REF. 5516, MANUFACTURED IN 1957

Audemars Piguet’s mid-century vintage perpetual calendar wristwatches are legendary, with most now in either museum or private collections, they almost never appear at auction or on the open market. Made in only nine examples, three first series watches and six second series, reference 5516 is appreciated as one of the rarest and most important models ever made by Audemars Piguet, not to mention one of the most attractive. The present second series watch made in 1957, represents one of the most important innovations for the perpetual calendar wristwatch and one of the finest representations of traditional Vallée de Joux wristwatch manufacture. Naturally, as part of the remarkable ‘Oak Collection’ it is arguably in the finest condition of the six reference 5516 examples known to the market out of the nine made, and is without doubt one of the most beautiful and well-balanced wristwatches ever made.

Reference 5516 was in fact, the first serially produced perpetual calendar wristwatch with leap year indication to be developed by Audemars Piguet. Reference 5516 was produced in an extremely limited series of 9 pieces starting from 1955, all being sold between 1963 and 1969. The first three examples displayed the moon phases at 12 o’clock, and the leap year cycle, with the full indication of the 48 months at 6 o’clock. The last six specimens, realized from 1957 including the present watch, held the opposite design: moon phases at 6 and leap year indication at 12. Furthermore, most of these last pieces feature a much cleaner leap year subsidiary register, without the detailed indication of the month, resulting in much more refined aesthetic. Undeniably, this timepiece is a supremely attractive, balanced and legible watch: the three subsidiary dials and leap year indication are perfectly aligned with the four cardinal points of the dial, and the other date track is tangential to the subsidiary dials at 9, 12 and 3. The entirety of the scales and designations are engraved and hard enamelled, thus practically eternal. Furthermore, there is absolutely no sign of cosmetic intervention on the dial, which displays perfectly intact in all of its details, including commas and accents, which are so easily lost even with gentle washing.

The case is no less impressive than the dial: unpolished, it fully retains the satin finish to the sides of the lugs, extremely sharp edges, and absolutely untouched hallmarks. The diameter of 36.5mm is unusually generous for the period, and it has a remarkable presence on the wrist.

Reference 5516 is furthermore distinguished by the fact it is one of the last timepieces ever to be realized as part of the historical “établissage” system. Typical of 19th century watchmaking and gradually abandoned during the 20th century, this methodology consists in delegating the production of the watch components to a myriad of tiny and highly specialized companies, each with a specific niche: screws, dials, springs, case components, jewels and so on. This made sense in the early days of watchmaking with limited technology available and high precision standards of the components involved led to the rise of specialized companies, as it would be impossible for one manufacturer to achieve state of the art results in each and every component. Thus, the brand acted as an orchestra director, providing detailed specifications to the various suppliers and then assembling the pieces in house.

The nine examples of reference 5516 were indeed created with this system. The movement blanks were made by Valjoux; the underdial work was made by independent artisan Alfred Aubert; the screws, pallets, jewels, gears etc. by a multitude of specialized businesses located in Vallée de Joux, and the case maker for this masterpiece is, as denoted by the stamp to the case back, Eggly & Cie from Geneva Canton (case maker’s number 23, inscribed within a key).

The first series of the reference 5516 featured an aperture for the the moon phases at 12 o’clock and was produced in 1955 in three examples with movement serial numbers 66’135, 66’136 and 66’137. The present watch is part of the second series of the reference 5516, which featured an aperture for the moon phases at 6 o’clock and was produced in six examples in 1957 with movement serial numbers 73’011, 73’012, 73’013, 73’014, 73’015 and 73’016. Each watch has a hand-engraved dial filled with enamel and each is unique. The known examples are as follows:

73’011: In the collection of Audemars Piguet. It features a similar dial layout to 73’013, with some minor differences.

73’012: A private collection of vintage Audemars Piguet wristwatches along with the two known first series reference 5516 examples. It is notable for its display of months in the leap year indicator register.

73’013: Known from an Audemars Piguet archive photograph. Identifiable by the slightly lower location of “SUN” in the day of the week register and the smaller “0” to the left of the second register.

73’014 and 73’015: The location of both of these watches is unknown to the market. Based on ongoing research, it is believed that one is signed Cartier and the other has French abbreviations for days of the week.

73’016: The collection of Audemars Piguet. It notably has a Tiffany & Co. retailer signature on the dial.

With astounding rarity, historical importance, aesthetic appeal, ground-breaking movement, incredible condition and fascinating heritage production methodology, the present timepiece is certainly among the most important and remarkable wristwatches ever manufactured and offered at international auction.



Literature:
For more information on the reference 5516, see:
Audemars Piguet Calendar Wristwatches 1924-1993, p. 48.
Audemars Piguet Heritage Department. “Making the Leap: The Audemars Piguet Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch, 1950-1969”.