Japan Edition 25910BC Audemars Piguet Edward Piguet Triple Calendar

Audemars Piguet turned 125 in 2000, and its Japanese market received a small group of watches made for the occasion. Alongside the simpler Edward Piguet ref. 15015 and Jules Audemars ref. 15056 came reference 25910BC, an Edward Piguet full calendar in 18k white gold, its caseback engraved “125 Years” and “Japan Edition” around the AP monogram. It’s a mysterious reference, tied to Bentley history as much as Japan’s, of all things. There really aren't many of these.

Japanese dealers date its release to 2000, describe it as sold only in Japan, and record a list price of ¥2,047,500 including tax. How many were made is not on record; AP has published no figure. The reference was not exclusive to Japan, though. Bentley editions were created in 1998 or 1999 to celebrate the Arnage, and read Bentley on the back, not Japan. Judging by earliest dates, the Japan edition came a year or two later.The earliest documented 25910BC is No. 1 of 70 from the Bentley Arnage Edition, with a certificate stamped by the Crewe factory and dated 29 October 1999. Its case number, E20760, sits eleven away from a recorded Japan Edition case, E20771, which points to one run of cases serving both. A sister reference, 25912BC, is listed by a Tokyo dealer as a 125th anniversary triple calendar of 50 pieces. 

The case measures about 45x27mm and the dial carries applied white gold numerals. Four registers show the month at 12, date at 3, day at 9 and running seconds at 6, where AP’s rectangular perpetual carries its moon phase, and a pusher beside the crown advances the date. The hand-wound calibre 2085/2826 shares its base with the time-only Edward Piguet ref. 14918, aiding thinness.

Photography for this Find comes courtesy of both a prior sale by A Collected Man and the example on offer now by Swiss Hours

The rectangular line is named for Edward Auguste Piguet (1853-1919), who founded the firm with Jules Louis Audemars. Piguet worked as a repasseur, the watchmaker who carries out final regulation, and later ran the commercial side while Audemars led the technical work. In the 1990s AP put his name on its rectangular watches and the Jules Audemars name on its round ones, so the Japan anniversary watches honoured both founders by name. The shape was drawn from an AP tank of the mid-1920s.