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Audemars Piguet Mini Ellipse

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£14,450

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Now available, a quite remarkable Audemars Piguet Mini Ellipse in yellow gold, preserved in exceptional near new-old-stock condition.

There is something particularly special about these tiny Audemars Piguet creations from the 1970s. At a time when the manufacture was producing some of its most elegant and unconventional designs, watches such as this blurred the line between fine watchmaking and jewellery. Its beautifully proportioned oval case is surrounded by a factory double-row diamond-set bezel, framing an extraordinary brown sunburst dial which transforms completely under different light, moving from a deep chocolate brown through to a much softer, almost golden tone. Diamond hour markers, the wonderfully delicate old-school Audemars Piguet signature and a simple “SWISS” at six complete an exceptionally charming dial.

Perhaps the star of the watch, however, is its extraordinary yellow gold bracelet. Constructed from multiple rows of tightly woven, herringbone-like gold links, it has an almost fabric-like quality, flowing from the case more like a piece of fine jewellery than a conventional watch bracelet. Remarkably, it remains completely uncut and unsized from new, requiring adjustment by a jeweller for its eventual owner. The watch itself appears equally untouched, with its caseback beautifully preserved and the hallmarks across both the case and clasp remaining exceptionally deep and crisp. Its B-series serial dates the watch to circa 1975. And hidden inside this tiny piece of 1970s jewellery is perhaps its most charming detail of all: a manually-wound mechanical Audemars Piguet movement. At this scale, and within a watch so overtly jewellery-led in its design, the decision to use a mechanical calibre makes it all the more special.

Beautifully preserved, mechanically interesting and almost impossibly elegant, this is exactly the sort of obscure vintage Audemars Piguet we love discovering. A true little time capsule from the mid-1970s, and undoubtedly one of the finest examples we could hope to find. The watch is available for viewing in London and purchase worldwide. Please get in touch for further information.