Many of the brands had scheduled presentations throughout the week, and I was asked to moderate the presentation from Audemars Piguet. Company board member (and founding family descendant) Olivier Audemars came from Switzerland along with Chief Artistic Director (a/k/a head of AP's watch and branding design) Octavio Garcia. Rather than give a talk, they preferred a more relaxed and informal open interview, so I was asked to facilitate this.
Producer and AP fan Swiss Beatz flanked by Octavio (to his right) and Olivier on a visit to the manufacture image from Internet
Some of you might recall I interviewed both Olivier and Octavio during the first stop of the 40th Anniversary of the Royal Oak exhibition in New York City.
We picked up at a similar point in the discussion while in Mexico City, and made an hour long presentation to a standing room only crowd of watch collectors. It was an amazing opportunity to share the history of Audemars Piguet, and the important distinction Olivier made in that the company is guided by stewardship, not by ownership.
This perspective is the basis for the now 20-year-old Royal Oak Foundation, which uses proceeds from the sales of Royal Oak watches to fund hundreds of projects worldwide, ranging from children's charities to conservation efforts. It began as a concerted effort to preserve the Vallee de Joux (where AP is headquartered), and continues there today. That same mindset is what drives the continued dedication to preserving traditional watchmaking in the Vallee de Joux, which is why the restoration department at Audemars Piguet is regularly working on pieces produced in the valley, and not necessarily by AP.
The history of watchmaking in the Vallee de Joux began with a group of people escaping religious persecution, their families coming to the Vallee de Joux by way of Geneva. The Piguet family can be traced in the region as far back as written history exists, to the 1500s. The Audemars arrived in the 1600s, or we should say the "Hodemart" family did, which was the original spelling. The family name is believed to have been changed simply due to a misinterpretation of penmanship.
This is why the company reminds us that while AP officially formed in 1875, they knew they were only carrying on an already established tradition.
Which Olivier Audemars explains is the same awareness that guides those who work with Audemars Piguet now. They join AP at some point on a long, continuous timeline of a company that came before us, and one that will survive for many generations afterwards. Thus, the decision making at AP is always made with this in mind: what are we leaving to our grandchildren?
Octavio also discussed this same framework at the helm of the design and branding of the company. Tradition running concurrent with the avant-garde.
Family + Audacity.
Stewardship naturally extends to the section of the manufacture which opened a few years back. Powered hydroelectrically, constructed with recyclable materials, and utilizing a self-actuating shade system on the windows.
Mindful of the past, looking generations ahead into the future...and respecting both as familial treasures. That is the universal philosophy at AP, and the reason Octavio stated that the re-thinking of the Millenary line was examined with the same perspective as the original Royal Oak.
Playing with the concept of negative space, the Millenary was the launching pad for the high frequency, lubricant-free, direct impulse AP escapement.
Millenary Minute Repeater
Millenary Tourbillon Deadbeat Seconds
Millenary 4101
The traditions of the watchmaking deliberately exposed, in the same way the vulnerable seals and rubber pieces were on the Offshore models.
The prominent reminder of protection, which figures integrally in the design of the Royal Oak, and now exercised in the Millenary line.
Protection. Family. Anyone starting to notice a theme?
2012, the year the AP Royal Oak became a family...
The AP family with their prestigious award from the SIAR judging committee, in honor of the accomplishment of this year's Royal Oak line.
A very special thank you to AP for inviting me to be part of the family this past week. It was truly an honor.
Howard - Moderator...Audemars Piguet & Jaeger-LeCoultre
- boa2