Audemars Piguet Dress Watch

There are certain watches that define a brand, informing its design ethos and becoming nothing short of iconic in the minds of collectors. For Audemars Piguet, that watch is the Royal Oak—in all its multitudinous incarnations. Yet the manufacture from Le Brassus did not earn its seat in the triumvirate of leading watch brands—the so-called Big Three—on the success of the Royal Oak alone.In fact, both Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet came from long lines of watchmakers, and made their reputations long before the Royal Oak was conceived. Their reputation rested on watches like this one.Though not bearing a catchy name like the Royal Oak, or boasting complicated movements like the present-day Jules Audemars collection, this dress watch nevertheless captures everything that Audemars Piguet has come to be. What stands out the most is the airy thinness of the case—while it can’t be any farther removed from the bulkiness of the Royal Oak Offshore, making ultra-thin watches is something at whi