Audemars Piguet

Hello everyone. This is a short report of my visit to Manufacture D'Horlogerie Audemars Piguet!

I have been fascinated by Audemars Piguet since around 2000. I have since then always dreamed of owning one of these amazing timepieces and I have now been fortunate enough to own a few. These are by far my favorite pieces in my collection.

Going to the actual factory where these timepieces are produced is any Audemars Piguet collectors dream and I was fortunate enough to get an invite to see the new facility in Le Brassus. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the fine people at Audemars Piguet for the invite. A special thank you to Pierre, Jenny-Lyne and Octavio for making my trip something I will never forget!

Forgive me for some of the photos. A mix of blackberry and point and shoot. I just didn't want to carry a heavy SLR with me on this trip. Also too many pictures to post so just a few so you get an idea.

Waiting at JFK

My view for the evening flight out. 100% Load Factor.

Alinghi In Flight

We arrived in Zurich and saw some of the sights. What a beautiful place. What can I say about the chocolate? One of the best!

Amazing! The history and the food!

On the way to Geneva from Zurich.

Geneva....Just another gorgeous city this country has to offer.

The lake has pristine water.

Ending with a fantastic dinner at La Reserve Geneva. The AP folks like it here. Thanks for the tip Will!

A beautiful sunny day in Geneva is how the day started. Audemars Piguet really took care of us. We had a driver take us from Geneva up to the factory. What a gorgeous drive. It was about an hour and fifteen minutes away.

The driver was very nice even though his english was very minimal. You just got a good vibe from him as he showed us the sights while driving up. Of course he had an offshore on.

The museum is also there but we didn't have time to do both that day. Who cares, just another reason to go back! You definitely need a couple of hours in the museum.

We are getting close!

Ahhhhh.....There it is!

Main Offices.Got to love 1875

The Museum is to the left.

Inside the main office entrance. The glass door which leads you in on the right has some great print on them. I didn't snap a picture though. Love the watchmaker desk.

From the main office we had to drive down to the new facility. Here is our ride again. Can't go wrong with Audi.

Here is the new facility. Very impressive! It's also like Fort Knox inside. I just love this picture.

Jenny-Lynn granted me access to take pictures of everything but I will not post everything here out of respect to AP. Every single Audemars Piguet employee was inviting and let me ask questions and take pictures. They are extremely friendly and love to share their passion. They are all true artists. Each with their own set of skills. Amazing work!

Skeleton dial being created.

Hand finishing bridges.

This particular artisans view.

This watchmaker was showing us the different oils for the movement. She actually hand assembled the chronograph modules in lightning speed.
Offshore movements on the table.

The gauge is to check the pressure of the chronograph start/stop and reset buttons

Notice that box of screws in front of her. In that box are 10 or so different size screws. Usually they are all separated but she doesn't like to work that way. Her method is to just have them all in one box and pick them out one by one. I was truly stunned. She picks them all out with no problems.

Some pieces in from various boutiques.

Grande Complication Room. It's just crazy in here. The pieces in here all under one roof blew my mind.

Master watchmaker showing me how the Grande Complications are put together. Start to finish this is his baby.

Yup......That's 3/4 of a Million US Dollars there. The sound is priceless. The wood used to make these "amplifiers" are from right behind the factory in the valley. You can't just use any wood.

Audemars Piguet Research and Development. Amazing things come from this place.

I couldn't believe I was going to see this!

From start to finish this process is a sight to see.

I have many pics from this department but I am only posting a few out of respect to AP. Please don't ask for more. Thanks!

Grand Prix Collection Bezel Just Made.

QC and finishing. Everything that comes out has to be finished by this gentleman. It was nice to have my Alinghi with me because everyone in this department was happy to see one in the wild. They work on all of these carbon models but they rarely see them all together as a watch being used if that makes sense.

After my tour of the factory Jenny-Lynn had a nice surprise for me. She took me up to Octavio Garcia's office. Imagine my surprise when she did this. Octavio was nothing but great. He sat with me for about 40 minutes and showed me some of his work. He is extremely talented and I was honored to meet him. Unbelievable things are coming from AP.

After the amazing tour and meeting with Octavio we sat down to a delicious meal at the hotel next door. Les Horlogers. hotel-horlogers.ch n

Exquisite Food, people and scenery. I will for sure stay there a night or two next time. Again my sincere gratitude to Pierre, Jenny-Lynn, Octavio and the rest of the folks at Audemars Piguet for having us there. A memorable experience that I will never forget.

another astonishing post, and more love to fall in with watchmaking.

Thanks mate.

Faisal

It's great to share these trips with fellow AP enthusiasts.

I did almost the same in October 2008, the new plant wasn't finished but we spent three days at the factory and it was a very nice experience.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Vte

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That looks like a great tour of one of the great brands!

It must've been very interesting to see those grand complications being assembled!

Thanks for sharing all the photographs with us! Looks great!

Yes it was a great tour. The grand comps and carbon pieces were a sight to see.

Audemars Piguet came shining through to us all. Many thanks for sharing.
Best,
Tim

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Looks like you had a wonderful time.

Wow, what a wonderful experience!

Thanks for taking us along for the trip, ATW!

While visiting, did any watch caught your eye as an upcoming acquisition?

Cheers,

Alex

for sharing your trip with us....

cheers

Thanks so much for sharing that.

No message body

I have learned firsthand that while the watches are the best in the world, it is the people of Audemars Piguet that make the brand so special.  Everything they do is handled with utmost professionalism, and the attention to detail goes far beyond the watches.

I am very pleased that a passionate collector had such a unique opportunity!

You have hit the nail on the head. Yes it's the PEOPLE for sure; from the creation to the sale of these watches and everyone involved in between. Thanks for the kind words and hope you are doing well!

Hi ATW,
Wow, thanks for sharing your visit to AP!

Regards,
ED-209

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Thank you so much for these great pictures.  As many other watch collectors it would be a dream come true to visit a factory...but to have the red carpet rolled out must have made it extra special.

I've got a couple of questions:

- I noticed in some of the pictures that it looked like you had some sort of cotton jacket over your clothes?  Was that something they gave you to keep the environment clean?

- Was the factory mostly quiet with everyone working independently? or was there conversations going, phones ringing etc...?

- Did you get to see a sales department?  I realize that Audemars Piguet sells itself but, just like they have experts working on the complications, did you get to meet the guys that have the job of marketing a selling these amazing pieces?

Thanks Again!

Wade

Very good observation. Yes to enter any portion of the factory where the watches are being built, assembled, cased, tested, etc we had to wear a "clean suit". Also we were required to wear covers for our shoes.

Well it wasn't loud, but it wasn't silent inside. Watchmakers do work independently and in some cases their work is tested/checked by the person next to them.

No phones ringing that I could recall.

Yes I did meet park of the marketing department. I sat down with the the head of design; Octavio Garcia who is behind many of the new pieces you have seen such as Montoya, Alinghi, Barrichello, MC-12, etc.

This message has been edited by AllThingsWatches on 2010-03-28 10:37:38

Thank you for sharing!

A