Audemars Piguet
The company of Audemars Piguet began with Audemars managing the design and production and Piguet leading the marketing and sales. Instant success was not to come for them however. The Audemars Piguet trademark was first registered in 1882 and seven years later the company was officially founded. Audemars Piguet and Cie then succeeded in becoming one of the first big employers for watch-making in the Canton of Vaud, south western Switzerland.
The two talented began to focus on the production of highly accurate timepieces with sophisticated mechanisms and opened a new branch in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland.
Between 1894 and 1899 the company produced around 1,200 timepieces. These included some very complex watches. After the deaths of Audemars (1918) and Piguet (1919), the company continued to grow both its success and reputation.
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 Vintage Audemars Piguet 18k White Gold Mens Dress Watch Latest Price: US $2,350.00 |
 18K Gold Audemars Piguet Ladies Watch Latest Price: US $12,500.00 |
 Ladies Audemars Piguet 18k Yellow Gold Diamond Watch Latest Price: US $4,995.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Geneve Mens 18k White Gold Manual Watch Latest Price: US $3,550.00 |
 Audemars Piguet 18K Yellow Gold Automatic Mens Watch Latest Price: US $5,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Gold Diamond Watch Latest Price: US $9,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Gold Diamond Watch $28000 Latest Price: US $13,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Audemarine Ladys Gold Watch $19K Latest Price: US $8,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Diamond White Gold Watch $88500 Latest Price: US $39,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $28600 Latest Price: US $12,850.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $64050 Latest Price: US $29,800.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $36890 Latest Price: US $14,750.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $61200 Latest Price: US $28,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Gold Diamond Watch $47200 Latest Price: US $23,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $64995 Latest Price: US $25,990.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Gold Pink Sapphire Watch $28000 Latest Price: US $13,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Promesse Y Gold Diamond Watch $23K Latest Price: US $11,850.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys W Gold Diamond Watch $107100 Latest Price: US $42,500.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Yellow Sapphire Watch Latest Price: US $24,750.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys Gold Diamond Pink Sapphire Watch Latest Price: US $24,750.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ladys Gold Diamond Watch $35K Latest Price: US $17,800.00 |
 Audemars Piguet Ladys White Gold Diamond Watch $42300 Latest Price: US $18,800.00 |
Later, Audemars Piguet launched several watches including the smallest minute repeater in the world and a jumping second hand pocket watch. Then in 1925, Audemars Piguet astounded the world with its thinnest ever pocket watch. Three years later the company created the world's first ever skeleton watch.
As the success of the company grew, its customers included Tiffany & Co, Cartier and Bulgari. However, by the late 1920s and the early 1930s the success of Audemars Piguet started to decline due mainly to the stock market crash and the great Depression.
During World War II however, Audemars Piguet made a significant come back and their sales started a steady growth throughout the forties and fifties. Together with Jaeger Le Coultre, it designed the thinnest automatic movement. The latter included a 21 carat gold rotor placed in the centre. The legendary "Royal Oak" was produced five years later, in 1972. The designer of this watch was Gerald Genta.
Today, the company maintains one of the leading positions in the watch-making world and it owns about 40 per cent of Jaeger Le Coultre. Every timepiece manufactured in-house is still made using their original hand-made techniques.
Since 2000, Audemars Piguet have claimed that they do not and will not exceed an annual production figure of 16,000 watches, which is quite understated when compared to Rolex's 2,000 watches a day.