Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Annual 18K New Pics BNIB: Extremely Rare Royal Oak: 25920BA.OO.0789BA.01 Start Price USD 24,775.00 Current Price USD 24,775.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, September 02, 2008 End Time Friday, September 12, 2008 Location Spokane, Washington See more about 'Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Annual 18K New Pics' Description Hello All:Up for your consideration is my BNIB and extremely rare Audemars Piguet, “Royal Oak” Quantième Annual Calendar, in 18K/18K. This is Audemars Piguet Reference: 25920BA.OO.0789BA.01, and it is extraordinary…!!Every time I fit a Royal Oak to my lower arm, I am drawn to the same conclusion…the RO transforms me. It makes my stomach look flatter, my chest appear broader and my feet bigger. This is proven scientifically, you know…!In reality, if you’ve been watching the Royal Oak trends these last five years, you will undoubtedly be drawn to some real-world conclusions, instead.First and foremost, the Royal Oak series is extremely popular. This has much to do with their near divine aesthetic. AP’s perfectly formed octagon seems to be metaphysically pure in its construct. A subliminal ability to realign Chakras can almost be imagined here…!The next reason, while more prudent, also helps drive this popularity: In their various iterations their retained value, and appreciation remains among the highest within the elite “Manufactures” of Haute Horology.Witness any genus of the Offshore Rubber Clad and this last fact is amplified. Specifically, look at what is happening with the Titanium Rubens Barrichello. How about the Alinghi Polaris, or the dyslexic-dialed Shaq Offshore. The list of AP timepieces selling for more than their original MSRP is long, and growing.Along the classical Royal Oak front, a conservatively serious and highly educated audience drive the market for timepieces with complications ranging from Power Reserve to Minute Repeater. These pieces are traditionally offered in the two main rare metals; Gold and Platinum. At times they are offered in Stainless Steel or Titanium…sometimes even a bi-metal mixture, or a material even more esoteric. In any event, they have always been considered wise investments.Into the noble 18K waters is where we dive today. Head first…!!The solid 18K-Yellow-Gold Royal Oak Annual Calendar reaches critical mass without being corpulent…okay, it’s a little corpulent. That’s only because of the Golden ingot, this Adonis on bracelet was cast from.Regardless, the stunning 36 mm x 9.85 mm Annual doesn’t appear heavy. It only feels heavy. However, once on your wrist a perfect balance between the solid 18K bracelet, and the solid and magnificently sculpted 18K case make the weight feel curiously absent.Let’s now talk of what makes this glorious Annual tick.Inside the sapphire and Gold protected sarcophagus beats the fabled Audemars Piguet Cal. 2224/2814. This is their automatic, 35-ruby masterpiece, spinning unerringly at 28,800 VPH, and storing over 40-hours of power, derived from its 22K Yellow-Gold tipped winding rotor.Elaboration of the 2224/2814 is incredible. Beveled and polished plates, base plate in Perlage and bridges with côtes de Genève are absolutely sacred. The 22K-tipped and semi-skeletonized automatic rotor winds bi-directionally, so as not to wobble on your wrist…Can you say Panerai Wobble…?This praiseworthy execution of such an illustrious movement may seem unnecessary. It matters little, as such a superficially splendid undertaking no doubt makes this beautiful movement perform better…!!As if by some horological sorcery, the Annual Calendar measures the Gregorian calendar, through one-full year, with zero input from its owner. And remember, this is an automatic, mechanical timepiece…!!Monthly calendar display, in French, arrives to you via an oversized sub dial at five thirty. On the inner dial perimeter is a thirty-one day date graph. All four hands are Yellow Gold at their core, yet are gloss enameled for visual contrast.The sportiness of a red Delta tipped date pointer is only enhanced by the remaining three bright-white enameled hands. Dial balance arrives with the use of red and white font for the date and month chapters. The Audemars Piguet trademark waffle dial, done in a precise matte ebony, creates the perfect backdrop for the raised and applied markers.A bit of trivia: A rare entelechy await the new owner or returning collector of any Audemars Piguet. Within a specific Audemars collection, for instance, one of their models of repeated design, a unique difference between two seemingly analogous pieces will be perceptible. The differences may be slight, but they are absolutely true. This fact is privately celebrated within Piguet’s walls in the village of La Brassus, and by AP’s small legion of aficionados, as each of their elite timepieces carry with them the knowledge of distinctiveness.The uniquely inspired Royal Oak Quantième is at once dignified, rare and warm…traits that lend versatility to this sumptuous timepiece. Worn in the boardroom, the professional echelon will nod in appreciation. Worn to Morton’s, the maitre d’, with equal cognition, will also nod…no doubt to a ready table…!!Two-hundred-million years from now, our biological survivors will be cockroaches dining on Velveeta cheese. Some of the most robust, and certainly the finest remaining mechanical survivors, wristwatches for this doomsday scenario, will be from such houses of Audemars Piguet, Rolex, JLC, IWC, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron.Manufactures that have defined, changed and inspired the watch industry. These mechanical gems are today, at the peak of the gear-driven food chain. As for the Royal Oak Perpétual…well…the surviving cockroaches will be posing, arched back no less, in the latest glossy magazines, wearing the most urbane Peruvian-alpaca sweaters, showing only a hint of the Royal Oak under one of its eight cuffs…how cosmopolitan…! They too will look marvelous…!!This AP is Brand-New. The 18K Yellow Gold case and matching 18K Yellow Gold bracelet are flawless…all hallmarks look freshly struck. The mesa-flat sapphire crystal and the never-removed eight-screw caseback are just as flawless. The original plastic bracelet protectors are still in place, the adhesive you see at the bracelet ends removes easily with a mild soapy water. The only reason I didn’t do it so was to preserve this elite timepiece as the Manufacture intended. All complicated functions operate as they should, plus there are two rapid adjusters, built into the sides of the case, for when you forget to place Oak on the winder. Timekeeping after one-day was +3 seconds.As for Super-Luminova, ample amounts are to be seen in this sporty Oak. As this Annual Calendar will attest, the Dark-Eight will be well lit throughout the year…!The Royal Oak Quantième in it’s various styles of metals, dials and bracelet types are produced in very limited numbers. This number is inscribed upon the caseback. Mine wearing “Series Number” 104. In 18K, no more than 200 of these RO’s are produced in a given year.All goodies follow this Audemars Piguet. They include both boxes, operating manual, service center manual, hang tag with matching numbers, correcting stylus and the full manufactures two-year warranty.Gaining entry into the fabled house of Audemars Piguet complicated timepieces has always required a firm investment.As an aside: The dealer cost for Audemars Piguet’s with complications is 5% more than the rest of their non-complicated models. These AP complicated pieces are not only harder for the dealer to obtain, they are also substantially more expensive when he is fortunate enough to get one.The suggested retail for the “Royal Oak” Quantième Perpétual, in this solid 18K iteration, is $37,900. My “Buy-It-Now” price is a true horological gift.The payment terms are as follows; PayPal (Confirmed Only), cashier’s check, money order, wire transfer or personal check (clearing time).Please note: Along with the above forms of accepted payment, I am also happy to accept the three main credit cards; Visa, Master Card and American Express.Insured UPS “Second-Day Air” shipping will be "Free" to anywhere in the USA (insurance will be provided, of course). Insured International shipping will be $85 more.I respectfully ask that zero-feedback bidders please contact me prior to bidding.I am happy to answer all questions. Please feel free to call: 201-816-2559.Finally: With my new format I will be consistently showcasing more and more elite timepieces from Switzerland, so please take a look at my other auctions while you’re here. Thanks for looking and good bidding all.Peace,Phil Place a Bid!