Audemars Piguet may be better known today for the Royal Oak — the king of the “luxury” sports watch category — but for much of the 20th century, it was known for its complicated timepieces, of which it produced relatively few. (Production runs were so small that between the 1930s and 1950s, only 307 chronographs were completed.) 

Thankfully, AP saw fit to reissue certain of these horological wonders in its Remaster line. This product family has thus far seen only one release, but boy, is it a stunner. In fact, its modern diameter excluded, you might have to flip it over and see the sapphire case back before realizing you’re not holding a watch made during the Second World War.

This particular watch, a Remaster 01 (which is based on a reference from 1943), is housed in a 40mm case in steel and rose gold with gorgeous “teardrop” lugs in excellent condition. It features an unsigned crown, sapphire crystals both dial-side and for the caseback, and is powered by the exquisite, in-house Audemars Piguet Calibre 4409 automatic movement with flyback chronograph functionality and signed 18K winding rotor. An incredible gold-toned dial features a triple-register layout with 12-hour, running seconds and 30-minute counters; a matching gold and blued-steel handset; and an outer tachymeter scale with printed indices. 

And that’s not all: This particular watch comes with a signed, tan leather calf strap with signed steel pin buckle, as well as its inner and outer boxes, books and warranty card. 

Even for a mid-20th century chronograph — many of which were stunning pieces of industrial design — the Remaster 01 is a beautiful anomaly.