AUDEMARS PIGUET |
AUDEMARS PIGUET, since 1875. While the roots of watch-making lie firmly in the human heart and the mountain, the use of Audemars Piguet was born in the village of Le Brassus in Vallee de Joux. Within this fold in the Jura mountain chain perched at an altitude of 1,000 meters, the character of its inhabitants has been honed through contact with a harsh climate and a natural environment that can only be tamed by showing it respect. This is a place where destinies are urged and earned. Two natives of the region – Jules Louis Audemars, born in 1851 into a family of watchmakers in Le Brasuss; and Edward Auguste Piguet born in 1853 and hailing from a watch-making family also from the Vallee de Joux, were to carry the name of the village well beyond regional and national borders. In 1875, Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet joined forces to design and develop watches featuring complex mechanisms. Complications designed to enhance precision; are practical, technical, and astronomical complications. Today, Audemars Piguet is pursuing its mission based on a number of cherished properties; preserving vanishing crafts by promoting their practice and their transmission to the new generation perpetuating a heritage based on independence on the highest standards; and looking to the future while demonstrating respect for a global issue. Each “complication” timepiece admirably epitomizes these principles, it represents the culmination of a month of dedicated work and of the innate expertise of Audemars Piguet – a place where time is experienced and imagined like nowhere else.
BORN IN
LE BRASSUS
It is in the heart of the Vallée de Joux, a region that beats to the tune of complicated watch mechanisms, that everything started for Audemars Piguet in 1875.
THE VALLÉE DE JOUX,
CENTRE OF COMPLICATED WATCHES
The Vallée de Joux, birthplace of Audemars Piguet and one of the centres of high-end Swiss watchmaking, is an awe-inspiring region nestled in the Jura Mountains, north of Geneva.
The region’s natural resources—specifically the forests, water, ice and rocks from which iron ore could be extracted—provided the means for the watch industry to evolve and thrive. To this very day, the raw nature of this rugged region with vibrant views of the clear night sky, has served as inspiration for watchmakers. Watch mechanisms are indeed representations of the passage of time as dictated by astronomy and nature has always inspired the development of time measurement devices.
WHERE FARMERS MASTERED THE
UNYIELDING ENVIRONMENT
It all started towards the end of the 18th century in the Vallée de Joux, when farmers began dedicating their workday to horological craftsmanship during long winter months in the light-filled rooms at the top of their farmhouses. They transformed their agrarian dwellings into high quality ateliers for the production of watch parts such as wheels, bridges, springs, semi-precious stones, pinions and all manner of specialist part production and assembly. This tightly knit network of family artisanship that developed in the region gave birth to some of the most complicated mechanisms ever produced.
50 YEARS OF DESIGN
As the first expression of a high-end sports concept in watchmaking, the Royal Oak has never stopped shaking up its own codes, leaving an indelible mark on its times and giving birth to a line of more than 500 models.
Travel back in time and immerse yourself into the Royal Oak's universe through enriched articles, technical sheets of models and calibres as well as exclusive anecdotes and archival footages uncovered by our Heritage team.
Find nearest boutique
rrange a viewing with one of our expert jewellery advisors. Whether it’s a bespoke creation, or you’d like to see the jewellery in person, we’re here to ensure your experience is seamless.
- AUDEMARS PIGUET - RIYADH
- Kingdom Center, Gallery Floor, Olaya Street
- +966 11 211 0040
- +966 54 912 8452
- ap.kcr@platinumsands.com
