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 Offshore
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 38 mm Meteorite Quartz
Reference 13515OR.49
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Audemars Piguet
- Collection
- Royal Oak Offshore
- Model
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 38 mm Meteorite Quartz
- Reference number
- 13515OR.49
- Year / era
- 1997 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- GMT / second time zone
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding, hand-finished
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 100 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 12.6 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Octagonal with 8 hexagonal screws
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 42E — In-house manual-winding, hand-finished
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- GMT / second time zone
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1997 – 2010
- Limited-edition quantity
- 100 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 38 mm Meteorite Quartz sits within Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Offshore line, introduced in 1997. It carries the house codes established since 1875 — quartz tpt case, meteorite dial and in-house manual-winding, hand-finished — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
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 Offshore
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 36 mm Salmon Grade
Ref. 52360OR.47
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 38 mm Meteorite Stainless
Ref. 46792ST.14
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 36 mm Salmon Stainless
Ref. 78073ST.79
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm Black 18k
Ref. 68011OR.80
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 38 mm Slate Platinum
Ref. 92215OR.63