Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet Year: Circa 1925 Movement No: 38'589 Case No: 38'589 Material: 18K white gold Calibre: Manual, cal. 10GHSM, jeweled Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold Audemars Piguet pin buckle from the 1920s Dimensions: Length 28.5mm, Width 25.5mm Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet copy of watch analysis and pouch.
Catalogue Essay
Few vintage wristwatches command as much collectors’ respect and admiration as Audemars Piguet’s vintage calendar wristwatches. Bound by the company’s very limited production, they are amongst the scarcest complicated vintage timepieces by any brand: the total output for non-perpetual calendar timepieces by Audemars Piguet between 1924 and 1967 amounts to an incredibly meagre 176 examples.
This production is split into two “phases”, implying different movements. The first phase, exemplifies by the present watch, goes from 1924 to 1954 with the vast majority of this production employing cal. 10GHSM (one exception is recorded at the very beginning: the first calendar watch employs cal. 10HPVM). Then the second phase switches to cal. 9/10RSQ. This representative in white gold of such a highly sought-after family of timepieces shines in all its unabashed beauty thanks to a full restoration undertaken by the Heritage department of Audemars Piguet. The Breguet numerals dial is now in practically flawless condition and allows the beholder to fully enjoy a quirk of this timepiece: the absence of the brand’s name on the dial, rather bearing only the retailer’s - hallowed and still very much active Lausanne-based “A l’Emeraude”. In fact, this characteristic is shared by the aforementioned 10HPVM piece, which features a white gold case of very similar shape, and an equally similar dial (bearing only the retailer’s - Gubelin - signature) with the difference of featuring painted dauphine numerals - rather than applied Breguet.
Even more remarkable, the movement itself is not signed by Audemars, but rather bears the A l'Emeraude signature. This is a watch which, in typical early 20th century fashion, was totally outsourced to a company (Audemars Piguet) by another company (A l'Emeraude) who subsequently sold it as its own proprietary product: a remarkable window into the industry's mechanisms of the time.
One of the most unusual specimens of one of the rarest and most sought-after lineages of calendar wristwatches, the present timepieces will elicit exhilaration in even the most jaded collector.
A specialist in the manufacture of complications since it was established in 1881, Audemars Piguet never ceases to impress with a rich history of creating bold, even audacious, timepieces underpinned by traditional watchmaking at its finest. This Le Brassus-based Swiss manufacturer is one of only two major manufacturers still owned by the founding family. Since its earliest days, AP is considered a leader in the field of minute repeaters and grande complication pocket and wristwatches. The brand is devoted to preserving the history of watchmaking in the Vallée de Joux, showcased at their superb museum in Le Brassus.
Today, the brand is best known for its Royal Oak models, a revolutionary luxury sports watch launched in 1972. Other key models include early minute repeating wristwatches, vintage chronograph wristwatches, such as the oversized reference 5020, perpetual calendar watches and the Royal Oak Offshore, first introduced in 1993.
