====== Audemars Piguet ======
{{wst>menue|Audemars_Piguet}}

{{wst>image_r|Audemars%2C_Jules-Louis|Jules-Louis Audemars (1851-1918)\\ © [[Audemars Piguet]]|120px}}

{{wst>image_r|Piguet, Edward-Auguste|Edward-Auguste Piguet (1853-1919) (1851-1918)\\ © [[Audemars Piguet]]|120px}}

**Audemars Piguet** is a [[Swiss]] watch [[manufacture]], one of the few remaining [[independent brand]]s.

This traditional watch manufacturer is the oldest [[manufacture]] of [[Haute Horlogerie]], which was never sold by its founding family. Now as then the manufacture provides high-class mechanical watches with [[complication]]s, precious jewelry watches and a jewelry series. Furthermore a successful series of sporty and elegant models could be established, with which the brand has created an unrivaled reputation. Audemars Piguet has won more awards at the prestigious [[Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève]] than any other company, with 15 [[as of 2021]]. It has also won more [[Watchstars]] awards, with 5 [[as of 2020]].

===== Successful beginnings =====
The only 24-year-old [[Audemars, Jules-Louis|Jules-Louis Audemars]] and his friend, the 22-year-old [[Piguet, Edward-Auguste|Edward-Auguste Piguet]], share a combined passion to build special watches. In [[1875]] they join together for a watch production facility in their locality, the Swiss Jura village of [[Le Brassus]]. They are still working in private homes, as is usual in many watchmaker workshops. In [[1881]] they jointly found the company **Audemars Piguet & Cie., Manufacture d'Horlogerie**.

{{wst>image_cl|Audemars Piguet|Jules Audemars Equation of Time RGs|[[Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Equation of Time]]}}

Initially [[Audemars, Jules-Louis|Jules-Louis Audemars]] adopts the technical direction, while [[Piguet, Edward-Auguste|Edward-Auguste Piguet]] is responsible for the commercial activities. The focus is on manufacturing high-quality, mostly complicated [[pocket watch]]es in the tradition of the [[Vallée de Joux]], which are produced under their own or a foreign name. The used [[ebauche]] movements originate mostly from [[Le Brassus]] or from [[Piguet, Louis Elisée|Louis Elisée Piguet]].

How good the quality is which the two deliver, shows on their success With models such as [[perpetual calendar]], [[minute repeater]] or [[chronograph]] they have already made ​​a sensation, but at the World Expo [[1889]] in Paris they win even a medal of honor with a "[[Grande Complication]]", which unites all above functions in one product. In [[1891]] they manufacture the world's smallest movement with [[minute repeater]] ever before. The era of the wristwatch has not even started, and yet at Audemars Piguet there is produced already in [[1892]] the world's first wristwatch with [[minute repeater]].

After the death of the founders ([[1918]]/[[1919]]), the heirs focus on the production of fine and complicated wristwatches such as the [[Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Equation of Time|Jules Audemars Equation of Time]], which, among other things, includes a display of the [[equation of time]].

===== The Modern Audemars Piguet =====
Audemars Piguet was lead by [[Golay, Georges|Georges Golay]] from [[1966]] through his death in [[1987]]. Golay started with the company in [[1945]] and is credited for seeing the company through its most successful years despite the quartz crisis. Under Golay's leadership, Audemars Piguet became part of the so-called "holy trinity" of Swiss watch brands, along with [[Patek Philippe]] and [[Vacheron Constantin]].

Golay was succeeded in [[1987]] by [[Urquhart, Stephen|Stephen Urquhart]] as Commercial Manager and [[Meylan, Georges-Henri|Georges-Henri Meylan]] as Production Manager. Urquhart was a 14 year veteran of the company, but Meylan had only been with the firm for three years. Still, the duo was able to lead Audemars Piguet together for a decade. Urquhart left the company in [[1997]] after an internal audit recommended a major reorganization, leaving Meylan as sole General Director.

In [[1998]], Audemars Piguet reaffirmed its commitment to remain independent, even as many other brands were merging into [[watch group]]s. Over the next years, Audemars Piguet sold its stake in [[Jaeger-LeCoultre]] to [[Richemont]] and increased its control over movement specialist [[Renaud & Papi]]. The company also moved distribution in-house and opened [[boutique|company-owned retailers]], starting a major industry trend. And Audemars Piguet moved even more up-market, raising prices and moving from [[BaselWorld]] to the [[SSIH]] in [[1999]].

