Audemars Piguet
The history of Audemars Piguet may well be one of the most engaging stories of Swiss watchmaking folklore. Ever since their school days together in the Joux Valley, Jules-Louis Audemars (born in 1851) and Edward-Auguste Piguet (born 1853) knew that they would follow in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers and become watchmakers. They were members of the same sports association, sang in the same church choir, attended the same vocational school – and both became outstandingly talented Audemars Piguet Swiss watchmakers.
The MANUFACTURE was founded 135 years ago and is still in family hands. The company was able to make extensive investments in production facilities and new movements thanks to the ongoing success of the sporty Royal Oak collection (since 1972) and the profits made from selling off shares in Jaeger-LeCoultre.The Manufacture des Forges, designed according to the latest ecological and economical standards, opened a year ago in Le Brassus and is a key to the future of the traditional brand, says managing director Philippe C. Merk. The second key is no doubt the atelier Renaud et Papi, which specializes in the most complex complications. It has belonged to AP since 1992 but also completes work for other watch brands.
Once again, the Chinese don’t eat nor sleep. They produce replica watches of every brand – no matter what the Swiss makes, the Chinese will create replicas of. History shows that the Chinese invented watches before the Swiss, perhaps the Swiss needs to go back to cheesemaking or let the chinese create originals; while Switzerland can be known for Swiss Replica Watches !
