Audemars Piguet Ellipse Skeleton Onyx

There’s a fine line between restraint and showing off, and this 1980s Audemars Piguet Ellipse Skeleton never bothered to find it. It’s unapologetically extravagant, the kind of watch that could make even a seasoned collector pause mid-sentence.

The 29 x 33mm oval case, sculpted from 18K yellow gold, carries a halo of factory-set diamonds—sixty of them, to be precise. They trace the outline of the case like punctuation marks on an already perfect sentence. Inside, the real spectacle begins: a single piece of jet-black onyx cut thin enough to frame the skeletonized Calibre 2003 SQ. The edges of that stone are so delicate you can almost feel the collective anxiety of the craftspeople who made it. Many probably cracked before this one survived.

What fills that frame is mechanical theater. The open-worked 14K gold plates are chased and engraved by hand, each curve of the metal revealing another layer of obsession. Flip the watch over and the show continues—floral motifs swirl across the back like baroque wallpaper. Even the bridges look like they’re auditioning for a cameo. The Calibre 2003 SQ itself is a legend among thin manual movements, but here it feels more like sculpture than machinery.

The watch comes on its original black crocodile strap with an 18K yellow gold AP buckle, a pairing that reminds you how the 1980s could mix excess and elegance without irony. It’s the kind of craftsmanship that makes modern minimalism look lazy.