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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 14790BA Automatic - 18K Yellow Gold White Tapisserie Dial

Details
The Royal Oak In The Metal It Was Never Meant For
The Royal Oak was designed to argue that stainless steel could carry a luxury price, which makes the solid gold versions a deliberate contradiction of the original brief and a very different watch to wear. The 14790BA is Genta's drawing rendered in 18K yellow gold, octagonal bezel, integrated bracelet, tapisserie dial and all, at the 36mm size the model held for most of its life. The design survives the change of material completely intact. It simply stops being industrial and becomes something else.
White Against Yellow Gold
Gold Royal Oaks were usually specified with champagne or darker dials that agreed with the case. The white tapisserie on this one does the opposite and sets up a hard contrast against all that yellow gold, which keeps the dial reading bright and clean instead of dissolving into the metal. The guilloche squares still shift with the light the way they are meant to, and the effect is sharper here than on a matched dial. It is the less common choice and the better one.
Unpolished With Honest Wear
This watch is in good physical condition. The 18K yellow gold case and bracelet are unpolished and show scratches and marks from real use, which means the original factory geometry is preserved rather than sanded away. The white tapisserie dial is in great shape. As with every watch we offer, this piece has been verified as mechanically sound and is ready to wear.
A Gold Royal Oak You Can Actually Wear
This is the Royal Oak for someone who wants the weight of solid gold in classic proportions. At 36mm it sits flat and wears every day without ceremony, and the honest wear already on it means there is nothing left to protect. You get Genta's design at full strength, in a precious metal, from a reference old enough to be interesting and recent enough to be dependable. It is a watch to put on and stop thinking about.
Key Specs
Reference: 14790BA
Model: Royal Oak
Year: 2000s
Movement: Automatic
Case Size: 36mm
Bezel: 18K Yellow Gold
Bracelet: 18K Yellow Gold
Bracelet Length: 7in
Dial: White Tapisserie
Metal: 18K Yellow Gold
Weight: 164.2g
SKU: 1477