Hello Noah, Thank you for sending in this wristwatch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall do my best to appraise this watch for you.
TITLE: Customized, Gents, large, octagonal, self-winding, water-resistant, stainless steel wristwatch with date and a stainless steel Audemars Piguet bracelet with deployant clasp, Ref.15400ST.OO.1220ST.02 custom diamond set with G/H color VS-SI1 round brilliant cut diamonds and custom diamond set the original bezel, case, bracelet and bracelet edges and replaced the original face with a custom made Far East Arabic numeral pave diamond dial (made in China). Case number K42814 (not an Audemars Piguet number, perhaps this is the Chinese K for Cagau) Therefore, this is assumed to be an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak stainless steel watch with customized pave dial surface on case and bracelet with replaced dial. Basic watch made by Audemars Piguet, Switzerland and customized in both China and Dubai where it was retailed, watch made post 2010, customized circa 2019.
~CLIENT COMMENTARY: “AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK WATCH WITH TWO TONE LOOK BIG DIAMOND BEZEL. WATCH HAS 1801 DIAMONDS 15.77 CARATS. DIAL HAS 587 DIAMONDS 2.30 CARATS.-BEZEL HAS 72 DIAMONDS 8.10 CARATS.HAVE MADE AFTER MARKET PINK GOLD BEZEL TO GIVE A LOOK OF TWO TONE WATCH” ~AUDEMARS FACTORY STATEMENT: Audemars Piguet pave diamond made in their own factory is as follows: SETTING-610 brilliant-cut diamonds; ~7.24 carats (case and bracelet). 466 brilliant-cut sapphires; ~3.18 carats (dial).
~CAGAU WATCHES, DUBAI STATEMENT: So, we know that the customization with diamonds was not made by Audemars Piguet. Most likely source was the Cagau Watches in Dubai where they describe the customization: “This Royal Oak watch ref.15500ST.OO.1220ST.03 in stainless steel has been custom diamond set with G/H color (near colorless) VVS (flaws can be found with a loupe) round brilliant cut diamonds. We have used pavé diamond setting whereby the stones are positioned closer together in a honeycomb pattern (less gaps, more diamonds, and minimal edges). On this watch we have custom diamond set the original bezel, case, bracelet and bracelet edges. Please note we are not affiliated with any manufacturer, all of the watches customized by Cagau will void any existing warranty. We provide a 12-months Cagau Warranty as standard.” DESCRIPTION: Case: 41mm diameter, two body, polished and brushed tonneau shaped watch case with octagonal bezel (replaced with aftermarket pink gold bezel with 72 diamonds, 8.10 carats) set with 8 hexagonal nuts embanked in 8 screws on the transparent case back, angled lugs with 4 screws to fix the bracelet, sapphire crystals front and back. The watch is integrated with a stainless steel bracelet supposedly made by Audemars Piguet, but looking at the links on the back, the genuine AP bracelet has ALL beveled edge links which I do not see in this bracelet. The individual links at the outer edge have an applied visible screw along with the pave dials, not something I would expect of Audemars. I do not see the AP logo on the bracelet clasp, but it may be there (not shown). The surface of the façade of the case and the lugs all have pave diamonds. DIAL: This is a dial not made by AP but made in China with an Eastern Hemisphere version of Arabic hours, date aperture at 3, pave dial, skeletonized fan blade style hands and a sweep center seconds pointer. (Original AP hands are steel fan blade type with luminous center.) The upper dial center has a casting of “AP, Audemars Piguet” and below the center a plaque with the case number K 42814, where Audemars had “Automatic” on their dials. Dial has 587 pave diamonds equaling 2.30 carats. MOVEMENT: Should be the AP Cal. 3120, made with 40 jewels, nor is it the AP 3129, made with 38 jewels. This customized example has 32 jewels. Therefore I would guess that this is not a genuine Audemars movement, but a replication of one. Also, the AP calibres 3120 and 3129 are not associated with any type of diamond covered wristwatch. The movement is made in the style of these calibres with a skeletonized gilt rocker panel marked Audemars Piguet. This appears to be an automatic self-winding movement with the rocker panel cast Audemars Piguet Swiss. Yet the movement is not made with the sophistication of the usual Audemars movements I have seen. Could this movement have been made in Asia – for sure that is a major possibility. The Audemars Swiss movement have 21K gold rotors and other gold components.
