Audemars Piguet, which is part of the “Holy Trinity” of Swiss watch brands, is known for extravagant watches. When their most famous watch, the Royal Oak, debuted in 1972, it was by far the most expensive steel watch ever made. AP even referred to their products as “the costliest watches in the world” in some of their print advertising. But in this article we’re going to take a look at the cheapest Audemars Piguet watches you can get. The very cheapest AP watches are tiny used ladies’ quartz models, but we’ll show you some classically-sized men’s watches as well.
It’s no surprise that some of the most affordable AP’s on the secondhand market are ones with quartz movements. Small quartz ladies’ models can be found in the $3,000 ballpark, which should also be enough for a classy gold manual-wind vintage dress watch. The ever-desirable Royal Oak line is out of reach, even for ladies’ quartz models, until you have about $7,000, and $10,000 can barely get you a passably-unisex one (33mm). We’ll examine a few price points between about $3,000 and $12,000 to show you what entry-level luxury watches are available in the world of Audemars Piguet.
A Note About Buying a Used Audemars Piguet
When it comes to the used luxury watch market, condition is hugely important–especially when it comes to Audemars Piguet and the Royal Oak in particular. Many collectors insist that to get the finishing done correctly, the watch must go back to the mothership for service–and the wait times at Audemars Piguet’s service centers are becoming notoriously long.
If you’re buying a cheap AP watch, there are a couple things you should look out for:
- Misaligned hex screws – On a Royal Oak, the signature hexagonal bezel screws should be aligned perfectly. An AP service center can fix them, but don’t expect a typical watchmaker to be able to. So you should be thinking “immediate factory service” on any Royal Oak with wonky screw alignment.
- Incorrect/poor brushed finish – Look at the grain of the brushing on the bezel. If you see a used AP priced relatively low, make sure the finishing on the bezel and case looks good–if it looks like garbage, the price should reflect that.
$2,500-3,000: Vintage Quartz Ladies’ Models
If you browse ebay for Audemars Piguet watches and sort by cheapest, you’ll likely see a variety of vintage ladies’ quartz models with unusual cases and serious “1980’s” vibes. Our favorite choice for a $3,000 quartz Audemars Piguet is the Promesse–a rectangular quartz model with a five-link bracelet.
More on Audemars Piguet Watches
Guide to Audemars Piguet Nicknames
Audemars Piguet Watch Prices: Historical and Current
How to Avoid Buying a Fake Audemars Piguet
The History of Audemars Piguet
$3,000-$7,000: Old Manual-Wind Dress Watches
The cheapest Audemars Piguet watch for a man is likely to be a manual-wind 1950’s dress watch. In particular, 32mm models with a classic circular shape like ref. 72198 can be found for around $3,000 without much trouble. As you get closer to $6,000, slightly larger cases with more interesting shapes become an option–35mm “Disco Volante” (flying saucer) models like ref. 5093, nicknamed because of their thick circular bezels and hidden lugs, are an example of an appealing choice. Many AP’s from this era have the ultra-thin caliber 2003 movement, giving them a strikingly svelte profile.
Although 32mm models are now considered quite small for a man, small watches from Cartier and other brands have made a bit of a comeback. If you can pull off the size, there are a surprising number of relatively cheap Audemars Piguet dress watches available to you on the used market.
$5,000-7,000: Edward Piguet “Tank” Model
If you prefer a rectangular case shape, vintage examples of Audemars Piguet’s equivalent of the Cartier Tank, the Edward Piguet, can be found for well under $8,000.
$7,000-10,000: Ladies’ Quartz Royal Oak or Jules Audemars
$7,000 is enough to get you an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak–as long as it’s a vintage ladies’ quartz model like ref. 66270 or 66339.
As far as cheap Audemars Piguet men’s watches go, $7,000 is enough to get you out of the tiny dress watch era. 34mm Jules Audemars models can be found for that price, and $8,000-$10,000 is enough to buy a 36mm early-2000’s reference like 15056OR. Although $10,000 isn’t “cheap” in the grand scheme of things, some would say that getting a solid gold dress watch from a Holy Trinity watchmaker for less than the price of a steel Rolex Submariner represents a pretty good value.
$10,000-12,000 Audemars Piguet: 33mm Quartz Royal Oak
$10,000 should be enough to get you a two-tone quartz 33mm Royal Oak from the 1980’s in mediocre condition. Ones in good condition could be found for $2,500 as recently as 2014, back when most collectors shunned anything quartz, but they’re closer to $12,000 today. The market has realized that yeah, it’s quartz–but it’s still a Royal Oak. Obviously AP’s mechanical movements are great, but really, the distinctive bezel and tapisserie dial are the stars of the show. Plus, quartz-powered Royal Oaks are extremely thin. They’re an absolute pleasure to wear, and the 33mm case wears larger than the number would suggest.
Keep in mind that these are two-hand watches–there’s no seconds hand “ticking” away to remind you of the quartz innards, which is nice. The secondhand price for stainless steel models is significantly higher, so vintage two-tone 33mm models like ref. 56303SA are the cheapest Audemars Piguet Royal Oak options for men on the market today. Audemars Piguet also has a modern 33mm Quartz Royal Oak in the lineup for 2023.
What is the Cheapest AP Watch New at MSRP?
Audemars Piguet’s cheapest watch offered as of 2023 is in fact the steel version of the 33mm Royal Oak Quartz (ref. 67650ST), priced at $17,300. The 34mm automatic Royal Oak ($25,300) is the cheapest new Audemars Piguet with a mechanical movement. Of course, that’s MSRP, not market price–on the grey market, you’ll generally find new steel Code 11.59 models selling for less than Royal Oaks.
AP continues to be known primarily for the Royal Oak and its increasingly sporty offshoots, and prices for those remain strong. But a surprising amount of value can be found in the world of cheap AP watches–as long as you’re OK with a dress watch, a quartz movement, or both.