Audemars Piguet Holding SA () is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches and clocks, headquartered in
Le Brassus
Le Brassus is a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is part of the municipality Le Chenit. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in the
Vallée de Joux
The Vallée de Joux is a valley of the Jura Mountains mainly in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. The valley also continues into France ( Jura département) at its higher, southwestern, end. Located north of Geneva and northwest of Lausanne, its mean el ...
in 1875, acquiring the name ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' in 1881. The company has been family-owned since its founding.
The company is best known for introducing the Royal Oak wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand rise to prominence within the watchmaking industry. One of its earlier achievements was creating the first minute-repeatingmovement in 1892. The company developed the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has manufactured some of the thinnest watches, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic
tourbillon
In horology, a tourbillon (; "whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26, 1801. In a tourbill ...
wristwatch (Calibre 2870).
History
Early history
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet knew each other in their childhood but were not reconnected until 1874, when they were in their early twenties. In 1875, they formed partnership with Lesedi Selapyane and began their business. In 1881, ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' was officially founded, and was based in
Le Brassus
Le Brassus is a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is part of the municipality Le Chenit.Vallée de Joux
The Vallée de Joux is a valley of the Jura Mountains mainly in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. The valley also continues into France ( Jura département) at its higher, southwestern, end. Located north of Geneva and northwest of Lausanne, its mean el ...
in Switzerland.Both Audemars and Piguet were previously watchmakers. Audemars created complex watch movements for other watch manufacturers such as Tiffany Co. to use. Piguet specialized in the regulation of watch movements. Once partnered, they split the responsibilities while operating their own company: Audemars was in charge of production and technical aspects while Piguet focused on sales and management.
The second-generation company leaders included Paul Louis Audemars and Paul Edward Piguet, and the third generation included Jacques Louis Audemars and Paulette Piguet.
Recent development
In the 1970s, Audemars Piguet rose to an important position in watchmaking industry, especially after introducing the Royal Oak collection.
Audemars Piguet's slogan is "To Break the Rules, You Must First Master Them", introduced in 2012.
The fourth-generation company leaders are both from the Audemars family, including Jasmine Audemars and Olivier Frank Edward Audemars. Currently, the company is an active member of the
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) is the Swiss watch industry's leading trade association, headquartered in Bienne, Switzerland. The Federation is a private, professional and non-profit association.
The Federation of the Swiss Watc ...
, and produces around 40,000 timepieces annually.
Watch manufacturing
Notable inventions and patents
The following are some notable inventions of Audemars Piguet:
* In 1892, created the first wristwatch minute-repeatingmovement, which was then sold to Louis Brandt frères (
Omega SA
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ...
)
*In 1899, manufactured a “Grand Complication”
pocket watch
A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist.
They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristw ...
with 7 complications, including a grand and small strike, minute repeater, alarm,
perpetual calendar
A perpetual calendar is a calendar valid for many years, usually designed to look up the day of the week for a given date in the past or future.
For the Gregorian and Julian calendars, a perpetual calendar typically consists of one of three ...
, deadbeat seconds,
chronograph
A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive ...
with jumping seconds, and split-seconds hand
*In 1921, created the world's first jumping-hour wristwatch, driven by Calibre HPVM10
* In 1934, introduced the first skeleton watch
*In 1946, produced the thinnest watch, with a 1.64-mm-thick movement
* In 1972, introduced the first luxury sport wristwatch, the Royal Oak
*In 1986, created an ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870), being only 5.3 mm thick (including the case)
*In 1995/96, manufactured the first automatic "Grande Complication" wristwatch (Calibre 2885)
*In 2006, introduced the first direct-impulse
escapement
An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to ...
, based on a design by watchmaker Robert Robin in the 18th century
*In 2007/08, developed the first watch with a carbon case and a carbon movement (a Royal Oak Carbon Concept)
*In 2015, the first mechanical chronograph with independent memory and three column-wheels was launched, named Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher
*In 2019, presented the thinnest automatic perpetual calendar
Environmental rating
In December 2018,
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
(WWF) released a report assigning environmental ratings for 15 major watch manufacturers and jewelers in Switzerland. Audemars Piguet was assigned the lowest environmental rating, "Latecomers/Non-transparent", suggesting the manufacturer has taken very few actions addressing the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment and climate change.
