While Karl Lagerfeld has just passed away at the age of 85, after an exceptional career in fashion, this great fashion designer from Chanel admitted that his 1974 wristwatch - the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak «Jumbo» was one of his fetish objects.
As a notorious wearer of white and black throughout his life, Lagerfeld knew exactly what timepiece he wanted.
Almost uniformly dressed in black and white, with sunglasses, high-neck Hilditch & Key shirts, white mitts and hair tied in ponytail, It was hard to imagine Lagerfeld with another watch than a black Royal Oak.
"Black and white always looks modern, no matter what it means."
However, this Royal Oak Jumbo ref. 5402ST A. 45-year-old series, appears just after the first Porsche Design watches, became in 1972 the first entirely black watches on the market.
The Lagerfeld watch was however something unique, customized to have a black case and bracelet to match the original black dial, a model that did not exist in the AP catalogue.
Indeed, the black dial is extremely unusual for a former Jumbo like this, not to mention the black PVD treatment. With small accents of steel and white, this watch was intended for Karl Lagerfeld’s wrist.
According to KL, he had it in his possession since 1974, so he was one of the first to be conquered by this very disruptive model for the time, which he would possess in several copies.
The designer was known to be a voracious collector and Audemars Piguet was aware of Lagerfeld’s attachment to the Royal Oak. The management of the watchmaking brand possesses in particular a framed thank-you note of Lagerfeld, hung in its office. The creator wrote the post in 2002, after having recovered his black Royal Oak from a factory, via the reseller Audemars Piguet of Milan.
I bought the famous Royal Oak the year it was launched. It has never left my wrist since. I started collecting other watches, but I keep coming back to my good old Royal Oak, who I love and who never leaves me.”
