Audemars Piguet is known for its luxury watches. While they’re not cheap, here are some options that are less expensive.
From highly complex models to dive watches to perpetual calendars, chronographs, and tourbillons, Audemars Piguet produces some of the world’s most refined and expensive collectibles.
Sitting at the top of the luxury watch industry alongside prestigious names like Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet has well and truly earned its reputation as a creator of one of the globe’s most coveted timepieces — the iconic Royal Oak.
In addition to this, the luxury watchmaker anchors itself in values of reliability, performance, and precision with a long line of exceptionally crafted in-house movements to add to its belt, not to mention a superb variety of styles and functional watches to choose from.
Collecting Audemars Piguet watches, however, comes at a price and, like all manufacturers steeped in heritage and provenance, these timepieces vary from the most expensive to the more affordable.
In this article, we’re going to run you through some of the cheapest Audemars Piguet watches.
Cheapest Watches from Audemars Piguet
Here are the cheapest watches from Audemars Piguet in no particular order.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Self-Winding Watch Ref 15400st-oo-1220st-01
When it comes to affording grail watches, very few hold the allure of an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch. The iconic collectible is known as the watch that was designed in a day and has easily become one of the most instantly recognized luxury timepieces in the world.
During the crushing quartz crisis, Audemars Piguet sought to solidify its place within the industry by creating a sports watch that offered incredible shock and water resistance.
The brand met up with famous designer, Gerald Genta who immediately set to work to create the Royal Oak. It was presented the next day at 1972 Swiss Watch Show in Baselworld and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is still one of the industry’s most coveted designs and remains a highly collectible timepiece within elite watch collecting circles, reflecting its extortionate price tag.
Yet, newer Royal Oak Self-Winding models have become the brand’s baseline of the entire collection.
This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Self-Winding watch features all the important components of the archetypal steel sports watch of the 1970s, with a robust octagonal-shaped case, an integrated stainless steel bracelet, and an impressive water-resistant rating.
Classed as one of the most affordable Audemars Piguet watches, this Royal Oak Self-Winding watch features a classic black “Grande Tapisserie” patterned dial surface with white gold applied hour markers, and Royal Oak hands that have been treated with luminous material to assist with readability during the night.
The entire surface of the Royal Oak watch’s dial, complete with a legible date window at 3 o’clock, is sealed with a pane of strong anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass.
Considering this is one of the cheaper Audemars Piguet watches to get your hands on, for its impressive price tag you get an in-house manufactured self-winding movement that produces a power reserve of 60 hours.
The Calibre 3120 comprises 40 jewels and beats at a rhythm of 21,600 vibrations per hour.
Complete with its sophisticated stainless steel bracelet with an Audemars Piguet-stamped folding clasp, this 41mm model is a perfect daily beater for office wear, weekends or for combining with evening attire.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver watch ref 15720ST.OO.A052CA.01
Like all Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watches, this Offshore Diver model will certainly hold its value and has plenty to offer in terms of both style and functionality.
The model is one of the most affordable in this sub-category and features the iconic octagonal-shaped case crafted from brushed stainless steel with recognizable polished screws atop the bezel.
The 42mm case integrated with 300-meter water resistance promises all the functions required of a dive watch, including a black rotating dive scale with a beige 15-minute zone.
This section frames a khaki-colored dial executed in the brand’s popular “Méga-Tapisserie” dial effect, adorned with 18kt rose gold hour markers and hands.
Complete with an original khaki strap for plenty of outdoor exploration, this ruggedly sporty tool is powered by the Calibre 4308, equipped with a 60-hour power reserve and a patented setting mechanism.
It also boasts “Côtes de Genève decoration and a blackened 22kt rose gold oscillating weight.
This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver watch also features two back ceramic crowns — the one at 10 o’clock operates the unidirectional click mechanism linked to the rotating diver ring.
If you’re looking for a dive watch and have longed to own your very own grail watch, this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver watch may just be worth saving up for.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Watch Ref 26420SO.OO.A002CA.01
If it’s one thing Audemars Piguet does well it’s the classic chronograph. Sporty, masculine, and rugged-looking, this sports watch is an ideal companion for the wrist whether wearing it to the office or recording a personal best at the gym.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph is a hefty 43mm model with a stainless steel case, a black fixed ceramic bezel, a screw-down crown, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass, and a comfortable black rubber strap.
Through the back of the watch’s sapphire exhibition case, you can view the automatic Audemars Piguet caliber 4401 hard at work.
Comprising 367 components, the self-winding movement certainly promises plenty for its money with a 70-hour power reserve and chronograph 30-minute and 12-hour functions placed at 9 and 3 o’clock respectively.
These sub-scales have been filled with a silver color to match the small seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock and contrast vividly against the flashes of red seen in the subscale hands and tip of the chronograph central seconds hand.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Watch Ref 15703ST.OO.A002CA.01
If you’re looking for a classic dive watch tool, this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver watch is a strong contender since it offers everything you need in a rugged underwater tool.
It features the archetypal Royal Oak aesthetics with a black Grande Tapisserie dial, luminous hour markers and hands, and a sturdy 300-meter water-resistant stainless steel case.
The inner dive bezel is once again operated by the top left crown and is unidirectionally rotating.
For an affordable Audemars Piguet watch, you also get the reliable caliber 3120 fitted to its heart, producing a 60-hour power reserve and boasting beautiful Côtes de Genève, snailed, and circular-grained decoration.
The movement offers hours, minutes, seconds, and date functions and boasts an oscillating weight engraved with the famous AP monogram upon its surface.
To complete its dive-ready look, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watch is fitted on a supple black rubber strap.
Audemars Piguet Millenary Watch Ref 15352OR.OO.D093CR.01
Audemars Piguet Millenary watches move up the price track a little bit, but if you know what you’re looking for you can drop on a really good pre-owned deal.
More luxurious and extravagant than the simple sports watch appeal of the Royal Oak line, Millenary watches by Audemars Piguet can still be an affordable option if you shop around.
The original oval-shaped wristwatch was born in 1995 and was designed by Emmanuel Gueit with its recognizable shape inspired by the Roman Colosseum.
This Millenary ref 15352OR.OO.D093CR.01 features a decentralized dial with indulgent 18kt rose gold elements and a skeletonized dial that exposes the in-house caliber 4140 through its 47mm rose gold case.
While the hour and minutes can be read through stretched Roman numeral hour markers in an off-center dial, the small seconds can be found in a much smaller black scale, all completed on a stylish brown alligator leather strap with an 18kt rose gold deployment buckle that gives the timepieces a stunning vintage-inspired edge.
Conclusion
Whether you’re shopping for a brand new Audemars Piguet watch or a pre-owned model in good condition, there is still plenty of choices when it comes to exploring the market in search of an affordable Audemars Piguet watch.
If you’ve always dreamt of owning your very own grail watch, this year could be the perfect time to invest in an Audemars Piguet watch that will hold its value.
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