Audemars Watches

About Audemars Piguet

Audemars Piguet can be traced back to the year 1874. It all started when two young watchmakers, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, met shortly after graduation while looking for employment in the famed Swiss Vallee de Joux - the prestigious epicenter of the watchmaking industry. From the very beginning the company started manufacturing its own components and did assembly in-house. Jules excelled at component manufacturing while Edward specialized in final-regulation and assembly. Edward would later concentrate mainly on sales and oversee business development. The company was officially founded in 1889 and soon after became one of the largest watchmaking companies in the world. Known for producing mechanically accurate and aesthetically pleasing timepieces, Audemars Piguet gained several large clients including Tiffany & Company. These clients would re-brand the watches under their own label and market in Western Europe and the US. Due to the ultra precise and intricate nature of the watches being produced, less than 1300 were made before the year 1900.

The company founders died in 1918 and 1919 - but the company's success would continue another decade until the early 1930s. The weakness of the global economy slowed demand for high-end luxury Swiss watches and the company saw diminishing revenue. Its largest customers scaled back orders as the depression spread throughout the developed world. Shortly before this time, Audemars had made several achievements and innovations in the industry. The first was the world's smallest minute repeater. Shortly thereafter the company released the thinnest pocket watch ever manufactured. The company would also market the first skeleton watch; a mechanical watch with movement visible from the exterior. Other companies such as Patek Philippe would soon follow suit and create their own skeleton models. Another watch produced during this area was the Grand Complication, renowned for inclusion of a chronograph, minute repeater and perpetual calendar into a single timepiece.

During the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the company saw renewed interest in its timepieces. Through partnerships with Jaeger LeCoultre and Gerald Genta the company released several new timepieces including the 1972 Royal Oak. This model became the foundation for the company's success to this day. The Royal Oak is often credited with birthing the stainless steel watch market. Then, just as it does now, the model featured an octagon dial and protruding hexagonal screws. Its unique blend of a function-forward build and an understated elegance made it an instant success. Due to the use of stainless steel in the construction rather than more expensive metals, the watch was unveiled at an astonishingly low price point for an Audemars Piguet timepiece. For the first time, a high-end luxury Swiss watch was affordable to a much larger segment of society.

Since the release of the first Royal Oak, the company has released several new models and new variations of existing ones. The Royal Oak Offshore was released in 1993 with increased water resistance. Other popular models include the Jules Audemars, the Lady Royal Oak and the Millenary. The company is involved with several high-profile sponsorships, most recently of the NBA star Lebron James. To this day the company remains one of the top watchmaking companies of all time and still assembles all its watches by hand. When match enthusiasts refer to the "Big Three" they are referring to Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet. Philippe Merk is the current CEO as of the writing of this article and maintains the same commitment to excellence started by the founders.