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Auction: 26052 - Jewellery & Objets de Vertu
Lot: 106

(x) AUDEMARS PIGUET, A MID-CENTURY GOLD COIN WATCH
The case formed from the two faces of a United States 1900 San Francisco twenty-dollar gold coin, opening by a concealed push-button catch to reveal a white dial.
USA gold coin, 900 standard
Ultra-thin calibre 2003 movement.
Signed AUDEMARS PIGUET SWISS to the interior
Numbered 3523
Size/dimensions: 3.40cm diameter
Gross weight: 32.53g

Some cartwheel lustre remains on the coin, with surface scratches and scuffs consistent with use. The movement may require servicing before regular use, and the watch is offered in good condition.


The coin watch, in which a genuine gold coin is split, hollowed and hinged to conceal a watch movement inside, became one of the great conversation pieces of mid-twentieth-century watchmaking. It depended on movements thin enough to fit within the depth of a single coin, and Audemars Piguet, long celebrated for its ultra-thin calibres, was among the few makers able to achieve it.


Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£6,000 to £8,000

Starting price
£3000