Television presenter Trevor Noah spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Trevor Noah was recently spotted on the wrist with a stainless steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak reference 15400ST, the 41mm black-dial iteration that served as the definitive Royal Oak statement piece for nearly a decade before the introduction of the 16202ST. For a watch that essentially invented the luxury sports watch category in 1972, the 15400ST represents the modern mature expression of Gérald Genta's original brief — and it remains one of the most immediately recognizable references in haute horlogerie.

The Royal Oak 15400ST measures 41mm in stainless steel and runs on the AP Calibre 3120, an entirely in-house automatic movement beating at 21,600 vph with a 60-hour power reserve and a 38-jewel construction. The movement is finished to a standard well above what the price point might suggest from lesser houses — bevelled bridges, circular graining on the mainplate, and Geneva stripes throughout. The black "Grande Tapisserie" dial, with its precise checkerboard hobnail pattern, is the signature that collectors and civilians alike recognize instantly.

The 15400ST succeeded the 15300ST in 2012 and remained in production until 2021, when Audemars Piguet replaced it with the slimmer, more refined 16202ST. That succession has done nothing but burnish the 15400ST's collector reputation. It now occupies a clear position in the AP canon: the last of the "old school" 41mm Royal Oaks, before the brand undertook a comprehensive movement and case architecture overhaul. Collectors who missed allocations at the time are now chasing the secondary market with renewed intent.

Trevor Noah has long demonstrated genuine horological taste, gravitating toward watches that balance legibility with technical substance rather than pure showmanship. The Royal Oak 15400ST in steel with a black dial is precisely that kind of watch — understated enough for a television setting, significant enough to satisfy a serious collector's sensibility. It is the kind of piece that communicates fluently to those who know watches without broadcasting to those who don't.

On the grey market, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15400ST commands a substantial premium over its original retail price, reflecting both the model's discontinuation and the sustained global appetite for steel Royal Oaks at any reference. Buyers looking to acquire one should expect to pay well above list on the secondary market, with pricing firmly in premium territory for clean examples with box and papers.