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Audemars Piguet Millenary, 2013

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Audemars Piguet (maker)
Date
2013
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 47 mm
Stock no.
40990390
Credit line
Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990390)
Catalogue title (original)
Audemars Piguet Millenary (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40990390), this is a wristwatch by Audemars Piguet, made in Switzerland, dated 2013. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 47 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

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!

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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