CONDITION: Case – Darkening of the patina on the back of the bracelet and the case, not expected in such a recent watch. Links of the bracelet are not beveled as done by AP in Switzerland. Nothing on the Audemars website looks like this to me. Dial – Chinese dial with Arabic numerals. Movement – Appears to be a non Audemars movement to me. Likely Japanese, Chinese or Indonesian in origin.
OVERALL COMMENTARY: When I began I thought we were dealing with a customization of the bezel in this otherwise Audemars Swiss wristwatch. By the time I finished I believe there are very few parts that were made in Switzerland, if any. Therefore, at best, we have a well-made customized watch that uses the AP name, and at worst we have a pure, but well done, replication using machine made diamonds in a pattern not used by Swiss Audemars. The Cagau Company in Dubai comes closest to making and selling such watches, although they are not advertised as Cagau watches (none of those on EBay) However, retailers are selling this type of watch on other websites. COMPARABLES: ~https://www.chrono24.com/audemarspiguet/audemars-piguet-audemars-piguet-royal-oak-41mm-custom-33ct-diamonds-two-tone-rose-gold-arabic-dial--id20468596.htm ($70000 for an example with a calibre 3120 Audemars movement, a movement that is lacking in your example. This watch appears to be made with some Audemars parts.) ~This Cagau customized example with original Audemars dial is priced at $68000. - https://cagau.com/products/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-selfwinding-41-steel-custom-pave-diamond-set-black-grande-tapisserie ~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/75305098_audemars-piguet-royal-oak-custom-diamond-15ct-mens (This example failed to sell at auction with minimum price of $36000) ~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/71121203_audemars-piguet-royal-oak-diamond-watch (CUSTOMIZED LADIES WATCH SOLD FOR $28000 IN 2019) ~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/71120273_audemars-piguet-pink-gold-diamond-watch (GENUINE AUDEMARS SOLD FOR $50000 IN 2019) https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/73182401_audemars-piguet-royal-oak-selfwinding-15400or-41mm (CUSTOMIZED BUT HAS Automatic on the dial, not K42814, has both case number and reference or model number on the back cover. Estimated at $78000 minimum and was passed, several others were offered and none sold of this type)
PRICING:
To give this watch the benefit of the doubt, I do see that such watches are coming out of Dubai with Asian Arabic dials and possibly other parts. The 32 jeweled movement is not in keeping with an Audemars Royal Oak movement for this type of Swiss made watch. We know that the Cagau watches have retail prices in the 70-80K category while the new Audemars Piguet paved diamond examples retail for $134,500. See: https://www.watchcollectinglifestyle.com/home/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-soleil-ref-15502or-gem-set-with-1076-stones
~I would assume that if the entire Audemars Piguet ref. Ref.15400ST.OO.1220ST.02 is present underneath all of this bling then the fair market price would likely be in the range of $36000. So, I am going to have to file a condition appraisal report, conditional ins so far as you said the only customized part of this watch is the rose gold bezel with its diamonds. If closer to all of the pave diamonds on the watch have been customized the value would be lower, and if the Arabic dial came out of China, Japan or Indonesia, then the value would be much less. My own personal opinion with what I have seen online today I would not invest in such a watch.
OK – So the conditional appraisal fair market price is $34000-$36000. Retail pricing may be about twice that.
{The only way for you to be certain of originality and authenticity is to take this watch to an Audemar Piguet specialist or send it by registered insured mail to an Audemars dealer to get the full story before trying to sell it.}
Thank you for sending this most interesting watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. It was quite a challenge to try to figure it out because the watchmakers in the Far East are beginning to put out a high end product, unlike those I have seen a decade ago.
My best,
David