Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Skeleton, 25668BA, Yellow Gold

Name: Quantième Perpétuel Skeleton | 25668BA | Yellow Gold
Brand: Audemars Piguet
SKU: WYG_A1513
Price: 55000.00 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

A skilful variation of the original Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel, this yellow gold reference 25668BA makes every effort to display the artistry and skill required for this openworked piece. From a glimpse into the complicated inner workings to the intricately hand-engraved movement, the watch is a visual feast for the wearer. It is believed that only 205 examples of this reference were produced, with 94 in yellow gold.

Worth Reading

A descendant of the reference 5548, this reference 25668 was created nearly a decade later, and retains the typical layout as originally penned by Jacqueline Dimier in 1977. The perpetual calendar indications are laid out in an intuitive manner: the date and day are shown at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively, with the months displayed at 12 o’clock. A moonphase indication is placed at 6 o’clock, with graduations for the moonphase just above.

A combination of a yellow gold case with similarly coloured sub-dials leans toward the traditional, while also functioning to make the piece aesthetically coherent, allowing the wearer to appreciate the openworked aspects of the dial without too many distracting elements. The watch also features heat-blued hands for the sub-dials and hands in yellow gold for the hour and minute hands. Supposedly only 205 pieces were ever made across the reference, with 94 in yellow gold. The reference 25668 was produced between the years of 1988 and 1993, and very few have been seen on the market. At 36mm, the watch is a delightful neo-vintage example that represents the exploratory spirit of the era in which it was created.

The reference 25668OR is powered by the automatic calibre 2120, an ultra-thin movement which was derived from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s legendary ultra-thin JLC 920 movement. The Caliber 2120 was an initial project of Jaeger LeCoultre in 1967, funded and contributed by Audemars Piguet, and famous for its adoption by Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. The movement can be viewed through the sapphire caseback, which displays hand-engraved patterns, in addition to beautiful finishing.

If sold within the United Kingdom, this Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Skeleton will be subject to 20% VAT

Specifications

Closer look

Brand:	Audemars Piguet
Model:	Quantième Perpétuel Skeleton ref. 25668BA
Movement:	automatic calibre 2120
Functions:	perpetual calendar (month, date, day, moonphase), hours, minutes
Features:	skeletonised rotor, skeletonised dial and movement, blue steel hands
Case material:	yellow gold
Case diameter:	36mm
Crystal:	sapphire front & back
Strap:	bespoke black saffiano curved strap from our own collection, Audemars Piguet yellow gold pin buckle
Lug Width:	20 x 16mm
Year:	c. 1990's
Box & papers:	-

Condition

This Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Skeleton is in excellent condition. Though the case reveals light superficial marks throughout, there are no visible deeper imperfections. It retains the original profile and finishing styles, whilst the hallmarks and engravings are crisp and very well defined. There are some light scratches present where the vertical brushing on the sides of the lugs meets the horizontal brushing on the mid case. The area surrounding the correctors for the perpetual calendar and areas of the engravings show light signs of oxidation. The correctors for the perpetual calendar functions also all slightly protrude from the case.

The dial and hands are equally well preserved, with no signs of imperfection under magnification. Likewise, with the movement, which is in excellent condition. All of the perpetual calendar functions working as they should.

Warranty

The watch comes with a two-year warranty from A Collected Man, alongside a lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

ORIGINS OF THE QUANTIÈME PERPÉTUEL

In the late 1970s, complicated wristwatches were exceedingly rare. The Quartz Crisis had decimated the watchmaking industry, with the number of watchmakers in Switzerland having dropped from 1,600 to 600. Against all odds, three watchmakers at Audemars Piguet decided to develop the world’s thinnest automatic perpetual calendar movement. The project was carried out in secret, with the manufacture’s upper management completely unaware of what was going on. The watchmakers worked in their free time, often meeting at night to discuss their work.

In 1977, they surprised Georges Golay, the CEO of Audemars Piguet at the time, with the finished calibre. A risk taker who’d already released the Royal Oak a few years prior, Golay was confident that the manufacture could successfully commercialise the automatic perpetual calendar. When it was launched in 1978, the Quantième Perpetuel was the world’s thinnest automatic perpetual calendar. To put things in perspective, in 1984, only 1,066 perpetual calendars were produced in Switzerland. Of those, Audemars Piguet made 675.