
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Audemars Piguet Yellow Gold Dress Watch, c. 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Audemars Piguet (maker)
- Date
- c. 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 31.5 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991410
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991410)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Audemars Piguet Yellow Gold Dress Watch (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991410), this is a wristwatch by Audemars Piguet, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 31.5 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 slim and elegant piece couldn't be any further removed from the bulky brute of the Royal Oak Offshore line that the brand is perhaps most commonly known for amongst today's collectors. Hearkening back to a simpler time, it’s representative of an era in which the maison made so few timepieces per year that many were unique pieces, or part of incredibly limited series. This particular piece dates to circa the 1970s and features a 31.5mm 18k yellow gold case with an acrylic crystal, a very cool, 'woven' textured champagne dial with applied indices and a matching 'pencil' handset, and a beautiful, integrated yellow gold 'woven' bracelet with a signed clasp. Powered by a hand-wound movement, watches like these are an incredible testament to the amazing risks AP was taking in the designs of its mid-20th century dress pieces. But don’t take our word for it — check it out for yourself! *Due to the design of this bracelet, sizing alterations may require custom work. Lead time after measurements are established is 4-6 weeks.*
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
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.
Related records
Clocks · c. 1990s
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, c. 1990s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · c. 1960
Audemars Piguet ''couteau'', c. 1960
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · originally sold in November 1961 (per the lot record)
Audemars Piguet "extra Plate", ref. 5633 BA, originally sold in November 1961
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · c. 1980
Audemars Piguet pocket watch, c. 1980
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by Heno, Switzerland, 1970
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · 1960–1986
'Tri-Compax' calendar chronograph wristwatch in gold case, by Universal, Geneva, Switzerland, 1960–1986.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · 1969–1970
Beta 21 Quartz wristwatch movement, made in Switzerland, 1970.
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · c. 1969
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, ref. 145022-69st, c. 1969
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
