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Lot Essay
A truly sensational and epic landmark discovery, Christie's is proud to present this rarest of all Audemars Piguet’s vintage wrist-worn chronographs. Of immense historical significance, it is one of the first three wrist chronographs ever to be made by the company. A single-button or ‘monopusher’ chronograph, it is a remarkable find and brings to the open market for the first time ever, a chronograph with a degree of rarity equal to, if not greater, than Audemars Piguet's calendar or repeater watches of the same era. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only specimen of a first series ‘Coussin Tortue’ chronograph to appear in public since their manufacture almost 100 years ago. The modernist Art-Deco design of these early ‘monopusher’ chronographs is beautifully clean and minimalist, with the start, stop and return-to-zero functions of the chronograph all operated by pressing the winding crown.
In 1930, Audemars Piguet started the production of six movements for its first chronograph wristwatches using movement blanks manufactured by Le Coultre & Cie. The first three were cased in cushion form Art-Deco cases named ‘Coussin Tortue’ in the company’s archives. The first to be completed and sold in 1930 was cased in 18k white gold, the present chronograph is one of two platinum cased examples sold in 1935 and 1937 respectively. Delivered in 1937 to the retailer Veuve Louis Goering in La Chaux-de-Fonds and sold in 1943, the present timepiece is the last of the three known examples and the second in platinum. It is further distinguished by its unique dial, called model 183b in the company's archives, while its cushion-shaped case shares the general 'Coussin Tortue' form of the earlier examples but features a construction and geometry entirely its own.
Although three are recorded, only two, including the present timepiece, are known for certain to have survived. These first three chronographs were originally sold through two different retailers; Louis Goering of La Chaux-de-Fonds, such as the present timepiece, and Bittman of St. Moritz. The retail price at the time is recorded in the Audemars Piguet archives as being 280 Swiss Francs.
Like other complicated wristwatches produced by Audemars Piguet, the development of chronographs followed an initial experimental phase before gradual commercialisation. After the first sale in 1930, production expanded cautiously: in 1934, 14 chronograph wristwatches were delivered, followed by 39 over the subsequent four years. Notably, 1937 marked a record year for the manufacture, with 20 chronograph wristwatches delivered: 19 fitted with Valjoux 13-ligne calibres and only one, the present example, equipped with the calibre 11GCCV. At that time, Audemars Piguet employed just 14 people and produced slightly over 250 watches annually, underscoring the extremely limited scale of its production. These early models, including the present example, were fitted with a crown-integrated monopusher mechanism, representing the first generation of the manufacture’s chronograph wristwatches.
The present timepiece emits an almost contemporary design vibe, with a bold brushed platinum cushion case made by Wenger, one of the greatest of the Genevan casemakers, perfectly framing the stunning two-tone grey and white dial which is recorded in the archives as being made of gold. This chronograph was evidently intended for the US market, the movement balance bridge being engraved with the three-letter importer identification code 'BXP' to comply with US import regulations. Powering the watch is the calibre 11GCCV, one of the smallest chronograph movements ever commercialised by Audemars Piguet. The movement was regulated by Robert Piguet of Le Brassus, a key figure within the manufacture who worked there for 55 years, from 1914 to 1969.
The timepiece has furthermore been returned to the Audemars Piguet manufacture for a complete restoration, ensuring its preservation while maintaining its historical integrity.
Audemars Piguet’s earliest complicated wristwatches are legendary rarities. Until the 1980s, the maison made only very small numbers of complicated wristwatches which are today among the most desirable vintage wristwatches of all. From 1930, when the first six wrist chronograph movements were made, and the start of the 1980s, Audemars Piguet's total production of chronograph wristwatches astonishingly amounted to only 307 examples. The present timepiece is the rarest of the rare, the only ‘Coussin Tortue’ chronograph of the three ‘first series’ examples thought to have been made to appear at auction. The remaining three 11GCCV movements of the first batch of six were, according to the brand's archives, cased up in round '31 Eggly' cases, the term referring to 31 mm. diameter and the casemaker Eggly, designated as pre-model 978, and sold over a decade later, between 1946 and 1949.
Remarkably, the watch has remained within the same family for several decades. Associated with Rabbi Max Schenk, former President of the New York Board of Rabbis, the timepiece has been preserved with great care over the years. Born in 1905 in Berne, Switzerland, Schenk later emigrated to the United States, attended City College, and received his rabbinical degree in 1929, going on to enjoy a distinguished career spanning more than 45 years. Upon his passing in 1974, the watch was inherited by his son-in-law, Dr. Herbert Hechtman, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, who served as a surgical oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and as a full professor at Harvard Medical School. In 2024, the watch was passed on to the next generation, maintaining an uninterrupted line of family ownership.
