A Collected Man: Eric Wind Quoted on The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Raj Aditya Chaudhuri wrote about the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak for A Collected Man. Within the article, Chaudhuri quotes Eric Wind:

“Eric Wind, who owns and runs Wind Vintage, a seller of vintage watches based in Palm Beach, Florida, says it is the design’s infinite adaptability that speaks to enthusiasts far beyond the community of collectors. He says, “Over the last decade I have seen the Royal Oak go from a watch that was purely on the wrist of watch enthusiasts to being on the wrists of people who appreciate the watch for being an undeniable great design generally, far beyond the confines of the watch community. Seeing Assouline books about the Royal Oak and seeing it on the wrists of so many notable celebrities has taken it to the forefront of iconic watches.”

He remembers first finding out about the reference 5402ST after reading an article in 2010, then looking up old photographs of personalities such as Karl Lagerfeld wearing the watch. Over the years, Wind has watched new waves of collectors gravitate towards the design. He says, “I couldn’t [then have] imagined an A-Series example – the early one numbered 'A2'; the second one made – going for more than $1m at auction and I couldn't imagine an early perpetual calendar model in steel going for more than $600,000 at auction, either. It's been amazing to watch the scholarship develop on these and see so many serious watch collectors chasing them.”

Learn more below:

https://www.acollectedman.com/blogs/journal/royal-oak-a-cultural-icon