding clasp. This is a massive step forward in terms of fit compared to the single-folded clasp of earlier generations.

However, one thing which we'd like to highlight is that the clasp can be slightly improved because it looks and feels thicker than necessary. In fact, the clasp is taller than the links. If you're wondering about the robustness or the functionality, then thinning the clasp wouldn't take away either and neither will it diminish the ability to polish the push buttons. However, a thinner clasp will be more visually rational and slightly more comfortable.

Overall, the exquisite combination of polished and brushed surfaces, separated by crisp, sharp edges, imparts a complexity and sophistication to the Royal Oak bracelet that remains unmatched even today.

Movement

The most significant update is the new Calibre 7121 movement, replacing the outgoing Calibre 2121, which had been around for as long as the Royal Oak. This new 7121 Calibre is slightly larger than the 2121 and is a much, much better movement in all respects, such as reliability, functionality, and stability. And, in AP's perspective, this thin and sophisticated Calibre is surely superior.

The movement is now 29.6mm wide versus the previous 28.4mm and 3.2mm thick versus the previous 3.05mm. It has 268 components compared to the previous 247 components of the former 2121.

This increased thickness of 1.5mm and width of 1.2mm results in performance boosts across the board while maintaining the previous case size, which we think is quite commendable. This movement operates at 28,800 vph, and the best part is that it finally has a Quick-set date function.

The new Calibre 7121 features an updated oscillating weight with ball bearings that incorporate two in-house reversers. Inertia blocks have been added to the balance wheel to help with shock-proofing. The Calibre 7121 shifts the entire gear train to the movement's periphery, arranging the wheels in an arc along the outer edge of the base plate, in contrast to the conventional design that groups them in the centre.

Another upgrade lies in the automatic winding system. The Cal. 7121 now employs a more complex, bidirectional winding mechanism, replacing the unidirectional winding of the Cal. 2121.

It’s no surprise that AP has showcased exceptional hand-finishing on the movement, featuring Geneva stripes, circular graining, and traits tirés beveling throughout. On top of that, the fact that these 50th anniversary Royal Oak models come fitted with custom 50th Anniversary rotors makes this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Extra-Thin 50th Anniversary Edition Reference stand out as one of the most collectible Jumbo models ever!

Sadly, only the Royal Oak watches produced during 2022 come fitted with the 50th Anniversary rotors, as the ones after that have been switched to the standard non-anniversary production pieces.

Pricing & Availability

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak' Jumbo' Extra-Thin 50th Anniversary Edition is not a limited edition model but was released as part of the permanent collection. However, given its insane desirability on the market, it's nearly impossible to get one.

Well, for all such scenarios, you have the secondary market.

It is also important to note that the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' remains one of the best luxury watch investments, fetching excellent returns when you sell your watch.

That's all, folks! 

50 years to the Big and Bold!

The new Royal Oak 'Jumbo' is a perfect upgrade of the original, preserving its key characteristics while refining everything that needed improvement, from the movement to the bracelet.

In the past, the design of the Royal Oak case prioritised aesthetics at the expense of ergonomics. The angular shapes and the rigidity of the bracelet links often compromised comfort. But all these subtle issues have been well-addressed in the new Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Ref. 16202ST.OO.1240ST.01, ensuring the perfect blend of beauty and comfort. It's safe to say that it's difficult to conceive a 'better' version of this new Royal Oak 'Jumbo'.

Apart from this steel-on-steel Royal Oak Jumbo, the Swiss watchmaker has introduced a slew of other variants. Check out the latest collections of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak here.