The skeletonized ref. 25668 is one of the most beautiful iterations of Audemars Piguet’s pioneering line of automatic perpetual calendar wristwatches.

When Audemars Piguet introduced this line in 1978 it had the unique distinction of being the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar with an automatic movement; quite a feat for such a complicated mechanical function. At 36 mm and with a thickness of just 7.5 mm, these watches were the epitome of luxurious elegance. The perpetual calendars were released in different precious metals and with various dial options. The ref. 25568 was the most extravagant of the bunch.

The 25568 featured see-through dials that showcased Audemars Piguet’s mechanical mastery and provided a unique visual appeal. Only 205 pieces of this reference were ever produced, with just 94 examples in yellow gold.

This 25668BA features an 18k yellow gold case with an elegant stepped bezel, short downturned lugs, and raised 18k yellow-gold corrector buttons at the 4, 8, and 10 o ‘clock positions on the case band to adjust the calendar mechanism.

The unique skeleton dial is constructed from transparent sapphire crystal and features beautiful champagne colored rings at the 3, 9, and 12 o’clock positions to display the day, month, and date, as well as a lovely moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock.

The dial and the sapphire display case back give an unobstructed view of the unique openworked automatic movement. This movement was based on Jaeger Lecoultre’s legendary ultra-thin caliber 920 base movement, and was also used, among others, in Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, Vacheron Constantin’s 222. For the perpetual calendar line, Audemars Piguet reworked the base caliber to include a perpetual calendar complication. For the ref. 25668, Audemars Piguet went even further by hand engraving as well elaborately openworking the movement as well as the 21k yellow gold rotor.

This exquisite 25668BA dates back to 1993 and has just returned from a full service at our trusted Audemars Piguet service center. The watch comes as a full set with the original box and open papers. We’ve paired the watch with a chocolate brown alligator leather Audemars Piguet strap and an 18K yellow gold ardillon buckle.