Entrepreneur Giancarlo Giammetti spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Giancarlo Giammetti, the entrepreneurial force behind Valentino alongside the late Valentino Garavani, was recently spotted wearing a yellow gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph reference 25960BA — a watch whose own history inside the Royal Oak family is more nuanced than it might first appear.

Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak in 1972 as Gerald Genta's radical steel sports watch, but the manufacture took a conspicuously long time to add a chronograph to the line. The ref. 25860 in steel and the 25960BA in 18k yellow gold arrived only in 1997, making the chronograph one of the last major complications to enter the Royal Oak ecosystem. Intriguingly, AP had already produced a Royal Oak perpetual calendar — a considerably more intricate complication — back in 1984. The strategic logic appears deliberate: establish the Royal Oak's horological credibility at the top of the complication hierarchy before descending to the chronograph, a complication the market might have considered more commonplace.

The 25960BA runs the in-house column-wheel calibre 2385, a 37-jewel automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve operating at 21,600 vph. The pushers at 2 and 4 o'clock control a flyback-capable chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters. The 39mm yellow gold case retains the signature eight-sided bezel secured by eight hexagonal screws, and the warm gold pairing with a blue Grande Tapisserie dial became one of the defining luxury sports watch aesthetics of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Among collectors, the 25960BA occupies a specific and well-regarded position. It predates the explosion of Royal Oak demand, carries a true integrated-movement chronograph, and benefits from the added prestige and warmth of yellow gold — a metal that has staged a strong comeback in serious collecting circles over the past decade. Earlier Royal Oak chronograph references in yellow gold now attract sustained auction attention.

Giammetti's taste in watches mirrors his professional sensibility: classical materials executed with technical rigor, never trend-chasing. The 25960BA retailed in the range of $28,000–$32,000 during its production run; comparable examples in yellow gold now trade on the secondary market between $45,000 and $65,000 depending on condition and originality of dial and bracelet.