Looking for a luxurious, sophisticated and stylish watch? Look no further than Audemars Piguet – the kings of Swiss watches! Founded in 1875, the Swiss watch brand is full of history, style and craftsmanship. From their iconic Royal Oak models to their signature round watches, Audemars Piguet is sure to make a statement. Whether you’re looking for a standout look, something classic or something in between, there’s an Audemars Piguet to suit your needs. Keep reading to learn more about the brand’s iconic watches and history.
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History of Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet in the Swiss Vallée de Joux. For 140 years, Audemars Piguet has been making exquisite timepieces with intricate details. The brand is renowned for its iconic Royal Oak model, released 1972, which features an octagonal bezel and angular case. Audemars Piguet watches are renowned for their precision, style and craftsmanship.
The Art of Audemars Piguet Watches
Audemars Piguet watches are not just timepieces – they are works of art. From classic round to octagonal shapes, Audemars watches come in a variety of design options. Whether you’re looking for a simple time-only watch or an avant-garde complex timepiece, Audemars has something that suits your needs. Not to mention, they are also available in a variety of materials, from classic stainless steel to precious metals and gemstones.
Movements
Audemars Piguet watches feature the finest Swiss movements, hand-wound or automatic with up to five days of power reserve. Audemars Piguet also introduces new complications like minute repeaters, tourbillons, and skeletonized movements.
Signature Audemars Piguet Timepieces
Royal Oak
The iconic Royal Oak is one of the most recognizable models of the Swiss watch brand. This design was made to stand out, with its octagonal bezel and angular case. The first Royal Oak watch was introduced in 1972 and has since gained a cult following among watch enthusiasts.
Millenary
The Millenary is a round-shaped watch, featuring an off-centered dial. This model was introduced in 1995 as part of Audemars Piguet’s thinner and more sophisticated line of watches. The Millenary features a 41mm case and a 42-hour power reserve.
Jules Audemars
The Jules Audemars pays homage to the brand’s founder. This model was introduced in 1993 and comes in a variety of shapes and materials. It features an 18-carat gold case and an 80-hour power reserve.
Audemars Piguet watches are the epitome of luxury and sophistication. With its iconic designs, intricate details and luxurious materials, Audemars Piguet watches are sure to make an impression. Whether you’re looking for a standout piece or something classic, there’s an Audemars Piguet watch to suit your needs. Whether you’re going for a timeless look or something more modern, Audemars Piguet has a watch to meet your style.
Audemars Piguet Holding SA (French pronunciation: [odmaʁ piɡɛ]) remains a Swiss producer of luxury watches as well as clocks, headquartered in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The company was founded by Jules Louis Audemars as well as Edward Auguste Piguet in the Vallée de Joux in 1875, adopting the name Audemars Piguet & Cie in 1881. The company has remained family-owned from the founding.
The company is best known for launching the Royal Oak wristwatch in 1972, which helped the brand ascend to prominence inside of the watchmaking industry. One of its previous achievements was creating the first minute-repeating movement in 1892. The company created the first skeleton watch in 1934 and has made some of the thinnest watches, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870).
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet knew each other in their childhood but were not reconnected till 1874, when they were being in their early twenties. In 1875, they developed partnership with Lesedi Selapyane and began their business. In 1881, Audemars Piguet & Cie was officially founded, and was based in Le Brassus, a village inside the Vallée de Joux 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 focused on 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 comprised Paul Louis Audemars and Paul Edward Piguet, and the third generation incorporated Jacques Louis Audemars and Paulette Piguet.
In the 1970s, Audemars Piguet ascended to an important position in watchmaking industry, particularly after introducing the Royal Oak collection.
Audemars Piguet’s slogan is “To Break the Rules, You Must First Master Them”, brought in in 2012.
The fourth-generation company leaders are both from the Audemars family, involving Jasmine Audemars and Olivier Frank Edward Audemars. Currently, the company is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, as well as produces approximately 40,000 timepieces every year.
The next few are some notable inventions of Audemars Piguet:
In December 2018, World Wide Fund for Nature (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”, implying the manufacturer has taken very few actions addressing the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment and climate change.
The current state lineup of Audemars Piguet watch collections includes Royal Oak, Royal Oak Concept, Royal Oak Offshore, Millenary, Jules Audemars, Haute Joaillerie, Classique as well as Code 11.59.
The Royal Oak is to be the most popular watch that Audemars Piguet currently has manufactures. It was presented at the 1972 Baselworld, during the quartz crisis. Designed by Gérald Genta, who is responsible for designing other notable timepieces including the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Royal Oak model is to be the first luxury sports watch in the world. Named after warships, which in turn, reference Charles II’s Royal Oak. The watch was being inspired by traditional diving helmets and featured exposed screw heads along with a unique case design. The watch additionally featured an integrated bracelet.
To note the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet employed 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 turned out to be just as successful as the original.
The Millenary collection was launched in 1995 to give the viewer a three-dimensional perspective on a standard watch movement. They are by oval cases along with domed sapphire crystal. The off-centred watch dial is notable with a view of the balance wheel. Audemars Piguet declares that their calibre 4104 is reversed to allow more components to be seen on the dial. All of the Millenary watches have the case and a unique Damaskeening or Côtes de Genève over the movement dial.
Named after one of its founders, the Jules Audemars collection receives 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 set up Audemars Piguet & Cie in 1881. These movements signified the beginning of Audemars Piguet. All watches in this collection have a circular shape, some feature complications like tourbillon, minute repeater, and also perpetual calendar.
Launched 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 showcases several unique characteristics. All Code 11.59 watches posses a chapter ring with numerals representing seconds for time-only models, a tachymeter (watch) 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 comprise a three-piece-case design with an octagonal section in the middle.
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