Audemars Piguet Decagon

In the 1970s, as horology found itself swept away in the quartz tidal wave, Audemars Piguet was busy redefining convention.

While Gerald Genta and his Royal Oak showcased the octagonal form that would become the brand’s flagship, another masterpiece was being designed in the shadows.

Imagine a watch with ten sides, not just eight or four. This rare and elusive Decagon, with its audacious 18k gold case measuring 32mm x 38mm, is pure geometry flirting with the surreal.

Forma or shaped watches have always been the focus of the world’s greatest collectors. Cartier’s own version of the Decagon, Patek’s legendary Ref 3424 and other Gilbert Albert creations, Vacheron’s 1921; are all icons that rebel against the expected.

The Decagon is AP’s contribution to this storied club, a conversation between precision and the mysticism of ancient mathematics.

The dial is the soul of the watch. Not flat, not guilloché, but frosted; a technique that scatters light like a night sky. In Eastern philosophy, the decagon symbolizes ten directions; eight compass points plus above and below; covering the entire universe.

Was it coincidence that AP chose this shape at the height of the quartz crisis? Or was it a silent defiance, a declaration that mechanical watchmaking, just like the universe, would expand rather than collapse?

In this age of the Royal Oak, the Ref 4134 Decagon is an invitation to explore the hidden secrets of Audemars Piguet that, after the first auction season of 2025, appear to be finally finding their rightful place.