Audemars Piguet 18ct c1948

Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet is a highly regarded watch manufacturer, best known for introducing the ‘Royal Oak’ wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand rise to prominence within the watchmaking industry. One of Audemars Piguet’s early achievements in 1892 was creating the world’s first minute-repeating movement for wristwatches. In addition, the company developed the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has manufactured some of the thinnest watches in the world, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch.

Description

Here we have an incredible Audemars Piguet 18ct yellow gold dress watch which is completely original, unrestored and untouched. The outstanding original white dial looks perfect against the square 18ct yellow gold case. This watch sits beautifully upon the wrist and is easily read in any light.

The Dial

This dial is the most iconic of vintage Audemars Piguet dial designs, which in essence carries through to this day. The white dial carries ‘Index’ hands with a mix of ‘2 – 4 – 6 – 8 – 10 – 12’ Standard Arabic numerals and applied ‘baton’ hour indices with the Audemars Piguet signature at the very top of the dial with ‘Geneve’ just below and ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom.

The dial catches the light beautifully, as we have tried to demonstrate in the photographs, however it looks even better face to face in real life. This dial is wonderfully balanced and we feel benefits from the addition of the subsidiary seconds dial just above 6.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The high grade, 18 Jewel hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition and has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our expert vintage watch specialist watchmaker.

The example here is running perfectly, having been calibrated to run consistently within plus or minus 13 seconds per day! This is truly outstanding for any mechanical watch ands been checked and confirmed on our electronic watch timegrapher.

The movement is signed Audemars Piguet, ‘Swiss’, ’Eighteen 18 Jewels’ and ‘Eight 8 Adjustments’ with the reference number 51566. This particular movement is in beautiful condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 to 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to continue to run very happily for another 50+ years! We are therefore totally confident in offering this watch with our 12 months written warranty*.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

Square cased vintage watches were rare during the 1940s and ’50s which makes these highly sought after today. The case is beautifully crafted with a wonderful straight lugs which makes the watch sit perfectly upon the wrist.

This Audemars Piguet watch is a wonderful size at 24mm across, excluding the correct unsigned crown, and 26mm from top to bottom. This was a typical size for the period, however, this is deceptive because as it measures 42mm across the diagonal including the wonderful straight lugs, this is actually quite a large-sized watch for this period.

The condition of the two-piece case is outstanding with no scratches, other marks, or signs of wear visible to the naked eye, indicating the watch has seen only light and careful use. It is as sturdy and tight as the day it was made, with its two halves pressing together with a very firm click.

Inside the case-back is all correctly signed and as expected with ‘Audemars Piguet’ and Swiss 18ct hallmarks while the exterior of the case back is signed with the serial number 51566.

Please note, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap & Buckle

A high quality brown leather strap has been fitted, along with a matching plain gold-plated buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock, in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish, here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to c1948.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

The high quality hardwood presentation box shown in the photographs is included.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.