Audemars Piguet
Founded in 1875 by Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet. Audemars was born in Le Brassus in 1851, where he was trained by master watchmakers and trained as a "repasseur". Edward Auguste Piguet, born two years later, also trained as a ?repasseur? under Charles Capt. At first, they worked together without making the partnership official. Then, in 1880, they opened a branch in Geneva. The Audemars, Piguet & Cie name was registered on December, 6, 1882, as producing movements and watch cases. Jules Audemars was the technical manager of the manufacture. Edward Piguet was the financial specialist of the firm. The two men managed the company together until 1918, when Jules Audemars died at the age of 67. Piguet died the following year. The name Audemars Piguet was to become synonymous with watches of exceptional quality, superb complications and incredibly thin movements. They manufactured many of the world's most complicated watches, the majority of which were sold to other manufacturers, who in turn sold them as their own watches.
In recent years, Audemars Piguet's quest for thinness was crowned with the 1986 launching of an automatic watch with Tourbillion regulator. Its overall thickness of 4.8 mm was achieved by setting jewels into the case back and utilizing it as a plate. In 1972 the ?Royal Oak? marked a turning point in the way watchmakers looked at ?luxury?. The launch of the Offshore saw a watch that was of a size thought to be unwearable: the gold version with bracelet weighs over 500 grams. The resilient Royal Oak once again proved the critics wrong. The 2003 Basel Fair introduced the Royal Oak T3, which dwarfs the Offshore. The last ten years have seen the launch of a wristwatch with carillon and Grande and Petite Sonnerie, as well as the ?Cabinet Watches? which are among the most complicated wristwatches in the world. There is also the ?John Scheffer? minute repeater which is destined to become another of Audemars Piguet's style icons.