Audemars Piguet Watches

Year Founded/Place: 1875, Le Brassus, Switzerland.

Headquarters: Le Brassus, Switzerland.

Used by celebrities: Yes, very popular among Male A-List celebrities and the mega-rich.

Their story:

Audemars Piguet was born in 1875 when childhood friends Jules Louis Audemars and Edward August Piguet re-encountered in their twenties and decided to partner to open a watch-making business.

Jules A. Audemars was a creator of watch movements for other watch manufacturers and Edward A. Piguet was a specialist in the regulation of watch movements. They officially founded their business “Audemars Piguet & Cie” in 1881 in Le Brassus, Switzerland, place where their headquarters are still located today.

From the beginning, Audemars was in charge of the technical aspects of the business and production and Piguet more on managing the business and sales.

Among their relevant inventions, they created in 1892the world’s first minute repeating movement for a wristwatch (which they sold to Omega SA), in 1921 they created the first jumping-hour wristwatch, in 1934 they introduced the first skeleton watch, in 1946 they produced the world’s thinnest watch.

Although they had a big list of accomplishments and their watches were known as very high-quality watches, they became truly popular, coveted, and famous until 1972 when they introduced the first luxury sport wristwatch which they named the “Royal Oak”.

In time their Royal Oak watches became highly collectible and a symbol of status, Today they have Roayl Oak models worth over a million dollars.

After the creation of the Royal Oak and its success, they continued bringing innovation to the luxury watch market. In 1986 they created an ultra-thin tourbillon wristwatch, in 1996 they manufactured the world’s first Grand Complication watch, in 2006 they introduced the first direct-impulse escapement mechanism, in 2015 they introduced the world’s first mechanical chronograph with independent memory and 3 column wheels, in 2019 they created the world’s thinnest automatic perpetual calendar.

Among their popular collections and models  are: The Royal Oak, The Millenary, The Jules Audemars and the Code 11.59

Among the people known to wear Audemars Piguet watches there is a huge list of popular Hollywood Actors/Actresses,  popular artists in the music industry worldwide, some of the most famous athletes in the world, the royalty all over the world as well as a large list of the richest persons in the world.

In terms of prestige and name among the most luxurious watches in the world, Audemars Piguet is a top 5 name in the world.

Official Audemars Piguet distributors are not allowed to sell Audemars Piguet online, because of that, the only way to buy a new Audemars Piguet watch from a certified dealer is in person. However, there are a few grey market* dealers offering great deals online, plus there is a list of reputable businesses selling pre-owned watches. We offer a list of reputable companies for you to choose from, all of them have been in business for at least a decade and some for over 120 years.

*Grey market dealers are companies who buy inventories from official distributors (for many reasons like financial distress, old inventory liquidations to make room for new inventories, or going out of business) and they resell that inventory. Since they are not official distributors, the manufacturer will not honor the warranty but most grey market dealers will have excellent in-house warranties and the watches will be new and with case and all paperwork, in most cases saving you significant amounts of money.