In 1875, in Le Brassus, Switzerland, the company that still bears their names was founded by Jules-Luis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet. Indeed, it is a rare case of a fine watchmaking company still managed by the founding families. As early as 1892, Audemars Piguet collaborated with another great maison, Omega, to create the first wristwatch equipped with a minute repeater: Le Brassus supplied the movement, Chaux-Le-Fonds assembled the watch. 

In the following years, Audemars Piguet continued to work on complications, quickly making a name for itself in haute horlogerie. For example, from 1899 there is a notable multicomplicated pocket watch by Audemars Piguet, equipped with split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, alarm and minute repeater.

In 1972, Audemars Piguet presented the watch that changed the face of sporting luxury: the Royal Oak. It is a risky bet, based on the request of Italian dealers for a steel timepiece that can be used both in formal contexts and when practicing water sports. 

For the style, we turn to Gerald Genta, pioneer of watch design, who proceeds to conceive a revolutionary watch: a high-cost timepiece, but made of steel, with a refined and thin movement, but a large case for the time, 39 mm, a watch with refined finishes but with visible screws… In short, a watch of contrasts, never thought of before, on which Audemars Piguet bets and risks everything, in a decade marked by the quartz crisis, an existential threat to the entire Swiss watchmaking. The reception for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is initially cold, then gradually it is appreciated, until it is the desired and best-selling watch that we know. 

In the XNUMXs, the controversial Royal Oak Offshore was introduced, followed by even more controversial variants such as the so-called “rubber”: although the aesthetics are not for everyone, these timepieces enjoy considerable success.

Audemars Piguet today produces complicated watches and elegant timepieces: whether your favorite is the ever-current Royal Oak or a more classic Jules Audemars, the Le Brassus manufacture will know how to please you.