Audemars Piguet Huitième Chronograph

We bet you've never seen one of these before.

And if you haven't, you're in excellent company. The Audemars Piguet Huitième Chronograph remains one of the most overlooked—and fascinating—chapters in the history of one of watchmaking's most revered manufactures.

Introduced in the early 1990s, the Huitième collection represented Audemars Piguet's vision of contemporary luxury watchmaking before oversized Royal Oaks dominated the conversation. Named after the French term for an eighth of a millimeter—a reference to the remarkable precision required in traditional watchmaking—the collection showcased AP's ability to blend complicated mechanics with modern industrial design. Today, it occupies a unique space in the brand's history: neo-vintage, technically sophisticated, and refreshingly different from anything else in the catalog.

This particular Huitième Chronograph is especially unusual. Housed in a substantial 40mm case crafted from tantalum and accented with pink gold, it showcases a material combination that Audemars Piguet helped pioneer during the era. Dense, difficult to machine, and possessing a distinctive blue-grey hue, tantalum creates a striking contrast against the warmth of pink gold, giving the watch an appearance that feels both technical and luxurious.

The grey dial features a classic triple-register chronograph layout, complete with an outer tachymeter scale, date display, and matching pink gold handset. The stepped bezel, integrated date magnifier, and bold proportions are unmistakably products of the 1990s—a decade that collectors have increasingly come to appreciate for its willingness to experiment.

Powering the watch is Audemars Piguet's automatic Caliber 2121-based chronograph movement, pairing the legendary ultra-thin Jaeger-LeCoultre-derived base caliber with a Dubois Dépraz chronograph module. The result is a movement architecture found in some of the most respected complicated watches of the era and a reminder of the close historical ties between AP and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Fitted to a strap and ready for its next chapter, the Huitième offers something increasingly difficult to find: an Audemars Piguet that flies beneath the radar.

For collectors who already have the usual suspects—or simply appreciate the forgotten corners of great watchmaking—this tantalum-and-pink-gold chronograph may be one of AP's best-kept secrets.

There are certain watches that define a brand, informing its design ethos and becoming nothing short of iconic in the minds of collectors. For Audemars Piguet, that watch is the Royal Oak, in all its multitudinous incarnations. Yet the manufacture from Le Brassus did not earn its seat in the triumvirate of leading watch brands — the so-called Big Three — on the success of the Royal Oak alone.

In fact, both Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet came from long lines of watchmakers, and made their reputations long before the Royal Oak was conceived. Their reputations rested on their ability to create incredibly elegant timepieces in numerous styles. While some of these timepieces were simple, elegant dress watches, others were one-off or short-series pieces produced at the rate of a handful per year. (Some years, Audemars Piguet only produced a few hundred watches in total.) Calendar watches, chronographs, minute repeaters — all the delights of haute horlogerie were part and parcel of the AP oeuvre long before the Royal Oak made its debut in 1972.

Technical innovations from AP abound and include the first minute-repeating movement, the first skeleton watch and an ultra-thin automatic tourbillon. Newer collections, such as the Code 11.59 from 2019, see the maison continue to develop new and exciting watches and calibers, the likes of which aren’t based upon tired horological tropes from models past. (Though if vintage reissues are your bag, AP does have a special “Remaster” line — currently consisting of just one model — that reimagines some of its classical, complicated pieces from the mid-20th century.)

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Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a two-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.