Over the years, Audemars Piguet’s craftspeople have created avant-garde designs upholding fine watchmaking traditions.
Looking at the past, present and future, these creations have taken various shapes, from the round, the square and the rectangle, to unconventional geometries such as the octagon and the trapezoid. These case designs, honed from numerous materials, have been complemented with expressive dials with varying colours, hour-markers, signatures and numerals.
Since the inception, Audemars Piguet’s artisans have found inspiration in the larger cultural world and collaborated with prestigious designers and retailers to gain respect at the international level.
1884. For the King of Persia
This watch was delivered and cased for Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, King of Persia (1848 – 1896), remembered as a promotor of modernity in his country.
1892. Minute Repeater, Miniature Brooch Watch
During the 19th century, women’s watches were more decorative and smaller than men’s, often blurring the line between jewellery and horology.
1900. Universal Exhibition in Paris
In this idealised illustration of the Belle Epoque, the high society is drinking tea by the Seine. Watercolour painting by Maurice de Thoren, magazine cover of Soleil du Dimanche, August 1900.
1904. Audemars Piguet Advertisement
Addressing retailers, this ad detailed the production of Audemars Piguet which then counted 21 watchmakers, including the two founders.
1913. Sketch of a Watch Designed in Collaboration with Tiffany
Audemars Piguet collaborated with renowned designers and retailers such as Cartier in Paris and Tiffany in New York to reach a vast clientele across the world.
~1914. Sketch of a Double Complication for Women
Before WWI, Audemars Piguet played a pioneering role in the development of complicated wristwatches. This sketch shows a project for a 10 lignes chronograph repeater wristwatch for women.
1918. Enamelled, Gem-set Pendant Watch with Pearl Necklace
Worn as brooches, pendants or rings, women’s watches were real feats of miniaturisation, technicity and design.
Inspired by Art Deco’s aesthetics blending fine craftsmanship and modern styles, Audemars Piguet’s pioneering wristwatches took on strong angular geometric shapes and bold lines during that era.
1917. First Octagonal Wristwatch
This diamond-set bracelet watch from 1917 is the earliest confirmed and documented octagonal-shaped wristwatch made by Audemars Piguet.
1921. Haute Joaillerie Watch
This ultra-miniaturised high jewellery watch was made in 1921 in collaboration with New York-based jeweller Oscar Heyman.
1923. Audemars Piguet Watchmaking Workshop
At that time, the Manufacture employed 28 artisans and completed around 500 watches a year.
1926. Calendar Wristwatch
Calendar Wristwatch accompanied by the information recorded in the Manufacture’s production register.
1928. Audemars Piguet Advertisement
Published in the Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie. This ad illustrates the transition between the era of pocket watches and that of wristwatches.
1930. Art Deco Jumping Hours
The vertical gadroons enhance the rectangular lines of the hour and minutes apertures.
The late 1940s and 1960s represent a Golden Age of creative and technical design at Audemars Piguet with asymmetries, geometrical plays, oversized and ultra-thin watches.
~1950. Audemars Piguet Timing Atelier
Early on, the Manufacture began leveraging innovative technologies, while never losing sight of its origins.
1950. Secret Watch
This Milanese mesh watch houses calibre 5/7SB, one of the world’s smallest mechanical movements.
1959. “Discovolante”
Crafted at a time of high interest in paranormal phenomena, this watch endowed with a large bezel has been nicknamed “discovolante” (flying saucer).
1961. Unconventional Design
Sold in 1961, this asymmetrical timepiece is loosely based on a rectangular form. The case and crystal are both faceted to play with light.
1962. “Knife Watch”
The unconventionally large bezel is inspired by vinyl records and set with sapphires. The case is as thin as the edge of a knife.
1962. Asymmetrical Watch
Its unconventional design combines curves and lines, as well as satin-brushed, polished and grained surfaces for a subtle play of asymmetries.
We make beautiful objects that will last many lifetimes... Everything we produce is an expression of our watchmakers' craft.
