Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Audemars Piguet · Royal Oak Concept
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Carbon
Reference 81249OR.98
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Audemars Piguet
- Collection
- Royal Oak Concept
- Model
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Carbon
- Reference number
- 81249OR.98
- Year / era
- 1985 · 1980s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 54D — In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1985 – 1997
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 39 mm Mother-of-pearl Carbon sits within Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Concept line, introduced in 1985. It carries the house codes established since 1875 — carbon tpt case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house automatic with 22k gold rotor — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Audemars Piguet
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1875
- Founder
- Jules Louis Audemars & Edward Auguste Piguet
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Royal Oak Concept, Code 11.59, Millenary, Jules Audemars, [Re]master01
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Composite and ceramic case materials · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding · In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house automatic micro-rotor
- Notable watches
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 44 mm Ice Ceramic (1993) · Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 37 mm Salmon Ceramic (1959) · Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 39 mm Slate Ceramic (1972) · Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 40 mm Black Ceramic (1980)
Brand history
Audemars Piguet has spent more than 151 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Royal Oak, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jules Louis Audemars & Edward Auguste Piguet established Audemars Piguet in 1875, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Audemars Piguet calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1875
Jules Louis Audemars & Edward Auguste Piguet founds Audemars Piguet in Switzerland.
1899
Audemars Piguet earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Audemars Piguet to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Audemars Piguet enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Audemars Piguet continues to produce Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Royal Oak Concept and other icons in limited numbers.
More Royal Oak Concept
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 44 mm Silvered Stainless
Ref. 38082ST.10
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 41 mm Silvered 18k
Ref. 36686OR.57
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 43 mm Blue Sapphire
Ref. 23832OR.64
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 44 mm Salmon 18k
Ref. 70520OR.57
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept 37 mm Black 18k
Ref. 41219OR.26