Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 14840OR 'Ruby & Pavé'
The Time-On show takes place once a year in Paris during the Retro Mobile exhibition. Imagine a hall filled with some of the world’s most spectacular classic cars, combined with rare vintage watches. The perfect setting to go hunting for a gem. And indeed, we found one.
The Italian Job
Of course, uncovering the right deal requires a bit of effort. In this case it involved excellent food, plenty of wine, and loud music; Lapérouse being the scene of the crime. After a delightful evening spent with a group of Italian gentlemen and their better halves, we were finally “allowed” to purchase a truly mind-blowing piece from Mr. Salvati. Enter this remarkable Ruby Royal Oak in rose gold.
A Reference Few Know
There are many sub-references within the mid-size (36mm) Royal Oak family. No shame if you’ve never heard of the reference 14840, quite frankly, neither had we. Fewer than a dozen variations of this gem-set Audemars Piguet appear to have reached the market. Still, we’ve always had a soft spot for bejewelled Genta creations in this size.
The warm pink tone of the precious metal pairs beautifully with the rubies set into the bezel and hour markers. The rest of the dial is pavé-set with diamonds, creating a striking yet refined surface. To maintain legibility, the elegantly thin hands feature contrasting black lacquer.
All reference 14840 watches share the gem-set bezel as a defining feature, though most are diamond-set. We have only been able to trace two examples - this one included - with rubies instead. Remarkably, this appears to be the only example in pink gold. Ironically, when the watch was sold at an Antiquorum auction about a decade ago, it was listed as yellow gold. Despite this significant mistake in the description (pink gold being considerably rarer), the watch still achieved a very respectable price.
The initial sale of this watch took place on January 25th, 2000, several years after it was produced. Needless to say, it takes a particular kind of person to acquire such an opulent wristwatch. Its condition suggests that the original owner likely had many watches in rotation, as this piece appears to have been worn only sparingly.
A Small Disaster
Finding the next caretaker proved surprisingly easy: it took only a matter of days. The real drama came later. Somewhere between admiring the watch, packing it up, and perhaps one glass too many at Lapérouse, we managed to misplace the paperwork. Yes… the papers. What a blunder. The original buyer, fond of his pieces of cardboard, decided to step away.
Happy Ending
Fortunately for us our good friend and client B. felt rather differently about the matter. A serious collector with several Royal Oaks already in this category, he couldn’t have cared less about boxes or papers. For him, or rather his girlfriend, who - on her part - has a fondness for sparkling APs, the watch itself was more than enough. We're happy it ended up in a wonderful collection, and everyone lived happily ever after.
