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Since 1875, Audemars Piguet has produced complex and refined watches, equally beautiful inside and out, finished and assembled by hand. Decoration techniques add the final touch, turning timepieces into true works of art.
Audemars Piguet decorated by hand the hundreds of miniature components of its movements to the slightest details. While bevelling and polishing also serve a functional purpose, decorations are governed by an aesthetic approach, taking the shape of various motifs such as “Côtes de Genève,” “traits tirés,” circular graining, snailing and sunburst brushing. Today, the decoration of a movement amounts to at least 30% of its value.
Once decorated, components are meticulously assembled by hand. Before the hundreds of components are fitted to the mainplate, the watchmakers must carry out a crucial pre-assembly procedure known as jewelling, which is vital in reducing friction and ensuring that the calibre runs smoothly.
Polishing
Polishing results in smooth, shiny surfaces which reduce the risk of oxidation.
Circular Graining
This decorative motif composed of close overlapping circles adorns bridges, plates, the bottoms of recesses and dials. The small circles also enable to catch micro-dust, thus stopping it from going into the mechanism.
Côtes de Genève
This type of decoration is generally reserved for the visible surface of bridges.
Hand-Chamfering
The hand-chamfering of flanks and angles ennobles calibres. A chamferer smoothes by hand the sharp and irregular edges of the movement’s components after machining. This procedure brings a play of light on the edges of the various parts, from screws and pins to larger components such as bridges and cams. The chamferer also gives the perfect V shape to external and interior angles for a refined finishing only achievable by hand.
We make beautiful objects that will last many lifetimes… Everything we produce is an expression of our watchmakers’ craft.
Jasmine Audemars
Chairwoman of the Audemars Piguet Foundations
A timepiece’s case reflects the strength that lies within. Its detailed hand-finished design acts as a protective shield for the movement, safeguarding it from shocks and moisture, all the while affording the timepiece style and personality.
Since the Manufacture’s origins, Audemars Piguet cases and bracelets have presented high-end finishing techniques usually found on calibres. Today, the contrast between polished and satin-brushed surfaces has become Audemars Piguet’s distinctive signature.
Audemars Piguet watches are adorned with highly creative and expressive dials. Complex craftsmanship is topped off with high-end decorations and creative hour-markers, numerals and hands.
"Crystal Sand" finished dial - Royal Oak Frosted Gold
The Guillochage
The Smoked Dial
Vibrant dial - Code 11.59
Tapisserie pattern
Openworking has been an Audemars Piguet speciality since the 1930s. Openwork specialists create a new movement by starting with the end design and working backwards. It is an art, balancing aesthetics and function that require horological mastery and profound knowledge of materials and finishing techniques.
The guilloché patterns adorning the Royal Oak collection require a rare savoir-faire no longer taught in horology school, but passed down across generations at Audemars Piguet.
Petite Tapisserie
Guilloché decorative pattern on extra-thin Royal Oak models.
Grande Tapisserie
Guilloché decorative pattern on selfwinding and quartz Royal Oak models.
Méga Tapisserie
Stamp decorative pattern on the Royal Oak Offshore collection.
This ancient gold hammering technique, also called Florentine technique, consists in beating gold with a diamond-tipped tool to create tiny indentations on the surface, for a sparkle effect similar to that of precious stones, like diamond dust. Today, Audemars Piguet’s craftspeople developed it into a horological craft suited to cases and bracelets, that comes to life in various collections.
Audemars Piguet unveiled the Royal Oak Frosted Gold in 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ladies’ Royal Oak in collaboration with jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. Today, Audemars Piguet’s craftspeople developed it into a horological craft suited to cases and bracelets, that comes to life in various collections.
At Audemars Piguet, watchmakers, designers, jewellers and gem-setters work side by side to create timepieces of unparalleled artistic expression.
The Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle, the Royal Oak Grande Complication and the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Grande Sonnerie Carillon Supersonnerie embody the pinnacle of Haute Horlogerie. These models offer infinite creative possibilities, including rare dials, innovative materials and personalised engravings.
A Story of Expertise
The Petite Tapisserie decorative pattern adorning the dial of the first Royal Oak has been one of the collection’s essential aesthetic codes since 1972.
Read on AP ChroniclesModel 5402 Dial Variants
The dial of the first Royal Oak is a masterpiece of technique and design. After detailed scrutiny of the Tapisserie expertise in a previous article, here we look at the characteristics of the dial
Read on AP ChroniclesThe First Royal Oak Cases
The Royal Oak case is an aesthetic and technical masterpiece combining a rounded octagon, a circle and a tonneau shape, extreme thinness and water-resistance.
Read on AP ChroniclesRoyal Oak Bracelets
The Royal Oak’s integrated metal bracelet is one of the most complex and celebrated in the history of watchmaking.
Read on AP Chronicles