Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 16204 “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked

What Makes the 16204 Different

The 16202 and the 16204 share the 39 mm octagonal case, the integrated bracelet and the 50 m water resistance. What separates them is the movement. The 16202 runs on calibre 7121 behind a “Petite Tapisserie” dial and shows the date at 3 o’clock. The 16204 runs on calibre 7124, which has no date: it shows hours and minutes only, and you look straight through the watch to the bridges and the wheels that drive them. Calibre 7124 was designed from the start as an openworked movement rather than adapted from a solid one. It is 2.7 mm thick, beats at 4 Hz and holds a power reserve of about 57 hours. Its bridges are cut by CNC machining and electrical discharge machining, then finished by hand with polished bevels and sharp inward angles.

From the 15204 to the 16204

Before the 16204, the openworked “Jumbo” was the 15203, made in platinum in 2012 for the Royal Oak’s 40th anniversary, followed by the 15204 in pink gold from 2014. Both ran on calibre 5122, an openworked version of the ultra-thin calibre 2121 that had powered the Jumbo since 1972. It was 3.05 mm thick, beat at 2.75 Hz and held about 40 hours of power reserve. The move to calibre 7124 made the movement 0.35 mm thinner, raised the beat to 4 Hz and the power reserve to about 57 hours. It also changed the look. The bridges of the 5122 followed the layout of the older movement it came from, while the 7124 was drawn for openworking, with a more geometric architecture.

Every 16204 Version

Audemars Piguet has made the 16204 in five metals, and each version has its own movement finish, matched to the case.

Reference	Case and bracelet	Introduced	Movement finish
16204ST.OO.1240ST.01	Stainless steel	2022	Rhodium-toned mainplate and bridges, gold “50 Years” oscillating weight
16204OR.OO.1240OR.01	18 kt pink gold	2022	Slate grey mainplate and bridges, pink gold “50 Years” oscillating weight
16204BA.OO.1240BA.01	18 kt yellow gold	2023	Yellow gold-toned mainplate and bridges, white gold hour-markers and hands
16204BC.OO.1240BC.01	18 kt white gold	2024	Anthracite grey mainplate and bridges, rhodium-toned gold oscillating weight
16204XT.OO.1240XT.01	Titanium, with bezel, case back and bracelet studs in BMG	2026	Rhodium-toned movement

The steel and pink gold watches were part of the 2022 anniversary collection, which is why their oscillating weights are engraved “50 Years”; the rest of that collection is on our Audemars Piguet 50th Anniversary page. The titanium 16204XT adds BMG, a palladium-based bulk metallic glass that Audemars Piguet developed for its shine and its resistance to scratches and wear.

How to Read a 16204 Reference

As with the 16202, the full reference spells out what the watch is made of. Reading 16204BC.OO.1240BC.01 from left to right:

Segment	In this example	What it tells you
Model	16204	Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Openworked, 39 mm, calibre 7124
Case metal	BC	ST steel · OR pink gold · BA yellow gold · BC white gold · XT titanium
Execution	OO	The standard finish, without gem-setting
Bracelet	1240BC	The 1240 integrated bracelet, in the same metal as the case
Version	.01	The version of that combination

Only the two letters straight after 16204 describe the case. Read the reference from the front: a listing that gives only “16204” without the metal code does not tell you which of the five watches it is, and the price gap between them is large.

16204 vs 16202

	16204	16202
Dial	Openworked movement, no conventional dial	“Petite Tapisserie”
Movement	Calibre 7124, 2.7 mm thick	Calibre 7121, 3.2 mm thick
Functions	Hours, minutes	Hours, minutes, date
Case	39 mm, 8.1 mm thick	39 mm, 8.1 mm thick
Water resistance	50 m	50 m

Royal Oak 16204 Price

At Watch My Diamonds, the Royal Oak 16204 is available at $206,835.

The metal sets the price of a 16204 more than anything else: steel is the entry point and the gold versions sit well above it. Condition, the date on the warranty card and whether the box and papers are present account for most of the rest. Watches marked “Price on request” are in stock: contact us for a current figure.

Royal Oak 16204 Specifications

Reference	16204, in steel, pink gold, yellow gold, white gold, titanium
Case	39 mm, 8.1 mm thick; octagonal bezel with eight hexagonal screws
Crystal	Sapphire, front and case back
Water resistance	50 m
Movement	Calibre 7124, self-winding, openworked
Movement thickness	2.7 mm
Frequency	4 Hz, 28,800 vibrations an hour
Power reserve	About 57 hours
Functions	Hours and minutes
Bracelet	Integrated, in the case metal, with folding clasp

FAQs

What is the difference between the Royal Oak 16204 and the 16202?

The movement and the dial. Both use the same 39 mm, 8.1 mm case. The 16202 has calibre 7121, a “Petite Tapisserie” dial and a date; the 16204 has calibre 7124, which is openworked, 2.7 mm thick and shows hours and minutes only.

When was the Royal Oak 16204 introduced?

In 2022, for the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary, in steel and pink gold. A yellow gold version followed in 2023, white gold in 2024 and titanium with BMG in 2026.

Is the 16204 a 50th Anniversary watch?

The first two are. The 16204ST in steel and the 16204OR in pink gold were part of the 2022 anniversary collection and carry the “50 Years” oscillating weight, visible through the sapphire case back. The yellow gold, white gold and titanium versions came later.

How thin is the Royal Oak 16204?

The case is 8.1 mm thick, the same as the 16202. The calibre 7124 inside it is 2.7 mm thick, 0.35 mm thinner than the calibre 5122 of the 15204 it replaced.