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 exquisitely finished dress watches.

The traditional Swiss watch industry was in disarray in the late 1970s and early 1980s as cheap Japanese quartz-powered watches flooded the market. Many manufacturers either had to close up shop or were forced to consolidate just to keep afloat. Right when the mechanical watch looked to have lost all relevance, Audemars Piguet released a skeletonized dress watch with an automatic movement and exquisite hand finishing.

The watch was an oddity with its missing dial and almost baroque-looking openworked movement, in this execution with beautiful blue hour markers and elegant Breguet hands. Very few examples of this reference 5442 were produced and barely any information is available online.

The 18k yellow gold case clocks in at a classic 33 mm and features an elegant thin bezel with matching thin straight lugs. The exquisitely hand engraved automatic movement—the same base caliber used in the original ref. 5402 Royal Oak—is visible through the front and back of the watch. 

This 5442BA is in great condition and is accompanied with the papers from a previous service. The watch comes on a black alligator leather Audemars Piguet strap and an 18K yellow gold Audemars Piguet buckle.