Audemars Piguet 'Hinged-Lug' Dress Watch - Satin Silver Dial W/ Box
The year 1972 was the advent of what is undeniably Audemars Piguet's most famous, significant, and yes, iconic line of watches, the Royal Oak. It was also the year that the 'high-end dress watch' would forever change. Prior to 1972, ultra-thin and design-focused precious metal watches represented the pinnacle of the genre, not what appears to be an industrial-styled stainless steel sports watch with a bracelet.
While the brand never stopped producing traditional dress watches, per-se, production of their new golden goose would dominate the rest of the lineup. So, watches like the svelte and, frankly, stunning yellow gold dress watch that we have here offer offer not just a ton of value next to their iconic siblings, but were produced in relatively limited quantities.
The piece that we have here is one of those pre-Royal Oak era watches: a rare yellow gold 'Tank'-style dress watch dating to circa the 1950s.
Noticeable even at a glance, the lugs hint at their fully-articulating nature, with fine spacing between them and the case itself. When turned to profile view, the articulating nature of the lugs becomes apparent, as well as the intricate, sculpted finishing that they possess throughout. The bezel has a high-polish finish, framing the satin silver dial within. The dial itself shows honest signs of aging, with applied yellow gold 'dart' and 'Arabic' indices, a subsidiary seconds register on the lower half, and a yellow gold 'pencil' handset typing it all together. It is powered by a manual-winding movement by AP.
Last but not least, this piece is accompanied by its box and comes fitted with a 'Saffiano'-textured brown leather strap with its original yellow gold signed buckle.
This then, is a representation of a bygone era not just for Audemars Piguet, but for what a high-end dress watch used to be. Only in the last few years have collectors and enthusiasts alike started to pay a bit more attention to pieces like these and, we think, its long overdue.
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From Rolex & Patek Philippe, to Cartier & Audemars Piguet. As collectors first, we love the small details that separate the Submariner from Daytona and Calatrava from Royal Oak. This is why you'll find our curated assortment spans decades of generations of models and brands. We believe that watches don't just tell time, they tell history - and life is too short to wear a boring watch.
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