Swiss gold and stainless steel octagonal lever watch Circa 1979

Gold and stainless steel lever watch by Audemars Piguet
–
A very rare and unusual Swiss 18 carat gold and stainless steel open faced octagonal lever pocket watch, Royal Oak, circa 1979. Rhodium-plated movement, 20 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and five positions, shock absorber, self compensating flat balance spring. Grey dial with applied gold baton indexes and gold dauphine hands. Polished and brushed case, the bezel is secured by eight hexagonal screws.
Dial signed, case and movement signed and numbered.
–
Diameter: 44 mm
–
Signed: Audemars Piguet Swiss
–
Audemars Piguet & Cie. Jules Louis Audemars, born on March 28th, 1851 and died on October 15th, 1918 and Edward Auguste Piguet born in 1853 and died in 1919 were two young and ambitious watchmakers who established their workshop in 1875 in their home village Le Brassus, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Audemars was in charge of production and technical aspects while Piguet focused on sales and management. Believing in the power of the Vallée de Joux’s network of artisanship and following their firm convictions, they set on crafting unique complicated mechanisms by hand at a time when serial production was looming with the rise of industrialisation. While the two entrepreneurs first produced complicated movements that were sold to Geneva based firms, they soon orchestrated the production of complete watches in the region by coordinating the activities of a variety of craftsmen, buying in blanks, cases, dials, bracelets and sending out pieces for gem-setting and decorating. The miniaturisation, design, assembly and setting of movements were then done at Audemars Piguet’s workbenches. The company ledgers demonstrate that nearly 80% of the 1600 watches produced by Audemars Piguet between 1882 and 1892 included at least one, if not several complications. Refined chiming, chronograph and astronomical watches, assembled and finished by hand, have remained the beating heart of Audemars Piguet ever since.