Audemars Piguet - Watches & Wonders
Audemars Piguet's CEO, François-Henry Bennahmias, commented: "Audemars Piguet is proud to have been one of the 13 prestigious Haute Horology brands participating in the first edition of Watches & Wonders. We firmly believe that this event can provide an excellent platform for us to further introduce the brand's origins, passion, artistry and craftsmanship to the Asian markets."
Exclusively for Watches & Wonders 2013, Audemars Piguet launched the Millenary Minute Repeater and almost simultaneously to its worldwide launch in Miami, unveiled the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph LeBron James, a limited edition for the twice NBA champion and Audemars Piguet Ambassador. Visitors also had the opportunity to see a collection of historical pieces brought over from Audemars Piguet's private museum situated in Le Brassus.
The brand's stand was a representation of its new boutique concept launched this year, which aim, is to bring the Manufacture to the boutique. Origins and exclusive relationships are at the centre of the customer brand experience and come through compelling content as well as powerful storytelling while reflecting Audemars Piguet's unique energy and own personality. The lounge area, the watchmaker's corner and the timepieces windows are all part of the experience while the wooden interior and lighting are reminiscent of the Vallee de Joux, the cradle of the brand.
On September 26th, International star Mr. Donnie Yen and Dr. Francis Choi, founder of Early Light International (Holdings) Limited, paid a visit to the Audemars Piguet lounge along with their family. Fascinated by the watchmaker's bench and the dial making machine they were also given a private tour of the stand and current timepiece collection.
Audemars Piguet - Extra Millimeters
WORLDTEMPUS - 17 January 2012
"No frills." Audemars Piguet's head designer Octavio Garcia keeps saying as he described the fortieth anniversary Royal Oak that has grown two spots to become 41 millimeters in diameter. There is no doubt he was confronted with a tough task: modernizing an icon that spewed from the hands of octagonal-happy designer Gerald Genta in 1972.
He did well, however. Visually, the 41-millimeter Reference 15400 is not a "large" watch per se. You can tell, of course, that it is not the usual 39-millimeter size, particularly when you strap it to your wrist.
The chronograph carrying the reference number 26320 seems to work within this parameter slightly better than the time-only Royal Oak. The 41-millimeter case size is quite handsome in that it combines dressy, rugged and elegant all at the same time in a handsome kind of way. Perhaps the dial layout works better on the chronograph due to the slightly shorter hands as compared with the time-only version. Maybe it is simply a matter of taste - which it very often is.
The luxurious straps for the precious metal rose gold versions are slightly slimmer and much softer than the crocodile straps found on the 39-millimeter Reference 15300 Royal Oaks and feel really comfortable on the wrist.
No more 39 mm
The bad news is that the 39-millimeter line of Reference 15300 will soon be a thing of the past. This is perhaps why I marvel a bit too much at a slightly updated version of Reference 15202 with one of the thinnest automatic movements on the market today. Updated with a date disc the same color as the dial - which goes for all the new Royal Oaks beginning in 2012 - as well as the double strength 12 o'clock marker, the 15202 looks like its former self - and it is a looker. It is also the most complex of the Royal Oaks due to the mono block case design, which means that Reference 15202's case front and back are machined together as opposed to References 15300 and 15400, which are of three-piece case design.
Pro-looking diver
Refreshingly, there was not a lot of news from the Offshore line this year. As in less is more, Garcia showed only one new Offshore: a fantastic-looking Diver with a caseband in forged carbon and bezel in ceramic. Last year, we saw the first unlimited Offshore Diver, but that almost looks civil compared to the new version, Reference 15706, with yellow details and blackened hands. This new diver's watch has a professional look and feel to it and will probably outdo the "civil" version of 2011 in terms of popularity.
No frills
All in all, Garcia did well. Again. He did not mess too much with the original Genta design from 1972. He did not go "exotic" in terms of material for the 41 millimeter Royal Oaks. He simply created a no-frills collection, like he kept underscoring during the interview.
Dutch Brands - An introduction to part 1
22nd October 2009
Robert-Jan Broer - www.fratellowatches.com
How about The Netherlands? Dutch horology probably began in the 17th century, when Christiaan Huygens published a book called Horologium in 1658. He invented the pendulum clock, which was considered to be a breakthrough in timekeeping. Christiaan Huygens was the first to apply an anchor escapement, which was a big step in creating accurate movements.
Just a few hundred meters from my house is the residence where Christiaan Huygens lived, it is called Hofwijck. A few hundred meters on the other side of my house, there is a small park with a statue of Christiaan Huygens. I just discovered it by incident, while I was looking for a nice place to have our wedding photographs made. This statue of Christiaan Huygens inspired me to finally write something on Dutch watchmaking.
I am planning to do a multiple article piece on this topic, since there are a few interesting brands to cover. The kick-off will be with Christiaan van der Klaauw. It can't be coincidence that he shares his forename with one of the pioneers of modern watchmaking. Christiaan van der Klaauw is a Frysian watchmaker, that is considered to be one of the first Dutch independent companies on haute horlogerie.
But what about the Grönefeld Exclusive Timepieces, with their very high end GTM06 time piece? Lead by two brothers in a small village in the east part of The Netherlands, near the German border. Bart and Tim Grönefeld got their education at Audemars Piguet and started out as a watch service center, before bringing their dream into reality with their own time piece. The GMT06 is this dream time piece, featuring a tourbillon and minute repeater.
Van der Gang is another Frysian watchmaker from The Netherlands. Creating modern classic watches, in their own high-tech factory in The Netherlands. Van der Gang Watches claim to have high standards for their watchmaking process.
A entirely different Dutch brand, is DMH. Dingemans Mechanische Horloges, try to pronounce that correctly when you are not from The Netherlands or Belgium. There is no high-end factory, or men in white lab suits walking around. Fred Dingemans just uses everything in his power to create a decent watch. By not having an entire factory and staff, he has to make concessions when creating a watch case, dial or hands. However, everything by hand and all for a very decent price.
Also unique is Van Ree Watches. Lead by Daniel van Ree, these mechanical watches carry the DNA of the buyer. DNA is stored in a special compartment in the watch and the code is engraved in the sapphire crystal display back. Besides this gimmick, these watches are built with great care and perfection.
These are the brands that I would like to cover in the next few Chronicles at WorldTempus. Like I wrote earlier, the kick-off will be with Christiaan van der Klaauw, probably the most famous Dutch watchmaker.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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