Notable models
The current lineup of Audemars Piguet watch collections include Royal Oak, Royal Oak Concept, Royal Oak Offshore, Millenary, Jules Audemars, Haute Joaillerie, Classique and Code 11.59.
Royal Oak/Concept/Offshore
The Royal Oak is considered to be the most popular watch that Audemars Piguet currently manufactures. It was first presented at the 1972
Baselworld
Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show is a global trade show of the international watch, jewellery and gem industry, organized each spring in the city of Basel, Switzerland, at the Messeplatz.
The last Baselworld was held March 21–26, 2019. In ...
, during the
quartz crisis
The quartz crisis was the upheaval in the watchmaking industry caused by the advent of quartz watches in the 1970s and early 1980s, that largely replaced mechanical watches around the world.
. Designed by Gérald Genta, who is also responsible for designing other notable timepieces including the
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company ha ...
Nautilus, the Royal Oak model is considered to be the first luxury sports watch in the world. Named after
warships
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster an ...
, which in turn, reference Charles II's
Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
. The watch was inspired by traditional diving helmets and therefore featured exposed screw heads as well as a unique case design. The watch also featured an integrated bracelet.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet hired a young designer, Emmanuel Gueit, to design a new watch known as the Royal Oak Offshore. The Offshore was formally introduced in 1993, with a much larger case (42mm compared to the original 39mm) which was thought to be tougher than the original. The new watch proved to be just as successful as the original.
Millenary
The Millenary collection was launched in 1995 to give the viewer a three-dimensional take on a standard watch movement. They are characterized by oval cases as well as domed sapphire crystal. The off-centred watch dial is notable with a view of the
balance wheel
A balance wheel, or balance, is the timekeeping device used in mechanical watches and small clocks, analogous to the pendulum in a pendulum clock. It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a ...
. Audemars Piguet claims that their calibre 4104 is reversed to allow more components to be seen on the dial. All of the Millenary watches share the case and a unique Damaskeening or Côtes de Genève across the movement dial.
Jules Audemars
Named after one of its founders, the Jules Audemars collection takes cues from more traditional Audemars Piguet designs. In 1875, Jules Audemars created about 20 very complex movements, which he later used as collateral when he and Edward Piguet founded ''Audemars Piguet & Cie'' in 1881. These movements marked the beginning of Audemars Piguet. All watches in this collection have a circular shape, some of which also feature complications such as tourbillon, minute repeater, and perpetual calendar.
Code 11.59
Released at the "Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) 2019", the Code 11.59 collection is the latest addition to the Audemars Piguet lineup. The collection boasts several unique characteristics. All Code 11.59 watches feature a chapter ring with numerals depicting seconds for time-only models, a
tachymeter (watch)
A tachymeter (pronounced ) is a scale sometimes inscribed around the rim of an analog watch with a chronograph. It can be used to conveniently compute the frequency in hours of an event of a known second-defined period, such as speed (distance ov ...
for the chronograph model, and a week indicator for the perpetual calendar model. The crystals on the watches in this collection feature a unique curvature which changes the way the dial appears at certain angles. All the Code 11.59 watches feature a three-piece-case design with an octagonal section in the middle.
See also
*
List of watch manufacturers
Watchmakers
This list is a duplicate of :Watchmakers, which will likely be more up-to-date and complete. Manufacturers that are named after the founder are sorted by surname. Names in this list require an article about the watch brand or watchma ...
*''
Manufacture d'horlogerie
(meaning "watchmaking manufacturer") is a French language term of horology that has also been adopted in the English language as a loanword. In horology, the term is usually encountered in its abbreviated form ''manufacture''. This term is used wh ...
''
Notes
In 1892, Audemars Piguet created the world's first wristwatch minute-repeating movement, at the request of Louis Brandt, the founder of
Omega SA
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ...
. In the same year, Omega assembled the world's first minute-repeating wristwatch with this movement. The 18K-gold wristwatch is now kept in the Omega Museum in
Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Swi ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...