Audemars Piguet is a luxury watch brand that’s known for their refined designs and impeccable quality. The brand has been around since 1875 and their many incredible designs, including their famous Royal Oak, have set the standard for innovation in luxury watches. Audemars Piguet is a company with a rich history— here are five things you should know about this world-renowned brand.
1. Only 32,000 Audemars Piguet Watches Are Made Each Year
Audemars Piguet watches are modern marvels of horology known for their incredible quality. To ensure that each Audemars Piguet watch stands up to the company’s rigorous quality standards, the company never mass produces their timepieces. Instead, each watch is uniquely crafted. Because the process of making an Audemars Piguet watch takes a considerable amount of time, the brand must limit the number of watches they produce each year. 32,000 is the magic number for the brand— each year, they craft only that amount.
2. They Make Movements For Other Luxury Brands
Because Audemars Piguet movements are known for their quality, they’ve become the movement of choice for many top luxury brands. Cartier, Tiffany & Co, and Bulgari are among the luxury brands who use Audemars Piguet movements for their timepieces.
3. Their Value Can Increase Over Time
Because Audemars Piguet is one of the most highly regarded luxury watch companies— and because they release such a limited amount of watches each year— their watches can often increase in value over time. This is especially true for certain highly desired models, like rare special editions of the Royal Oak. But most Audemars Piguet models have the potential for value increase and can offer nice profits for those reselling their watches.
4. Audemars Piguet Is A Family Business
Audemars Piguet started as a family business and it remains one to this day. The brand started as a way for the original family, a family of Swiss farmers, to keep financially afloat through Switzerland’s snowy winter season. Since its inception, the brand has weathered many challenges, like the quartz crisis and economic turmoil during the world wars. But the company prevailed through and never sold their brand, making Audemars Piguet the oldest family-owned watchmaking company in the world.
5. Their Most Famous Watch Was Designed In A Day
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is the company’s most successful watch, one that helped save the company during a time of financial struggle. But did you know that the Royal Oak was actually designed in a single day? Gerald Genta, the designer of the Royal Oak, has said the design was inspired by the diving helmets of the day. The mounting screws on the Royal Oak mirror the screws on these vintage diving helmets. Genta was so inspired by these screws that he completed the design for the Royal Oak in one day.
