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Audemars Piguet Steel Dress Watch Ref. 5273 - 'Brushed' Blue Dial Unpolished

Sale price$10,450.00 USD

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 a very attractive stainless steel dress from circa the 1970s. Oj the surface, it is very simple. The round case measures 34mm in diameter with turned down lugs, a crown at 3 o'clock, and thats about it. Rotate it to a profile view, and it becomes apparent that this piece is incredible svelte considering it is automatic-winding. In fact it is powered by AP's Cal. 2120 — the very same movement used in the original 'Jumbo' Royal Oaks. Additionally, the dial is a gorgeous, very rare blue variant. The surface features a horizontally 'brushed' surface with minimal text, applied 'stick' indices, and a simple 'pencil' handset.

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.

Stainless Steel Circa 1970s Automatic 34mm SKU: OC3301

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"As collectors themselves, Oliver and Clarke are on a mission to make buying vintage watches as painless as possible."

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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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