Now’s the Time to Celebrate Vintage Audemars Piguet Watches

Now’s the Time to Celebrate Vintage Audemars Piguet Watches

| 02.05.25

A century and a half ago, watchmakers Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet joined forces in the Vallée de Joux. Little did the two know that their small enterprise would rise to become one of the most celebrated companies in the horological landscape. Now, as the family-owned firm celebrates its 150th anniversary, we're taking the time to look back upon its history and dive deeper into some of its best models and references. 

A Brief History of Audemars Piguet

Jules Louis Audemars & Edward Auguste Piguet - (Image by Fratello)

In 1875, Jura Valley-based watchmakers Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet — then in their early 20s — entered into a partnership. Audemars, who trained in watchmaking with his father, was the consummate horological specialist, while Piguet brought his business acumen to the fold and helped establish the fledgling duo’s distribution network. In 1881, they incorporated their business as Audemars Piguet & Cie, basing themselves in Le Brassus where the firm would remain until today. 

The world's first minute-repeat wristwatch, manufactured by Audemars Piguet - (Image by SwissWatches Magazine)

The early AP years were marked by innovations in complicated watchmaking: In 1882, it completed work on the first minute-repeating wristwatch movement, which was originally fitted to a ladies’ pendant and later recased. These were the years well before serial production took hold — indeed, Audemars Piguet remained a relatively small and streamlined operation much longer than many of its fellow Swiss watchmakers, manufacturing just 307 chronographs between 1930 and 1962 and only 550 complicated wristwatches between 1892 and the early 1970s. (Many of the watches produced before the 1950s didn’t even feature reference numbers.) It also experimented liberally with shaped cases, designing numerous rectangular and lug-less designs well into the mid-20th century.

Many of these beautiful vintage Audemars Piguet wristwatches were the result of then-common collaboration between different businesses within the Swiss horological world — casemakers, dial makers, movement makers, and more. Such collaboration does much to explain certain of the maison’s designs that bear striking resemblance to others from fellow houses, but there are also vintage midcentury A.P. timepieces whose unique character and rarity has made them auction darlings in the early 21st century. 

Gérald Genta's sketch for the Royal Oak- (Image by Gerald Genta Heritage)

In the 1970s, of course, the brand’s fortunes changed when managing director Georges Golay engaged the services of watch designer Gérald Genta to design “a steel sports watch that has never been done before.” The Royal Oak, which debuted in 1972, became the first “luxury sports watch” — one whose high-end automatic movement, integrated bracelet, and signature looks would command outrageous prices. (As in, several times the price of a contemporary stainless steel Rolex Submariner, and more expensive than a contemporary gold Patek Philippe Calatrava-type dress watch.) Genta would go on to design other shaped watches for the brand including the Cobra ref. 5403. 

The 1970s and 1980s, of course, saw the onset of the Quartz Crisis — a time when many watchmaking concerns went out of business due to competition from cheap battery-powered watches. The looming 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak in 1992, however, presented an opportunity to inject some fresh interest into the collection. Audemars Piguet chairman Stephen Urquhart tasked young watch designer Emmanuel Gueit to come up with a watch that “young men would want to wear.” The initial sketches, presented to Urquhart in 1989, would become the Royal Oak Offshore — a 42mm wide x 16mm tall behemoth that still features prominently in the brand’s catalog today. 

A Royal Oak Offshore that echoes the reference made for Arnold Schwarzenegger's End of Days in 1999. - (Image by Supercar Blondie)

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, actors (and later musicians) such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jay-Z had taken an interest in the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore lines, forming significant collections and name-dropping the watches on songs. Then-CEO François-Henry Bennahmias focused on expanding the A.P. oeuvre beyond just the Royal Oak, however, launching the Code 11.59 collection in 2019 and opening the door to fresh design language. With the 150th anniversary of the brand upon us, it’s safe to say that Audemars Piguet is now one of the best-known and most prestigious watchmakers in the world, with ties to music, cinema, athletics, and more helping to ingrain itself further into the zeitgeist than perhaps any marque save Rolex or Patek Philippe.

Vintage Audemars Piguet at Analog:Shift

Perhaps given the lack of reference numbers — and, frankly, the enormous focus on Royal Oak from both the brand and collectors — there’s relatively little thorough scholarship or interest regarding vintage A.P. watches on the web. This isn’t to say that there’s little to be excited about — quite the opposite, actually. But whereas, say, 34mm Rolex has been paid plenty of attention over the past 10-15 years, AP’s output between roughly 1900 and 1972 is significantly less well codified. At Analog:Shift, we carry a wide variety of vintage and pre-owned AP, mostly focusing on pieces from the 1960s through today but including the occasional pre-reference number watch as well. If there’s something in particular that you’re searching for, feel free to reach out to us so we can help you source it. 

Below are some excellent vintage and pre-owned A.P. watches from our current inventory. Be sure to check back frequently to peruse our latest additions — and a very Happy 150th Anniversary to Audemars Piguet!

Audemars Piguet Cobra ($13,850)

Audemars Piguet Cobra - IN THE SHOP

A Gérald Genta design, the Cobra followed the famed Royal Oak ref. 5402. Featuring a 27mm white gold case with a matching woven bracelet, this svelte automatic watch with a black dial and diamond indices is the perfect cocktail dress accessory. 

Audemars Piguet 'Jumbo' Two-Register Chronograph ($104,770)

Audemars Piguet 'Jumbo' Two-Register Chronograph - IN THE SHOP

This ultra-rare oversized ref. 5520 dual-register chronograph from the 1940s is one of just a handful of known examples. Originally cased in steel and re-cased by the brand in rose gold in 1954, it features a beautiful silvered dial with a base-1,000 tachymeter scale.  

Audemars Piguet Disco Volante Dress Watch 'Gübelin' ($23,850)

Audemars Piguet Disco Volamte Dress Watch 'Gübelin' - IN THE SHOP

This striking piece’s “flying saucer” shape — with its lugless white gold case and wide ‘hobnail’ bezel — is complemented by a rare, double-signed dial indicating sale at Gübelin, the famed Swiss retailer. Hand-wound and paired to a matching, woven bracelet, it’s a remarkable design.

Audemars Piguet Millenary Philosophique ($25,850)

Audemars Piguet Millenary Philpsophique - IN THE SHOP

This Millenary represents one of A.P.’s rare modern ventures outside the Royal Oak family. Housed in an oblong white gold case with a unique hammered bezel and lug tops, its beautiful, deep-blue scalloped dial is interrupted by just a single hand that slowly revolves twice per day.

Audemars Piguet Ellipse 'Jumbo' ($12,050)

Audemars Piguet Ellipse 'Jumbo' - IN THE SHOP

Dating to the 1970s, this thin, 35mm yellow gold dress watch ref. 5419 is an elegant antidote to something like the beefy Royal Oak Offshore. With its matching champagne-colored dial, black painted ‘Roman’ indices, and black leather strap, it’s perfect for a night out on the town.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' ($49,850)

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' - IN THE SHOP

This two-tone Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ ref. 5402SA is among the more handsome steel-and-gold models from the 1980s. Equipped with a grey micro-tapisserie dial with applied tritium baton indices and a matching handset, it’s powered by the Calibre 2120 automatic-winding movement.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'End of Days' ($30,850)

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'End of Days' - IN THE SHOP

Worn by Arnold Schwarzenneger in the 1999 apocalyptic film End of Days, this black PVD Royal Oak Offshore has since taken on cult status. Measuring a beefy 42mm in stainless steel, it comes paired to a fabric strap and features a triple-register chronograph with date.