While today famed for their octagonal design elements as best seen in the Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Royal Oak Concept, Code 11.59 and others, Audemars Piguet have also got a long list of timepieces that broke from that convention and utilized different designs that broke from their design convention in one way shape or form. One such mode is the Huitieme Chronograph that we have here. Launched in the mid-1980s and produced until the late 1990s, the Huitieme Chronograph features a round 40.5mm case with a stepped bezel that features Audemars Piguet’s name engraved at 12 o’clock alongside rather svelte pushers that aim to fade into the case design and give the watch a perfectly circular appearance. While its design does break away from AP’s typical design language, there was one element that the Huitieme Chronograph leans on that was in another of AP’s watches, its integrated bracelet. Here offered with an intricate 18kt yellow gold bracelet, this example features a slightly different lug system to those Huitieme Chronographs that were offered on a leather strap, and thus making it all the most unique, but closer linked to AP’s design language. Featuring a eggshell white dial with a cyclops lens over its date aperture at 3 o’clock, the Huitieme Chronograph is a wonderfully unique chronograph that doesn’t shy away from being different, unique and confident in its own design.

Watch is in near-mint condition Case exhibits a warm glow of patina on the gold case, and only minor surface marks are visible. The dial is in near-mint condition with no marks or scratches. Bracelet has 15 links total, 3 ref which are emovable. There is little to no stretch on the band.

With a design that celebrates its differences compared to the traditional designs of the time, the Huitieme Chronograph's cyclops lens and intricate bracelet make for a timepiece that is unlike not just what AP produced at the time but what most other watchmakers would even dare to create, thus highlighting AP's standing as a truly avant-garde watchmaker.