Writer Giorgia Mondani spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Giorgia Mondani, the Italian author behind some of the hobby's most authoritative reference books on Rolex and beyond, was recently photographed wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25654ST — a piece previously hammered by Antiquorum for $507,640, a figure that underscores just how seriously the market regards this reference.

The Ref. 25654ST sits within the broader Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar lineage that Audemars Piguet introduced in the 1980s, marrying Gérald Genta's iconic integrated-bracelet architecture with one of haute horology's most demanding complications. The 39mm stainless steel case houses Calibre 2120/2802, a movement built on the ultra-thin 2120 automatic base — itself a joint development between AP, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin — layered with a perpetual calendar module. The result is a movement of exceptional pedigree that self-corrects for months of varying length and leap years through 2100 without manual adjustment. The dial layout is classical: month aperture at 12 o'clock, date at 3, day at 9, and a moonphase display at 6.

What elevates this particular example to trophy status is the salmon dial. Among Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar variants, salmon — sometimes described as pink-champagne — is acknowledged by collectors as one of the most visually arresting and scarce configurations. Against the steel case and AP's signature Grande Tapisserie pattern, the warm, metallic tone shifts dramatically under changing light. Original, unrestored salmon dials in this condition command a premium that blue or grey counterparts rarely match.

Mondani's presence with this watch is anything but incidental. As an author and researcher whose books serve as primary reference material for serious AP and Rolex collectors, she brings a scholarly eye to every piece she wears publicly. Her wearing — and evidently bidding on — a Ref. 25654ST at Antiquorum speaks to the reference's stature among true insiders, not merely the speculative secondary market.

On the current grey market, fresh auction results anchor expectations firmly above $400,000 for clean stainless steel examples, with exceptional salmon-dial specimens like this one capable of exceeding $500,000 when provenance and condition align. The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ref. 25654ST remains a benchmark for what stainless steel complications can achieve at auction.