AUTOMATIC TOURBILLON MODEL, REF. 25643BA, CASE NO. 324, CIRCA 1990s

In vogue and desirable amongst a new wave of vintage watch collectors, the Audemars Piguet reference 25643BA is an extremely interesting and impressive timepiece as it was the world's first automatic tourbillon wristwatch.

First launched in 1986 in the middle of the 'quartz crisis', the storied Maison set precedent by not only investing in manufacturing the world's first automatic tourbillon, but also one of the smallest and lightest tourbillon movements ever made. It was the first tourbillon to have a titanium cage, and impressively measured only 5.5 mm. in thinness, utilizing the caseback as the baseplate of the movement which is visibly noticeable thanks to the six rubies. To aid in its thinness, the utilized caliber 2870 features a bumper rotor winding system which is playful as it can be seen moving back and forth at the 6 o'clock aperture. In line with this design, the tourbillon case is openwork at 11 o'clock with 'sunrays' beaming outwards from it on the champagne dial. This unusual and visually striking design was inspired by ancient Egyptian reliefs, as seen in original product literature pamphlets for this timepiece.