Meylan retired on January 1, [[2009]] and was replaced as CEO by [[Merk, Philippe|Philippe Merk]]. Merk had been CEO of [[Maurice Lacroix]] until that point. Meylan would found [[MELB Holding]] in [[2012]], acquiring [[Hautlence]] and [[H. Moser & Cie.]] Merk was ultimately unsuccessful at Audemars Piguet and would be replaced by a young veteran of the company, [[Bennahmias, François-Henry|François-Henry Bennahmias]] in [[2012]]. Although announced as Interim CEO, Bennahmias would remain in charge [[as of 2020]].

{{wst>image_cr|Audemars Piguet|Royal Oak|[[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak]]|210px}}

===== The Royal Oak writes watch history =====
The modern luxury watch [[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak|Royal Oak]], designed by [[Genta, Gérald|Gérald Genta]], has become the best known watch of the company. Because of its bold design it drew great attention on her appearance as the first luxury steel watch in the year [[1972]] and can now be regarded as a timeless icon of watch history.

The masculine sports version of the Royal Oak, known as "[[Royal Oak Offshore]]", also became successful. By sponsoring the company with limited or special editions of this model gained much attention, for example in the fields of film (Arnold Schwarzenegger wore particularly made models of this series in the movies "End of Days" and "Terminator 3"), racing ([[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Juan Pablo Montoya|"Juan Pablo Montoya"]]), as well as a sponsor of the team of the America's Cup champion Alinghi with the specially-built models ("Alinghi", [[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Polaris Chronograph|"Alinghi Polaris"]], [[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team|"Alinghi Team"]]).

The numerous special editions of both the [[Royal Oak]] and the [[Royal Oak Offshore]] belong to the most popular and most highly traded models with watch fans as well as with watch connoisseurs. There are variations of the basic models not only in terms of sportiness and design, but in the case of the Royal Oak were also realized [[complication]]s, for which Audemars Piguet has been known from time immemorial. The [[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Grande Complication|Royal Oak Grande Complication]], for instance, has the considerable number of the following additional functions [[flyback]] [[chronograph]], week display, [[minute repeater]] and [[perpetual calendar]] with [[moon phase]].

And with the [[Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Tourbillon|Royal Oak Chronograph Tourbillon]] one ventured even to a [[tourbillon]] variant. With the cases one also walks across the whole range of possibilities, from the [[stainless steel]] of the original model to [[yellow gold]], [[rose gold]] and [[white gold]], then to [[platinum]], but also to new experimental materials such as [[carbon]].

===== The classic ranges =====
The classic series of the brand include the series //Jules Audemars// with round cases, //Edward Piguet// with rectangular shape, the [[Audemars Piguet Millenary Date 15320|Millenary series]] with elegant oval/elliptical casings and a rich variety of [[complication]]s, with which the brand --- alongside with [[Patek Philippe]] and [[A. Lange & Söhne]] --- presents itself on top of the narrow summit of watchmaking excellence.

===== Tradition, innovation and the pursuit of excellence =====
As our journey through the abundant range of models has shown, Audemars Piguet is explicitly committed to a broad balance between tradition and innovation. While most companies in the Swiss watchmaking attribute more to one or more to the other side and this is reflected also in the image of the brands, at this manufacturer we are experiencing a remarkable synthesis of the two poles. Here modern sportiness and tasteful classical are not seen as opposites, but one persistently pursues the vision to unite both under the banner of excellence.

Audemars Piguet is one of only seven companies with over SFr1 billion in watch sales in recent years, along with [[Rolex]] and [[Patek Philippe]] among independents.

{{wst>image_cl|Audemars Piguet|Royal Oak Offshore Barrichello II|Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Barrichello II, [[rose gold]]/[[carbon]]|230px}}

===== Literature =====
  *[[Das ZEITGEFÜHL-Uhrenbuch]]; Author [[Gerd-Lothar Reschke]]; ISBN 3-938607-61-0
  *[[Audemars Piguet. Meisterwerke klassischer Uhrmacherkunst]]; Authors [[Brunner, Gisbert L.|Brunner]]/[[Pfeiffer-Belli, Christian|Pfeiffer-Belli]]/Wehrli, Callwey-Verlag (1992) ISBN 3766710451; ISBN 978-3766710451

===== Adress =====
MANUFACTURE D'HORLOGERIE AUDEMARS PIGUET\\ Route de France 16\\ CH-1348 [[Le Brassus]], Switzerland

Tel. +41 (0)21.64.23.900\\ Fax +41 (0)21.64.23.401

===== Weblinks =====
  *[[http://www.audemarspiguet.com|Audemars Piguet]]


{{tag>Watch_brands Watch_brands_Switzerland Manufactures Le_Brassus Vallée_de_Joux FHH Luxury_watch_brands}}