The present Audemars Piguet reference 5442 is a masterpiece of meticulous craftsmanship emblematic of the past era. Produced at the beginning of the Swiss quartz crisis, the watch is fitted with an exquisitely hand-engraved movement exemplary of the early timepieces with openworking. During the winter of 1972, the watchmakers at the Le Brassus workshops set about to developing the first openworked model for the brand, and the first reference 5442 was successfully delivered one year later in November 1973. Since it took an artisan 150 hours to complete an openworked calibre 2120, it took three years to deliver the first 100 watches. An average of 30 watches were produced annually until 1976, and the present timepiece bearing movement number 136’063 belongs to the first batch of 100 openworked movement created for calibre 2120.

As post-war watchmaking was characterized by the production of ultra-thin selfwinding movements, the legendary calibre 2120 fitted into the present timepiece was introduced in 1967, and measures a mere thickness of 2.45 mm. It was rooted from a collaboration between Audemars Piguet, LeCoultre & Cie and Vacheron Constantin, and ultimately becoming the calibre powering the first Royal Oak wristwatches in 1972. The present timepiece is further engraved with an enigmatic Khanjar crest on the skeletonized rotor, indicating that it was made for the Sultanate of Oman.

Preserved in excellent condition, and delivered with Audemars Piguet Extract from the Archives confirming its register date on 9th September 1975, this extraordinary watch is a dream for the most passionate Audemars Piguet collectors, and it would make a splendid addition to any collector's ensemble.