While 1955 may seem a little late to the game for a perpetual calendar, it was the 5516 that first included a leap-year indication in a wristwatch. This was no small feat, and it set the standard for perpetual calendar watches going forward. The 5516 dates to a time when Audemars Piguet was still operating in a traditional manner, which was largely disrupted when the Royal Oak came out in 1972. Today it’s rare to find AP making such traditionally-styled watches, and the 5516 is a reminder of why Audemars Piguet earned a place in the so-called Holy Trinity of Swiss Watchmakers (along with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin).
Incredibly few 5516s were produced, making them exceedingly rare—especially because AP has garaged a number (4 or more) in its archive. They almost never come up for sale, and back in 2014, one hammered at Christie’s for $545,000, and in 2017 one from Patrick Getreide’s OAK Collection hammered at Phillips in Hong Kong for $675,000.
From the article by Allen Farmelo, Paige Reddinger, Victoria Gomelsky, Oren Hartov, Blake Buettner
