Reference Talk — 14790 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Audemars Piguet has always had a long and established history with producing mid-sized Royal Oaks. There has always been a smaller, alternate offering to the ref.5402 ‘Jumbo’. Towards the end of the 80’s the ref.14790 arrived on the scene, ultimately keeping its place in the Royal Oak line up for the next 3 decades until production ceased in the late 2000’s.
The case measures a modest 36mm compared to the Jumbo’s 39mm however it wears larger due to the integrated lugs and bracelet. At 36mm and only 7.5mm thick it retains the classic Royal Oak proportions and could be seen as a scaled down 5402, also taking on a number of the same design cues. As with all Royal Oaks the model has the beveled and polished edges originally curated by the famed Gerald Genta. The 14790 is powered by the AP cal. 2125, (very early models) cal. 2225 and later the cal. 2325 based on the JLC 889 with Audemares Piguet owning 40% of JLC up until 2000.
14790 Production Variants
MK1 - Early D Series (Most sought after)
MK2 - D Series - Early E Series
MK3 - E Series - F Series (most common)
Series Range
D Series - 1990 to 2000
E Series - 2000 to 2005
F Series - 2006 to 2008
Reference Initials Demystified
ST = Steel
BA = Yellow Gold
PT = Platinum
SA = Steel & Gold (TwoTone)
TR = Tatalum & Rose Gold (TwoTone)
TT = Tantalum & Steel (twoTone)
14790 Production Deep Dive
MK1
Straight Logo & Long Indices
Early ’D’ Series production - Early 1990’s
14790ST Credit: vintagehartmann - The Rolex Forum
Key Characteristics
Early 14790’s most notably featured the more traditional ‘straight font’ logo, reminiscent of early Royal Oak watches, and long hour mark indices. The MK1 was available in a number of dial and metal combinations featuring the ‘Mini Tapisserie’ dial stamped ‘Swiss Made’. Other notable design cues were an unsigned crown (no AP logo), thin hands and standard single folding deployment clasp. Early MK1’s were powered by the cal. 2125 followed by a transition into the cal. 2225.
MK1 Examples
The MK1was first seen in Yellow Gold (BA) and Steel (ST) both sporting a variety of dial variations. There was also a very limited about of Steel & Yellow Gold (SA) and Tantalum & Rose Gold (TR) models produced in this period, these are very hard to come by and rarely seen for sale.
14790BA Credit: Sothebys
14790ST ‘Straight Font Logo’ Credit: rarebirds.de
14790ST Credit: theflywrist - The Rolex Forum
14790TR Credit: Unknown
MK2
Capitalized A & P Logo & Long Indices
‘D’ Series to early ‘E’ Series production - Mid 1990’s to early 2000’s
14790ST Credit: WatchBrothersLondon - NOS Example
Key Characteristics
MK2 can generally be identified by the capitalized ‘A’ and ‘P’ in the Audemares Piguet logo alongside the long indices hour markers. The clasp and crown (unsigned) remain the same as the early MK1’s however towards the end of the production run of MK2 there are the odd transitional pieces where MK3 characteristics may be present, for example thicker hands, AP logo clasps and Luminova lume. This is historically common practice from AP as they move from one MK of singular reference to the next. MK2’s were powered by the cal. 2225.
MK2 Examples
The mid 1990’s also provided a number of interesting ‘special editions’ of the 14790 such as the ‘Military/Arabic’ dial/hands and the ‘Yves Klien’ Dial, both covered in detail later on. There has also been a very limited number of Tantalum and Steel examples appear in the MK2 production range.
14790SA Credit: cchen - Instagram
‘Light Grey’ Dial, Credit: dualtime_official
14790BA Credit: Amsterdam Vintage Watches
Single Deployant Clasp Credit: orangedial - WatchProSite
14790TR Credit: worldoftime.de
14790OR (Pink) Credit: SingaporeWatchClub
MK3
Short Indices & Bold Tapisserie Dial
‘E’ Series to Early ‘F’ Series Production - Early 2000’s to 2007
14790ST Credit: AnalogShift
Key Characteristics
The MK3 has some obvious tells compared to the other MK’s due to the short hour marker indices and the bold tapisserie dial. Some dials also have a white surround around the date window some do not. The clasp is commonly the more modern ‘AP logo’ clasp and the crown is also signed ‘AP’. MK3 dials do however find their way onto older models as they were used as service replacements throughout the early 2000’s. Early MK3’s were powered by the cal. 2225 followed by a transition into the cal. 2325. Lume applied on the dial and hand-set is Luminova, having transitioned over from Tritium.
