It’s been a while since we dipped into the wonderful horological Aladdin’s cave that is Derek Dier’s Watches to buy.com website, and as usual, within seconds we found a stunner from the 1960s. It’s not surprising that the producers of the smash hit TV series Mad Men called upon Derek’s expertise to supply them with watches for the eagerly awaited season 5. We’ve been trying to discover which watches they may be, but Derek is keeping quieter than one of Donald Draper’s secret liaisons.
It’s an Audemars Piquet 2003 calibre 18k gold watch even slimmer than Italy’s chances of resolving its debt problems. The solid gold case measures 35mm across and only 4.5mm in depth.
The dial case design features solid gold quadrant cross sections with a gold, reflective arrow marker at 6 o’clock and a dot at 12 o’ clock.
The needle thin hands extend the look of sleekness throughout the dial. The incredibly thin calibre 2003 movement measures only 1.64mm. thin; developed in 1955, it set the record for being the thinnest movement produced by any watch company.
Accessorising the watch
Of course in this day and age where big and G-Shock chunky is all the rage, for some this may be simply too slim and elegant, but this is a stunning wrist watch which will tuck itself discreetly under your Hilditch & Key broad stripe French cuffed shirt, creating perfect symmetry with a pair of crosshatch vintage gold cufflinks. This is woman wooing, knee weakening power dressing without having to splash out silly money. Ultra thin and rare, the asking price is US$5,900.
