Audemars Piguet - Racing Pulse New York Saturday, December 12, 2020 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet
    Year: 2009
    Reference No: 26065OR.OO.D088CR.01
    Movement No: 714680
    Case No: No. 1, G25586
    Model Name: Royal Oak Grande Complication
    Material: 18K pink gold
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 2885_SQ, 52 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold Audemars Piguet deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 44mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet Warranty stamped Audemars Piguet Boutique New York, New York, and dated August 11, 2009, Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 2009, blue One Drop Audemars Piguet presentation with automatic winder, wooden Audemars Piguet presentation box with automatic winder, box key, magnifying glass, leather envelop with product literature, Audemars Piguet Timepiece Life and Card, and outer packaging, and a signed letter by Guy Laliberté.

     

    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.

     

     

    Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande

     

    Complications Introduction The history of watch complications is a fascinating view into horology’s past, and some of the most intriguing watches ever produced. “Grande Complication” watches are the ultimate expression of watchmaking at its very finest. They are mechanical works of art that bring together three refined complications: a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar and a split-seconds chronograph.  While collectors today see them in wristwatch format, their lineage dates back to well over a century.

     

    Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet has, since its founding in 1875, created exceptional complications under its own name but also supplied movements to others . Since 1882, the Manufacture has made a point of keeping the Grande Complication at the spearhead of its production even during times of crisis, passing on this ancestral craftsmanship from one generation to the next. In 2016, Phillips was honored to auction an extremely rare and previously unknown Audemars Piguet Grande Complication Clock Watch from 1892 with no fewer than 11 complications.

     

    In the early 2000s, Audemars Piguet made the bold decision to create a line of rare open worked Grande Complication wristwatches, and they chose the Royal Oak model to house this spectacular movement .  Released in 1972 in the midst of the quartz crisis, the Royal Oak brought the watchmaking industry in a new direction. As the world’s first high-end sports watch in stainless steel, the Royal Oak designed by famed horologer Gérald Genta revolutionized high-end watches with a monobloc case featuring an octagonal bezel secured by eight hexagonal white gold screws.

     

    Phillips is very pleased to offer this set of four unique examples interweaving ancestral craftsmanship and avant-garde design. The four open worked models, each numbered ‘1/1’, in 18-karat white, pink and yellow gold, as well as stainless steel, feature the in-house, self-winding caliber 2885. As stated by Audemars Piguet, the caliber combines “the three categories of horological complications represented by short-time measurement, striking mechanisms, and astronomical indications”, that was “hand-crafted by a single master watchmaker in the Audemars Piguet grande complication workshop”.  These Grandes Complications watches, freshly serviced by Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, are being sold to benefit The One Drop Foundation, a non-profit organization striving to provide access to safe water to all communities. Each is accompanied by the original dated warranty from the Audemars Piguet Boutique in New York City, the original wooden Audemars Piguet presentation box, custom-made, blue One Drop presentation box, and an Audemars Piguet Resonance Box in the form of a piano. These unique boxes were designed to amplify the sound of the minute repeater, and were crafted by Stéphane Lassueur a talented cabinet-maker and marquetry specialist.

     

    Audemars Piguet’s Grande Complications are true gems not only for their modern-day appeal and wearability, but also for the watchmaking legacy they uphold. These very rare timepieces are a unique opportunity to own wonderfully preserved examples of these iconic masterpieces by Audemars Piguet.

     

    Through One Drop’s founder Guy Laliberté and his passion for watches, a long-term relationship was born with Audemars Piguet which resulted in a meaningful collaboration.

     

    The Audemars Piguet Foundation has been a funder of a One Drop project in El Salvador from 2012 to 2014. Thanks to this collaboration, One Drop has been able to include eco-energetic stoves to significantly decrease the use of wood for the preparation of food and, therefore, preserve the forests in the region where One Drop implemented its water, sanitation and hygiene projects. Audemars Piguet has also donated exquisite watches to be auctioned off at One Drop’s flagship fundraising event, One Night for One Drop in Las Vegas. The amounts raised through these auctions enabled One Drop to improve the living conditions of thousands of people in Latin America, Africa and India.

