This Audemars Piguet 25548 proves that it is still possible to get into ultra-high end watchmaking at a relatively affordable price.

When we think of Audemars Piguet nowadays, the first thing we think about is the Royal Oak. But that obscures AP’s distinguished history of producing beautifully finished and highly complicated watches.

Audemars Piguet’s introduction of the ‘Quantième Perpétuel Automatique’ line of ultra-thin perpetual calendar wristwatches with an automatic movement in 1978 has been one the most significant innovations in watchmaking in the last 50 years.

This ref. 25548 is executed in a slim 18K yellow case, measuring a classic 36 mm. The case features a lovely stepped bezel, elegant downturned lugs, and a small crown. Only 2,066 pieces of this reference were produced in yellow gold between 1984 and 1991.

The ref. 25548 was made with a number of different dials. This execution features a rare white dial with elegant painted Roman numerals instead of the usual stick indices.

The ‘Quantième Perpétuel line is powered by Audemars Piguet’s caliber 2120/2800 automatic movement, which is derived from Jaeger Lecoultre’s legendary ultra-thin caliber 920 base movement. This base movement was of course used, among others, in AP’s Royal Oak, Patek’s Nautilus, and Vacheron Constantin’s 222. For the QP line, Audemars Piguet reworked the 920 to include a perpetual calendar complication as well as a 21K yellow gold rotor.

This 25548 dates back to 1985 and is in great condition. The watch comes on a black alligator leather Audemars Piguet strap and an extract of the Audemars Piguet archives.