Audemars Piguet

Who knows more about luxury and fashion than famous athletes, music superstars, and A-list celebrities? It comes as no surprise that Tom Cruise, Serena Williams, Lebron James, John Mayer, and countless others have been spotted wearing AP watches. This ultra-luxury watch brand has also been mentioned in one of Jay-Z's popular songs, which has contributed to its immortalization. Audemars Piguet is undeniably one of the most coveted and esteemed luxury watch brands on the market today, given its notoriety and prestige.

A Brief Overview of the History of Audemars Piguet Watches

Audemars Piguet, or AP, was founded in 1875 in the small mountain town of Le Brassus, in the heart of the Vallée de Joux. The brand has come a long way since its humble beginnings. At the time, this region was renowned for its farming-friendly hills. During the harsh winter months, however, the land lay fallow, and villagers turned to watchmaking as a source of income, which was made possible by the iron oxide found on the fertile soil. Edward Auguste Piguet and Jules Louis Audemars developed the brand that is now synonymous with elegance and wealth, despite the fact that many villagers of this region adopted this profession. Audemars Piguet is still privately owned by the founding family as of the present day.

Audemars Piguet Models

Royal Oak

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Extra Thin 15202ST.OO.1240ST.01 (2021)

The Royal Oak, introduced in 1972 and designed by the renowned Gérald Genta, is one of the most well-known AP watch models. These watches have an octagonal bezel, a "tapisserie" dial, and a band that is incorporated. Examine well-known references such as 15202 and 15400.

Royal Oak Offshore

The Royal Oak Offshore, introduced in 1993 as an anniversary piece, was a sportier variant of the original Royal Oak. This collection is comprised of divers' watches and chronographs with unique colors and materials.

Royal Oak Concept 

 

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT 26589IO.OO.D002CA.01

Introducing the magnificent Royal Oak Concept, an amazing timepiece that exemplifies haute horlogerie to perfection. This luxury watch from the famed Audemars Piguet brand has attracted watch aficionados and collectors worldwide with its exquisite design and ingenious craftsmanship. The Royal Oak Concept collection exemplifies the Swiss watchmaking tradition with its avant-garde aesthetics and cutting-edge materials. This exquisite timepiece is the pinnacle of sophistication and craftsmanship. Explore our exhaustive guide to the Royal Oak Concept and learn why it remains an unrivaled symbol in the world of luxury timepieces.

 

Millenary

 

 Audemars Piguet Millenary Escape Manual Wind Rose Gold 26091OR.OO.D803CR.01

The Millenary collection, introduced in 1995, combines watchmaking art and design in a singular play on perspective and equilibrium. The uncommon oval shape of these remarkable wats provides a three-dimensional glimpse of the caliber.

Code 11.59

Audemars Piguet Selfwinding 'Code 11.59' Smoked Purple Dial 15210OR.OO.A616CR.01

Code 11.59 was introduced in 2019 and is regarded as one of the brand's most significant introductions since the Royal Oak. Discover this modern and accurate collection with thirteen references, six models, and three new in-house calibers.

Jules Audemars

 

 

 The refined and artistic Jules Audemars collection of elegant AP dress watches honors the brand's two founders.

Audemars Piguet Materials & Finishes

Tapisserie Dials

The Royal Oak collection features a decorative guilloché pattern on the watch dials, a skill no longer taught in horology school. Petite tapisserie appears on the ultra-thin Royal Oak models, Grande on the self-winding and quartz Royal Oak models, and Méga on the Offshore collection.

Black Ceramic

In 2017, Audemars Piguet introduced black ceramic to its Royal Oak collection. This unique substance consists of zirconium oxide and yttrium oxide. Additionally, some Offshore versions now include black ceramic.

Frosted Gold

Frosted Gold Jewelry designer Carolina Bucci collaborated with Audemars Piguet to make the 18-karat pink Frosted Gold Royal Oak models' frosted gold finishing. AP added this case finish to select Millenary models later on.

 

Aventurine

Aventurine glass is produced by adding black copper oxide and cobalt during the cooling phase, which produces a constellation of mineral particles and a blue hue. This exquisite material is featured on the dials of Millenary collection watches.

AP Watch Complications

Perpetual Calendar

The perpetual calendar movement of AP uses mechanical memory to trace time cycles of 48 months. It adjusts the number of days in February to account for the varying number of days in each month. This amazing mechanism only requires manual adjustment once every century.

Tourbillon

Audemars Piguet produced the first self-winding tourbillon wristwatch in 1986. The tourbillon requires 60 seconds to complete a full rotation while compensating for the earth's gravity.

 

Minute Repeater 

Minute Repeater AP created thirty-five minute repeater wristwatches between 1892 and 1992, and presently produces fewer than forty minute repeaters annually. Their latest Grande Sonnerie movement, Calibre 2956, comprises 498 components. This style was presented in the Code 11.59 collection.

 

Chronograph

Between the 1930s and the 1950s, only 307 Audemars Piguet vintage chronograph wristwatches were produced. In 2015, AP introduced the Laptimer, which features a single chronograph with flyback function that drives two central sweep-seconds hands that are controlled by three push-pieces.