    "You’re asking me what time it is? I’d say it’s time to act. Time heals all wounds if you don’t waste it. Remember this."
    —Guy Laliberté

     

     

  • The objectives supported by TIME COUNTS

     

    Tackling global water issues and improving the living conditions of some of the most vulnerable populations around the world.
    Tackling global water issues and improving the living conditions of some of the most vulnerable populations around the world.

    In the wake of COVID-19, there’s never been more pressure on the global community to address water issues. Handwashing being one of the most important behaviors to decrease the propagation of all kinds of viruses, it goes without saying that safe water needs to be accessible. Unfortunately, over 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water at home.

     

    All net proceeds from the TIME COUNTS charitable initiative will go to improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations around the world by providing sustainable access to safe water and encouraging the adoption of healthy hygiene behaviors.  

     

    TIME COUNTS will also enable One Drop and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to fund a large-scale program resulting from a joint call for proposals launched earlier this year by both foundations. Applicant organizations have submitted projects to improve resilience and ensure sustainable and equitable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for communities in need, with particular emphasis placed on issues affecting extremely poor and marginalized populations. The final selection will be announced in early 2021.

     

    Together, let’s make the world a more sustainable place for all.

     

    Phillips will remit to One Drop and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation the next proceeds from the Buyer’s premium.

  •  
  • One Drop and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation join forces for a vital cause.

     

    The One Drop Foundation

     

     

    One Drop is an international foundation created by Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté, with the vision of a better world where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. Its mission is to ensure sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for the most vulnerable communities through innovative partnerships, creativity and the power of art. Together with its partners, One Drop brings its unique Social Art for Behaviour Change™ approach to promote the adoption of healthy practices around water, sanitation and hygiene through locally inspired social art programs, empowering the communities to take ownership of the water projects over time. For this to be possible, One Drop creates novel fundraising initiatives supported by a visionary community of partners and donors. One Drop counts over 12 years of turning water into action with projects that will soon have transformed the lives of over 2.1 million people around the world.

     

    Onedrop.org

     

    Photo credit: Terry Hughes
    Photo credit: Terry Hughes
  • The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

     

      

    Inspired by his own observations and in the light of the alarming scientific evidence, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco made a personal commitment by launching, in 2006, his Foundation to act against the environmental dangers threatening our planet and making populations vulnerable. The Foundation focuses its efforts on three principal domains of action: climate change, biodiversity and water resources, and funds initiatives in the fields of research and studies, technological innovation and socially aware practices. In order to take action for the protection of nature, the Foundation supports projects in three main geographical regions: the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar Regions and the Least Developed Countries.


    www.fpa2.org

    • Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet
      Year: 2009
      Reference No: 26065OR.OO.D088CR.01
      Movement No: 714680
      Case No: No. 1, G25586
      Model Name: Royal Oak Grande Complication
      Material: 18K pink gold
      Calibre: Automatic, cal. 2885_SQ, 52 jewels
      Bracelet/Strap: Leather
      Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold Audemars Piguet deployant clasp
      Dimensions: 44mm Diameter
      Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed
      Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet Warranty stamped Audemars Piguet Boutique New York, New York, and dated August 11, 2009, Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch in 2009, blue One Drop Audemars Piguet presentation with automatic winder, wooden Audemars Piguet presentation box with automatic winder, box key, magnifying glass, leather envelop with product literature, Audemars Piguet Timepiece Life and Card, and outer packaging, and a signed letter by Guy Laliberté.

    • Artist Biography

      Audemars Piguet

      Swiss • 1881

      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.

      View More Works

Σ73

Lot offered with No Reserve

Ref. 26065OR.OO.D088CR.01
An extremely rare and impressive pink gold minute repeating perpetual calendar split-seconds chronograph skeletonized wristwatch with leap year and week indication, moon phase with Warranty, Extract, two presentation boxes, and “piano” resonance box, donated by Guy Laliberté, sold to support the missions of One Drop and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

2009
44mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$200,000 - 400,000 
CHF182,000-364,000
€169,000-338,000
HK$1,550,000-3,100,000

Sold for $504,000

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Head of Watches, Americas & International Strategy Advisor
Senior Vice President
+1 212 940 1293
pboutros@phillips.com

Racing Pulse

New York Auction 12 December 2020