Brand Overview
Audemars Piguet is a luxury watchmaker and the world's oldest family-owned watch manufacturer. Today, the Audemars Piguet holding company still controls all aspects of the brand's watch manufacturing, from the making of movements and cases to distribution by its regional agencies and the retail trade through its boutiques.
Brand History
Audemars Piguet was formed in Switzerland in 1875 by Jules Audemars and Edward-August Piguet, both watchmakers in their early 20s. Audemars headed production for the young company, and Piguet handled the brand's sales. The company was officially registered in 1882 and founded in 1889, by which time the brand had become recognized in Switzerland for luxury precision watchmaking.
From the beginning, the company focused on assembly of watches in-house to maintain quality control. The firm produced more than 1200 watches between 1894 and 1899, with retail locations in both Geneva and London, both of which featured full-service maintenance.
In 1918 Audemars died, and Piguet died the following year.
Shortly after the passing of its founders, Audemars Piguet created the world's smallest minute repeater watch, with a diameter of 15.8 mm. In 1925, the company created the world's thinnest pocket watch, which measured 1.32 mm. In 1928, the company introduced the world's first skeletonized pocketwatch.
Audemars Piguet achieved the world's thinnest automatic movement (2.45 mm) in 1967, and the company introduced the the thinnest movement to include a datedisplay and gold central rotor (3.05 mm) in 1970. In 1972, the Royal Oak, the company's signature model, was introduced.
In 1992, Audemars Piguet established as a non-profit foundation under Swiss law. Its purpose, within the framework of environmental protection and awareness-raising among younger generations, is to contribute to forest conservation throughout the world.
In 1993, a water-resistant version of the Royal Oak appeared: The Royal Oak Offshore, featuring chronograph movement with 1/5 second accuracy, 30-minute and 12-hour counters, date and second display, and automatic movement via a 21-carat gold central rotor.
Recent Collections
The most well-known collection from Audemars Piguet was the Royal Oak. Ever since the appearance of this collection in 1972 Audemar Piguet's production began reviving. The Royal Oak collection was probably the savior of the entire Audemars Piguet's enterprise. Another famous collection from Audemars Piguet is the the Millenary Masserati watch - timepiece designed to pay tribute to the famous Italian sport car.
See also
External Links
Official Audemars Piguet Website
Category
Owner: "lavrov" Last edited on November 30, 2006 7:40 am by "lavrov"
