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Lot Essay
It is with great pleasure that we present this pink gold Royal Oak Grande Complication reference 25880OR, one of the most impressive and complicated wristwatches ever created by AP. Offering an incredible number of complications including perpetual calendar with leap-year indication, moon phase, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, and the number of the week in the year, it is housed in a 44 mm. diameter case with transparent back to admire the outstanding finish and complexity of the legendary automatic caliber 2885 movement. The ensemble is completed with the matching 18k rose gold bracelet featuring a rose gold folding clasp. Made in exceedingly small numbers, only about eight Grande Complication wristwatches are produced per year across all collections. The present watch, registered in 2011, can be considered one of the most impressive contemporary achievements in watchmaking and an ultimate prize for the collector. To the best of our knowledge, tis is the first example of this exceptional model to be offered at international auction.
Grande Complication watches rank among the most extraordinary achievements in horological history. The prestigious ‘Grande Complication’ designation is bestowed upon a watch that possesses at least three complications from one of the three major types of complication: perpetual calendar; striking or repeating; and chronograph. Audemars Piguet included these complications and several more when the magnificent self-winding caliber 2885 was created in 1993. The first watch fitted with the caliber was presented in 1996.
This Grande Complication impresses with no less than 11 complications in addition to the essential timekeeping functions such as hours, minutes and seconds which are not considered complications:
1. The perpetual calendar
2. The days of the week
3. The months
4. The days of the month
5. The leap-year indication
6. The chronograph
7. The 30-minute register
8. The split seconds
9. The minute repeating
10. The phases of the moon
11. The number of the week
Grande Complication watches rank among the most extraordinary achievements in horological history. The prestigious ‘Grande Complication’ designation is bestowed upon a watch that possesses at least three complications from one of the three major types of complication: perpetual calendar; striking or repeating; and chronograph. Audemars Piguet included these complications and several more when the magnificent self-winding caliber 2885 was created in 1993. The first watch fitted with the caliber was presented in 1996.
This Grande Complication impresses with no less than 11 complications in addition to the essential timekeeping functions such as hours, minutes and seconds which are not considered complications:
1. The perpetual calendar
2. The days of the week
3. The months
4. The days of the month
5. The leap-year indication
6. The chronograph
7. The 30-minute register
8. The split seconds
9. The minute repeating
10. The phases of the moon
11. The number of the week