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 44 mm Black 18k
Reference 68011OR.80
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Audemars Piguet
- Collection
- Royal Oak Offshore
- Model
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm Black 18k
- Reference number
- 68011OR.80
- Year / era
- 1956 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Black lacquer
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 88 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.8 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Black lacquer
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 62C — In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Chronograph, tachymeter, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1956 – 1969
- Limited-edition quantity
- 88 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm Black 18k sits within Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Offshore line, introduced in 1956. It carries the house codes established since 1875 — 18k yellow gold case, black lacquer dial and in-house tourbillon, manual-winding — 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 reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
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 38 mm Meteorite Quartz
Ref. 13515OR.49
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 38 mm Slate Platinum
Ref. 92215OR.63