To take a look at, it isn’t in specifically excellent situation, however neither has it attained the type of magical patina that most often drives creditors wild. The black coating has rubbed away across the bezel, case edges and hyperlinks, and the tapisserie dial trend all Royal Oaks are famed for has discoloured inconsistently, particularly across the hour markers. So why the stratospheric valuation? The clue is within the color of the watch itself. It used to be given the unorthodox remedy by way of its proprietor, Mr Karl Lagerfeld, in keeping with his obsession with all issues black.
Provenance – auction-speak for “this used to be owned by way of any individual essential or attention-grabbing” – is the whole lot in antique watches and makes the adaptation between a precious watch and a precious one. Being owned by way of the famend fashion designer and inventive director can be provenance sufficient, however this actual Royal Oak sparked such hobby as a result of Lagerfeld gave it a private makeover, coating all the case, bracelet and bezel black. In doing so, he used to be on the chopping fringe of what used to be imaginable within the early Nineteen Seventies (Porsche Design made the primary all-black manufacturing watch in the similar 12 months because the Royal Oak introduced, in 1972) and no less than 40 years forward of mainstream watch tastes. In spite of the life of a few all-black fashions, the fashion for customised all-black luxurious watches such because the Royal Oak, Nautilus and Rolex sports activities fashions, didn’t land till the mid 2000s and aftermarket customisers comparable to Professional Hunter, Titan Black and, in its authentic guise, Bamford Watch Division.