MK3 Examples
There have been a number of interesting MK3 14790’s crop up. To highlight one particular example is the Ferrari Red dial 14790. There have been recored sightings of a number of exotic configurations however provenance is unknown. Missing from the lineup are the Tantalum variants. These variants did not adopt the MK3 configuration however the Yellow Gold and steel (SA) examples did follow suit.
1479ST Credit: Italian_wrist_shots - Instagram
Ferrari Red 14790ST Credit: Singapore Watch Club - Instagram
MK3 14790ST ‘AP’ Clasp and signed ‘AP’ Crown Credit: Unknown
14790SA & 14790ST Credit: rwilki - TimeZone
Unique Variations Explained
Tropical Dial
14790 dials are not produced in the same manner as many other watches we often associate with tropical dial effects such as a Rolex and Omega. Audemars Piguet anodized their dials to add the blue hue, they did not paint them. This is an important distinction when considering how a dial may age and react to different condition. There are a number of ways a dial may change in color, such as but not limited to, UV exposure, physical wear, tritium burns and moisture.
As with watch collecting in general it is of course up to the collector to determine what they find most attractive. Interestingly patina has been found across all marks, MK1 MK2 and MK3 dials.
14790ST MK2 Credit: t_swiss_t - Instagram
Credit: Worldoftime
14790ST MK3 Credit: martinosassella - Instagram
Credit: dmgreen11 - Instagram
Yves Klein Dial
D & E Series production - Mid 1990’s to 2000’s
The vibrant blue dial was aptly named the ‘Yves Klein’ dial by collectors due to its resemblance to the deep blue hue famed by Yves Klein, French Artist. View his work here.
This vibrant blue dial appeared across a number of Audemars Piguet models over the years including a perpetual calendar, day-date, chronograph, quartz and date watches in both Steel (ST) and Yellow Gold (BA) metals. Evidence suggests the dial was manufactured by Stern Creations, the famed manufacturer of dials, which also made dials for the original Royal Oak ref. 5402. The dial comes in the MK2 configuration with the capitalized ‘A’ and ‘P’ logo with long hour marker indices.
14790ST (YK Dial) Credit: iwatchit - Instagram
14790BA (YK Dial) Credit: dr_audemars - Instagram
Military/Arabic Dial & Hands
D & E Series production - Mid 1990’s to early 2000’s
The Military/Arabic dial is a cool and rare piece that Audemars Piguet will likely never reproduce. It gets its name from the blocky white Arabic numerals around the dial, similar in style to other military dials past and present. Besides the dial other interesting design cues include the pointing lume-filled hands and the arrow tipped sweeping seconds hand, bringing a unique package to the 14790 line up.
14790ST Credit: Mineral -Rolex Forum
14790ST Credit: Mineral - The Rolex Forum
Tantalum Two Tone
D & E Series production - Early 1990’s to late 1990’s
Audemars Piguet was the first brand to feature Tantalum in a luxury watch, a rare metal with a color unlike any other. Tantalum is rarely used in horology because it is extremely difficult to work with however it is extremely durable and ultra-resistant to corrosion.
The 14790 MK1 & 2 variants were available in Tantalum and Rose Gold and the very rarely seen Tantalum and Steel combination. The models came with a smooth dial and most commonly seen in the MK2 variant, capitalized ‘A’ and ‘P’ logo.
Platinum (PT) Variant
A platinum 14790 sold by A Collected Man features a gorgeous smooth deep blue dial with diamond-set hour markers. Other key features that distinguish this model is the heft of platinum on the wrist and the no lume ‘stick hands’.
14790PT Rare Platinum Diamond Marker Credit: A Collected Man
Salmon Dial
There are unconfirmed rumors of a Salmon dial 14790. After the release of the 14802ST (Salmon Dial) in 1992 for the 20th anniversary of the jumbo 5402ST, rumor has it privileged customers of the Audemars Piguet had the opportunity of requesting a Salmon Dial for their 14790. These Salmon dial 14790’s have appeared, albeit very rarely, on the market and some refer to them as ‘special order’ while others say the dial is simply lifted from the 14800, that had a run of salmon dials. What is true is up to the collectors interpretation.
14790ST Credit: Rolextouch - Instagram
20th Anniversary 14802ST Salmon Dial Credit: italianwatchspotter - Instagram
