Audemars Piguet Watches

Audemars Piguet is a Swiss watch manufacture founded in 1875 in Le Brassus, a village in the Vallée de Joux, and is still owned by descendants of its founding families. It is best known for the Royal Oak, the steel luxury sports watch introduced in 1972, and for a long tradition of complicated and ultra-thin mechanical movements.

Unlike most major Swiss watch brands, Audemars Piguet is independent and not part of a luxury group. It has stayed in Le Brassus since its foundation, and its headquarters is still there. Since 2024 the company has been led by CEO Ilaria Resta.

History of Audemars Piguet

The story begins in 1875, when Jules Louis Audemars established a workshop in Le Brassus and soon began working with Edward Auguste Piguet. Their partnership was formalised in 1881 with the creation of Audemars Piguet & Cie. The Vallée de Joux had a long tradition of making complicated movements for other watch houses, and the young company specialised in exactly that work.

From the start the company was known for complications. In 1892 it produced a minute-repeating wristwatch movement for Louis Brandt & Frère, the watchmaking company associated with the origins of Omega; Audemars Piguet describes it as the first minute-repeating wristwatch mechanism. In 1899 it completed the Universelle pocket watch, with 19 complications and 1,168 components, one of the most complicated watches of its era.

Like the rest of the Swiss industry, Audemars Piguet went through difficult periods, including the crisis of the 1930s and the quartz crisis of the 1970s. The founding families kept control throughout, and the company remains family-owned today.

Complications and ultra-thin movements

Two specialities run through Audemars Piguet’s history: complicated watches and very thin movements.

• 1946 – calibre 2003, only 1.64 mm thick, among the thinnest hand-wound wristwatch movements of its time.
• 1955 – ref. 5516, the first perpetual calendar wristwatch to display the leap-year cycle on the dial.
• 1978 – ref. 5548, powered by the ultra-thin self-winding perpetual calendar calibre 2120/2800. Introduced during the quartz crisis, it became an important model in the revival of complicated mechanical watchmaking.
• 1986 – the first self-winding tourbillon wristwatch, powered by the ultra-thin calibre 2870.
• 2015 and 2018 – the research watches RD#1, which introduced the acoustic research behind the Supersonnerie minute repeater, and RD#2, an ultra-thin perpetual calendar presented in the Royal Oak.

The Royal Oak

In 1972 Audemars Piguet presented the Royal Oak, designed by Gérald Genta. It was a luxury watch made of stainless steel at a time when precious metals still dominated high-end watchmaking, with an octagonal bezel held by eight visible hexagonal screws, a “Tapisserie” patterned dial and a bracelet integrated into the case. At 39 mm the original ref. 5402 was large for its day, which later earned it the nickname “Jumbo”.

The idea was controversial at first, but the Royal Oak went on to become one of the defining models of the luxury sports-watch category and the centre of Audemars Piguet’s collection. In 1993 the brand added the larger and more robust Royal Oak Offshore, designed by Emmanuel Gueit, and in 2002 the experimental Royal Oak Concept.

Craftsmanship in the Vallée de Joux

Audemars Piguet makes its own movements and carries out much of its finishing by hand, including the bevelling and polishing of components and the decoration of bridges and plates. The manufacture combines these specialised finishing techniques with the assembly and regulation of highly complicated mechanical movements.

Audemars Piguet remains headquartered in Le Brassus and operates several production sites in Switzerland, while the Vallée de Joux remains central to its identity and to its complicated watchmaking. It produces a relatively small number of watches each year compared with the largest Swiss brands.

Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet

In 2020 the company opened the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus. Designed by the architecture firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), its glass spiral pavilion sits next to the house where the founders set up their first workshop. It combines a museum of the brand’s history with workshops where watchmakers can be seen working on complications.

Main Audemars Piguet collections

• Royal Oak – the core collection, from time-only models to chronographs, perpetual calendars and tourbillons.
• Royal Oak Offshore – larger, sportier versions of the Royal Oak, often in ceramic, titanium or other technical materials.
• Royal Oak Concept – avant-garde designs and high complications.
• Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet – a round collection introduced in 2019, with a complex case construction and a wide range of complications.
• [Re]master – a series of contemporary reinterpretations of selected historical Audemars Piguet designs.

For its 150th anniversary in 2025, Audemars Piguet introduced calibre 7138, a self-winding perpetual calendar movement whose calendar functions can all be adjusted through the crown, without the traditional correctors in the case side. It debuted in Royal Oak and Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet models.

Why Audemars Piguet watches are hard to buy

Audemars Piguet produces its watches in limited quantities, and demand for certain models, particularly sought-after Royal Oak references in steel, can exceed availability at authorised boutiques. As a result, some references can be difficult to obtain and may trade above retail price on the secondary market. Availability and secondary-market premiums vary considerably by reference, while other models are more readily available.

Audemars Piguet FAQ

Who owns Audemars Piguet?

Audemars Piguet is independent and still owned by descendants of the Audemars and Piguet founding families. Ilaria Resta has been CEO since 2024.

Where are Audemars Piguet watches made?

In Switzerland. The company is headquartered in Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux, where it was founded in 1875.

How do you pronounce Audemars Piguet?

Approximately “oh-duh-MAR pee-GEH”. Both names are French; pronunciation varies slightly by accent, but the final consonants are not strongly pronounced.

Which Audemars Piguet is the most famous?

The Royal Oak, introduced in 1972 and designed by Gérald Genta, is the brand’s best-known collection and the model most closely associated with the name Audemars Piguet.