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Audemars Piguet Cobra - Tri-Diamond Champagne Dial

Details

Familiar silhouette, unexpected detail

At first glance, this is a classic AP Cobra, solid 18k yellow gold, sculptural case, integrated bracelet, and unmistakable 1970s presence. But this example rewards a closer look, because the dial is where it separates itself. Find me another. 

A dial that changes the conversation

What elevates this Cobra is its tri-diamond hour marker configuration. Rather than the single diamond markers seen on most examples, each hour here is set with three factory diamonds, arranged deliberately to depth and a playful twist on the dial. This execution is rarely encountered and materially alters how the watch reads on the wrist.

The champagne dial remains clean and balanced, allowing the diamonds to enhance the design rather than dominate it. This is Audemars Piguet adding complexity without sacrificing restraint, a hallmark of their best work from this era.

Design and presence, properly executed

The Cobra’s 18k gold case wears with far more presence than the measurements suggest, thanks to its architectural proportions and substantial gold construction. The matching braided finish across the bezel and integrated bracelet is a defining Cobra signature, creating visual continuity across the entire piece.

This detail matters. It’s also one of the first things lost when these watches are polished or overhandled, making well-preserved examples increasingly difficult to find.

Original, intact, and correctly preserved

Powered by a manual-wind movement, this Cobra stays true to Audemars Piguet’s traditional watchmaking roots. The watch is fully functional and presents in strong overall condition, with all components original, including the dial, crown, movement, and caseback.

For collectors who notice the difference

A familiar silhouette, elevated by a dial detail that quietly sets it apart. It’s the kind of watch that settles naturally into a collection, whether it’s worn often or appreciated more slowly, and continues to feel right long after the novelty wears off.

Available exclusively through our New York City boutique or online.

Key Specs

Model: Cobra

Year: 70s

Movement: Manual Wind

Case Size:29x32

Bracelet: 18K Integrated Yellow Gold

Dial: Champagne

Wrist Size:7-7.5 

SKU: 1295

History

The Cobra is one of the most sinuous and distinctive watches in the Audemars Piguet dress catalog — a bracelet watch whose integrated 18-karat gold links undulate in a pattern that evokes, and earns, the name. Produced primarily in the late 1970s through the 1990s, the Cobra houses ultrathin manual-wind movements in cases ranging from 26mm to 35mm.

These are watches that rewarded you for being close to them: the bracelet articulation, the surface contrasts between polished and brushed gold, and the dial finishing are all things a photograph undersells. Reference 5403 in yellow gold and 4239BA with pave diamond dials represent the range from elegant everyday wear to full haute joaillerie. The Cobra is AP at its most purely luxurious — no sport pretense, no complications for their own sake.