Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 50th Anniversary

When Audemars Piguet introduced its Royal Oak in 1972, few could have ever predicted that the revolutionary stainless-steel sport watch with high-end finishing and a price tag to match would become one of the most coveted and hardest-to-get watch models 50 years later.

- By Laurie Kahle

Gérald Genta's visionary design-with its octagonal bezel accented by eight visible screws, grid-patterned Tapisserie dial and integrated steel bracelet-raised more than a few eyebrows before winning an enthusiastic fan base. Today, luxury stainless-steel sport watches appear in brand after brand. But Royal Oak is the grandaddy of them all-now, more timelessly classic than iconoclastic.