Audemars Piguet is one of the 'Holy Trinity' of Swiss watchmaking alongside Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. The company is renowned for pioneering the luxury sports watch category with the iconic Royal Oak in 1972, designed by Gérald Genta. As one of the oldest Swiss watch manufacturers still owned by its founding families, Audemars Piguet represents the pinnacle of haute horlogerie, producing approximately 50,000 timepieces annually with movements entirely manufactured in-house.
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, childhood acquaintances from the Vallée de Joux, reunited in 1874 and formed a partnership in 1875 to create complicated watch movements. Initially working from Audemars' family home in Le Brassus, they officially established Audemars Piguet & Cie in 1881. Audemars handled technical production while Piguet focused on sales and management. The company quickly gained recognition for its complicated timepieces, creating the first minute-repeating wristwatch movement in 1892. Through four generations of family leadership—from the founders through Paul Louis Audemars and Paul Edward Piguet, to Jacques Louis Audemars and Paulette Piguet, and now Jasmine and Olivier Audemars—the company has remained independently family-owned. The 1972 introduction of the Royal Oak, the world's first luxury steel sports watch, revolutionized the industry and established AP as a dominant force in haute horlogerie.
PRICE SEGMENT
LuxuryMOVEMENT TYPES
MANUFACTURING
Full ManufactureSPECIALIZATIONS
HEADQUARTERS
Switzerland