Olivier Audemars
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
While the new quartz technology threatened to bring down the Swiss watch industry, Audemars Piguet continued to follow its firm convictions and create bold complicated wristwatches.
1967. First Quartz Movement in History
The Beta 21 quartz movement developed at the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) in Switzerland, won the MIH Chronometry Contest in 1967.
1970. Elliptical Design
Audemars Piguet began exploring and designing dramatic oval-shaped watches for women. The rope twist braids of this wristwatch form into interlocking oval shapes.
1972. The First Royal Oak
Considered as the first high-end sports watch in stainless steel, the Royal Oak designed by Gérald Genta broke the mould with its body of steel and its heart of gold.
1972. Royal Oak Advertisement
In this Royal Oak advertisement from 1972, the tagline says “the golden watch has found its rival in steel.”
1974. Openworked Ultra-Thin Pocket Watch
A specialty at Audemars Piguet since the 1930s, openworking is an art balancing aesthetics and function. Openworking specialists create a new movement by starting with the end design and working backwards.
~1975
Traditional bracelet mounting workshop.
1978. Thinnest Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Wristwatch
While setting a new world record with its movement of 3.95 mm in thickness, this pioneering wristwatch also paved the way for the revival of classic complications in the aftermath of the quartz crisis.
1972. Audemars Piguet Advertisement
The cigar-smoking lady wears a unique Haute Joaillerie piece that won the Baden Baden design competition in 1972.
Audemars Piguet played a prominent role in the rebirth of classic complications in the aftermath of the quartz crisis, notably with the introduction of the world’s first selfwinding tourbillon wristwatch in 1986.
1982. Philosophique
The Philosophique features a single hand to indicate the hours and minutes. By telling time philosophically, it reminds us that watches have been worn first and foremost as emotional markers.
~ 1984
Technical drawing of the tourbillon for calibre 2870.
1986. World’s First Selfwinding Tourbillon Wristwatch
This watch owns many records. It is the first selfwinding tourbillon wristwatch in history and the thinnest tourbillon wristwatch of its time (5.3 mm). It also possesses the smallest tourbillon cage ever produced (7.2 mm).
1991.Royal Oak Offshore
Emmanuel Gueit’s original sketch for the Royal Oak Offshore.
1993. The First Royal Oak Offshore
Nicknamed “the Beast” due to its large size (42 mm), the Royal Oak Offshore defied established conventions when it was launched in 1993, setting the trend of oversized watches.
1996. Audemars Piguet’s First Grande Complication Wristwatch
The movement of the Manufacture’s first Grande Complication wristwatch, calibre 2885, contains 648 components and is endowed with a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater and a split-seconds chronograph.
With the emergence of the digital age, Audemars Piguet has kept following its own path, using transformative technologies to create ground-breaking timepieces, without losing sight of traditions.
2000. Royal Oak Concept sketches by Claude Emmenegger
Sketches for the original Royal Oak Concept designed by Claude Emmenegger.
2002. The First Royal Oak Concept
Unyielding materials, new functions and futuristic design meet in the Royal Oak Concept launched in 2002. A seamless balance of high technology and tradition, this watch established a revolutionary aesthetics for 21st-century watchmaking.
2010. Millenary Tradition d’Excellence no 5
This 20-piece limited edition in platinum marks the turn of the new millenium with a calibre entirely developed and produced in-house.
2018. Royal Oak Concept RD#2
Audemars Piguet broke a new world record with the release of the thinnest automatic perpetual calendar wristwatch. Thanks to the advent of new technologies, the perpetual calendar functions have been re-engineered on one single layer (instead of 3) to fit in an ultra-thin case of 6.3 mm in thickness.
2019. Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet
Adding the oscillating weight to the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Chronograph. Calibre 4401.
2019 Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Perpetual Calendar
Advanced technology and ancestral savoir-faire meet in the Manufacture’s latest collection Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet.