For any collector of vintage wristwatches, this first series Audemars Piguet chronograph, the first of its kind ever to be available to the market, must be one of the ultimate prizes of all.
In 1930, Audemars Piguet started the production of six movements for its first chronograph wristwatches using movement blanks manufactured by Le Coultre & Cie. The first three were cased in cushion form Art-Deco cases named ‘Coussin Tortue’ in the company’s archives. The first to be completed and sold in 1930 was cased in 18k white gold, the present chronograph is one of two platinum cased examples sold in 1935 and 1937 respectively. Delivered in 1937 to the retailer Veuve Louis Goering in La Chaux-de-Fonds and sold in 1943, the present timepiece is the last of the three known examples and the second in platinum. It is further distinguished by its unique dial, called model 183b in the company's archives, while its cushion-shaped case shares the general 'Coussin Tortue' form of the earlier examples but features a construction and geometry entirely its own.
Although three are recorded, only two, including the present timepiece, are known for certain to have survived. These first three chronographs were originally sold through two different retailers; Louis Goering of La Chaux-de-Fonds, such as the present timepiece, and Bittman of St. Moritz. The retail price at the time is recorded in the Audemars Piguet archives as being 280 Swiss Francs.
Like other complicated wristwatches produced by Audemars Piguet, the development of chronographs followed an initial experimental phase before gradual commercialisation. After the first sale in 1930, production expanded cautiously: in 1934, 14 chronograph wristwatches were delivered, followed by 39 over the subsequent four years. Notably, 1937 marked a record year for the manufacture, with 20 chronograph wristwatches delivered: 19 fitted with Valjoux 13-ligne calibres and only one, the present example, equipped with the calibre 11GCCV. At that time, Audemars Piguet employed just 14 people and produced slightly over 250 watches annually, underscoring the extremely limited scale of its production. These early models, including the present example, were fitted with a crown-integrated monopusher mechanism, representing the first generation of the manufacture’s chronograph wristwatches.
The present timepiece emits an almost contemporary design vibe, with a bold brushed platinum cushion case made by Wenger, one of the greatest of the Genevan casemakers, perfectly framing the stunning two-tone grey and white dial which is recorded in the archives as being made of gold. This chronograph was evidently intended for the US market, the movement balance bridge being engraved with the three-letter importer identification code 'BXP' to comply with US import regulations. Powering the watch is the calibre 11GCCV, one of the smallest chronograph movements ever commercialised by Audemars Piguet. The movement was regulated by Robert Piguet of Le Brassus, a key figure within the manufacture who worked there for 55 years, from 1914 to 1969.
The timepiece has furthermore been returned to the Audemars Piguet manufacture for a complete restoration, ensuring its preservation while maintaining its historical integrity.
Audemars Piguet’s earliest complicated wristwatches are legendary rarities. Until the 1980s, the maison made only very small numbers of complicated wristwatches which are today among the most desirable vintage wristwatches of all. From 1930, when the first six wrist chronograph movements were made, and the start of the 1980s, Audemars Piguet's total production of chronograph wristwatches astonishingly amounted to only 307 examples. The present timepiece is the rarest of the rare, the only ‘Coussin Tortue’ chronograph of the three ‘first series’ examples thought to have been made to appear at auction. The remaining three 11GCCV movements of the first batch of six were, according to the brand's archives, cased up in round '31 Eggly' cases, the term referring to 31 mm. diameter and the casemaker Eggly, designated as pre-model 978, and sold over a decade later, between 1946 and 1949.
Remarkably, the watch has remained within the same family for several decades. Associated with Rabbi Max Schenk, former President of the New York Board of Rabbis, the timepiece has been preserved with great care over the years. Born in 1905 in Berne, Switzerland, Schenk later emigrated to the United States, attended City College, and received his rabbinical degree in 1929, going on to enjoy a distinguished career spanning more than 45 years. Upon his passing in 1974, the watch was inherited by his son-in-law, Dr. Herbert Hechtman, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, who served as a surgical oncologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and as a full professor at Harvard Medical School. In 2024, the watch was passed on to the next generation, maintaining an uninterrupted line of family ownership.
For any collector of vintage wristwatches, this first series Audemars Piguet chronograph, the first of its kind ever to be available to the market, must be one of the ultimate prizes of all.