Audemars Piguet - The New York Watch Auction: SIX New York Saturday, June 11, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Audemars Piguet
    Year: Circa 1995
    Reference No: 25636PT
    Movement No: 405’568
    Case No: No. 080, D63’116
    Model Name: Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 2120/4, 38 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Platinum Audemars Piguet bracelet, max length 195mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Audemars Piguet deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed.
    Accessories: Accompanied by Audemars Piguet Extract from the Archives.

  • Catalogue Essay

    First launched in 1972, the Royal Oak was the world’s first stainless steel luxury sports watch with a fully integrated bracelet. Designed overnight in response to an urgent request for an ‘unprecedented steel watch’, it was at the time the most expensive stainless steel watch ever made. Today the Royal Oak is a legend, accounting for over 70% of Audemars Piguet’s sales. The brand sought famed designer Gerald Genta, who overnight designed a brilliantly conceived, monobloc case with a distinctively maritime feel, featuring an octagonal bezel secured by eight hexagonal, white gold screws.

    The model became an icon and fan favorite for its rugged, masculine, and sporty aesthetic, and since its introduction, Audemars Piguet has produced many iterations of its original Royal Oak, experimenting with different case sizes, materials, and dial treatments. In 1984, 12 years following its original release, Audemars Piguet released their first perpetual calendar Royal Oak Model.

    The brand would soon introduce a new design aesthetic, offering the Royal Oak perpetual with skeletonized dials and movements, which were virtually non-existent on wristwatches in the 1980s. These fully skeletonized watches allowed for a breathtaking view of the movement from both the front and back. They exemplified the very best of Swiss watchmaking, where non-essential metal from all of the movement’s plates and bridges were removed, and all remaining “skeletal” parts were hand engraved and finished.

    The present watch is part of a rare series of reference 25636 skeletonized perpetual calendar models sold by Audemars Piguet from 1986 through 1996. One of only 41 examples made in platinum, the reference 25636 was the last generation of skeletonized perpetual calendar models offered without a dedicated leap-year indicator, which would later be introduced on all subsequent Royal Oak perpetual calendar models by the mid-1990s. Consequently, these earlier generation, non-leap year models are highly appreciated by connoisseurs for the simple elegance of their less complicated dials. With an early D serial number, it’s an early variant with midnight blue sub dials and Mk 2 signature at 6 o’clock featuring a larger “A” and “P” used through the present day.

    Fresh-to-market and preserved in remarkable, hardly worn condition, this impressive skeletonized Royal Oak perpetual calendar in platinum is a superb mix of an iconic design with the craftsmanship of a beloved complication.

    PROPERTY OF THE FAMILY OF THE ORIGINAL OWNER

  • 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.

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Ref. 25636PT
An early, rare, and very attractive platinum perpetual calendar skeletonized wristwatch with moonphase and bracelet

Circa 1995
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed.

Estimate
$120,000 - 240,000 
CHF119,000-239,000
€115,000-230,000
HK$942,000-1,880,000
S$167,000-335,000

Sold for $333,900

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros

Head of Watches, Americas

+1 (212) 940-1293

WatchesNY@Phillips.com

 

Isabella Proia

Head of Sale, New York

+1 (212) 940 1285

iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: SIX

New York Auction 11-12 June 2022