Pre-Owned Audemars Piguet Millenary 40990390/AS05806

Why We Love It

This exquisite ovular stainless steel dress piece couldn't be any further removed from the bulky brute of the Royal Oak Offshore line, or even the standard Royal Oak that Audemars Piguet is perhaps most commonly known for amongst today's collectors. And that's why we love it!

Once upon a time, the manufacture from Le Brassus was known for creating truly superlative luxury timepieces with an emphasis on beauty over brawn. Pieces such as this Reference 1530ST prove that AP can still deliver these avant garde novelties!

Featuring an oversized, oval-shaped case crafted in stainless steel, this Millenary measures 47mm by 42mm with a thin profile and softly rounded edges. With its offset, black and anthracite dial with applied, ping gold Roman numerals and hands, it has a flair that can’t help but turn heads. But timekeeping doesn’t even take center-stage: The Audemars Piguet Calibre 4101 has been integrated into the case reversed, such that components typically hidden behind the dial are here on full display.

Paired with a sapphire crystal, signed crown and a black leather alligator-pattern strap with signed stainless steel deployant clasp, this ref. 1530ST would be enough of a statement piece on its own to get collector’s hearts racing. But that’s not all, folks — it also comes with its inner and outer boxes and papers from Wempe in New York, dated to 2013.

Artistic watches such as this one are fun and wonderful timepieces, and there's no telling if and when one of these in any condition will surface again — so don't wait!

The Audemars Piguet Story

There are certain watches that define a brand, informing its design ethos and becoming nothing short of iconic in the minds of collectors.

For Audemars Piguet, that watch is the Royal Oak—in all its multitudinous incarnations. Yet the manufacture from Le Brassus did not earn its seat in the triumvirate of leading watch brands—the so-called Big Three—on the success of the Royal Oak alone.

In fact, both Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet came from long lines of watchmakers, and made their reputations long before the Royal Oak was conceived. Their reputations rested on their ability to create incredibly elegant timepieces in numerous styles.

Though they may not have had catchy names like the Royal Oak, or boasted complicated movements like the present-day Jules Audemars collection, their vintage dress watches nevertheless captures the attention to detail that Audemars Piguet has come to be known for.