AUDEMARS PIGUET

Audemars Piguet began making watches in 1875, when founders Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet first registered the brand, and it remains one of the very few privately owned firms in the watchmaking industry, still in the hands of the Audemars family. Renamed Audemars Piguet & Cie in 1881, the company primarily manufactured movements for other firms in its earliest days, including Tiffany and Co., but later gained renown for milestones like the world’s first-minute repeater movement for wrist watches in 1892, the first jumping-hour watch in 1921, and the first automatic tourbillon movement in 1986. Without a doubt, however, Audemars Piguet is best known for one watch, the Royal Oak, designed by Gérald Genta and released in 1972 as the first true luxury sports watch. The Royal Oak has been at the forefront of Audemars Piguet’s collection ever since and has spawned popular sub-collections like the Royal Oak Offshore and the experimental, highly complicated Royal Oak Concept pieces. In 2019, Audemars Piguet made an attempt to diversify its collection with a new series called Code 11.59, which features its own distinctive design and complex calibers.

Founded: 1875

Headquarters: Le Brassus, Switzerland

Ownership: Audemars Piguet Holdings SA

Notable models: Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, Millenary, Code 11:59

Did you know: Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger helped popularize the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore when he wore one in the 1999 film “End of Days.”