Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Kasparov E Series Full Set 2001 39 mm

The little story

Launched in 1997 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Royal Oak, faithful to the design of the first Royal Oak "Jumbo" ref. 5402, this first generation of Royal Oak chronographs aroused a lot of (legitimate) interest. The first complications appeared in the Royal Oak range in the early 1980s, but it took Audemars Piguet almost 25 years to change the essence of the design of its icon by adding two push buttons... True to the original 39mm "Jumbo" diameter, this Royal Oak is powered by one of the slimmest self-winding chronograph calibers of its time, the F. Piguet ref. 1185. The Kasparov is often compared to the Rolex Daytona 116520 and was also commercialized for 14 years (from 1998 to 2011). 

Kasparov

This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak chronograph owes its nickname "Kasparov" to the chess player Garry Kasparov who was particularly fond of this model. He was even an Audemars Piguet ambassador and had close ties with the Swiss manufacture for many years.

What you need to know

Over the past 14 years, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Kasparov has undergone subtle evolutions and has been featuring several colors. This version with a white "Grande Tapisserie" dial offers perfect symmetry. The inverted triangle-shaped applique at 12 o'clock makes it possible to recognize the Kasparov chronographs at a glance. The Kasparov has a date window between 4 and 5 o'clock and an 18K gold oscillating weight. As for the engine, this Royal Oak is equipped with the Audemars Piguet 2385 caliber, very flat for the period with a thickness of only 5.5 mm!This caliber was not designed by AP but supplied by the F.piguet manufacture.  It is a caliber F. Piguet ref. 1185 also used on the Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph as caliber 1137 for example.

The package

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Kasparov chronograph watch in perfect condition delivered with original box and official Audemars Piguet register extract. This Royal Oak chronograph has been tested and authenticated by our watchmaker and as such benefits from the Lepage Vintage 1 year warranty. Benefit from a free engraving (case back) upon request.