The 1st generation of automatics used by Audemars Piguet was the cal2498- / cal2499-stream (small- / center-second). Same as Vacheron Constantin the brand from LeBrassus (AP) relied on JLC-ebauches (here the JLC cal498/499) but different than VC they did never use a bumper- / hammer-automatic before to fulfill customer-demand for the automatic-winding movements but at the same time circumvent the Rolex-patent for 360°-going rotors. And so AP had to wait until 1954 to use rotor-automatics and one of the first was the one shown: a cal2499 made in 1955 or 1956 and proudly sold by the Zurich-based jeweler Türler.

The main difference of this 1st gen Automatic vs later ones is the friction on the rotor as it had a plain steel-steel-bearing.

NB: The corresponding VC-movement was the cal498 / cal499 (*1954ff, small- / central-second). But different than AP, Vacheron could not wait for the Rolex-patent to expire and instead started its journey into automatics in 1950 or 1951 already by employing the cal477 bumper-automatic and so the cal498 / cal499 was already their 2nd auto-generation.