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Lot Essay
This resplendent platinum openworked automatic tourbillon, lavishly set with diamonds throughout, is one of the most luxurious and exotic complicated wristwatches ever made by Audemars Piguet. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only example of its kind to be offered so far at auction.
The superb heavy platinum case has a full diamond set bezel and teardrop lugs, the sapphire crystal back is engraved ‘Tourbillon No. 2’ on the border where the hand-setting crown is also situated. The AP bracelet is equally impressive, each link set with diamonds. The dial is made from transparent crystal with chapter rings for the hours and minutes, date and power reserve, the tourbillon with its distinctively shaped titanium carriage taking centre stage in the lower half of the dial. A horological masterwork, the calibre 2875 movement is quite simply spectacular and unquestionably one of the finest openworked complicated wristwatch movements created by Audemars Piguet. Brilliantly pierced and fully engraved by hand, the backplate incorporates the initials ‘AP’, every plate and bridge is beautifully hand worked. A fascinating aspect of the present movement is that the automatic winding is not effected by a rotor but the mechanism known as a ‘hammer’, mostly found in early automatic timepieces but adopted by Audemars Piguet for their automatic tourbillon watches. Made of a heavy iridium-platinum alloy, the ‘hammer’ swings from left to right winding the mainspring with each alternate action.
The superb heavy platinum case has a full diamond set bezel and teardrop lugs, the sapphire crystal back is engraved ‘Tourbillon No. 2’ on the border where the hand-setting crown is also situated. The AP bracelet is equally impressive, each link set with diamonds. The dial is made from transparent crystal with chapter rings for the hours and minutes, date and power reserve, the tourbillon with its distinctively shaped titanium carriage taking centre stage in the lower half of the dial. A horological masterwork, the calibre 2875 movement is quite simply spectacular and unquestionably one of the finest openworked complicated wristwatch movements created by Audemars Piguet. Brilliantly pierced and fully engraved by hand, the backplate incorporates the initials ‘AP’, every plate and bridge is beautifully hand worked. A fascinating aspect of the present movement is that the automatic winding is not effected by a rotor but the mechanism known as a ‘hammer’, mostly found in early automatic timepieces but adopted by Audemars Piguet for their automatic tourbillon watches. Made of a heavy iridium-platinum alloy, the ‘hammer’ swings from left to right winding the mainspring with each alternate action.