Audemars Piguet Ultimate Buying Guide

Audemars Piguet occupies an interesting position in the luxury watch industry. Rolex and Patek Philippe belong to the spirit of the times. Their names are the calling cards of luxury. Yet fake Audemars Piguet is not often found in the lyrics of songs or on the wrists of athletes. When the brand is mentioned, it is almost always reduced to its initials (AP) and replaced by its most famous model, the Royal Oak.  
How can a brand walk this line between international celebrity and family secret when fans of the AP will mention it before Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, Hublot, Richard Mille, and all the rest? In fact, for the true die-hard fans, there is only AP.
Perhaps this strange, almost dichotomous character was created through a unique series of events. Perhaps Audemars Piguet has the broader watchmaking industry to thank for its role. You see, Patek Philippe is a name associated with the idea of luxury rather than any particular model. Yes, the Nautilus is very well known. Yes, the Calatrava is a classic. But the mere utterance of these four syllables conjures up images of unparalleled luxury.
Rolex, meanwhile, is a brand known for its quintessential goods (plural). Rolex produces and does so at a very high level. Although the current scarcity of specialized steel models means the opposite, Rolex actually produces just over a million replica watches per year. It is a label. It is a brand. People know about Rolex before they know about its watch models. That is not the case with AP.
It seems impossible to understand replica Audemars Piguet without first knowing the Royal Oak. Thus, this most enduring icon of the brand acts as a gatekeeper to the wonderful world of watchmaking craftsmanship. In addition to the Royal Oak collection (which we will describe in detail below), Audemars Piguet also offers ladies’ watches, concept watches, classically styled timepieces, the new and highly controversial Code 11:59 collection, and much more. The diversity of the current collections may surprise newcomers, but Audemars Piguet has been in the watchmaking business for a long time, with a history of success and near-perfection thanks to a pool of experience that few other brands in our industry can match.
Founded in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, the brand established its reputation in the late 19th century by designing award-winning movements that propelled the brand’s expansion in the Western world. However, these promising beginnings would soon be forgotten in a period of metaphorical and literal tragedy. the “Panic” of 1907 caused the New York Stock exchange to fall by nearly 50% in a three-week period. It severely damaged the performance of the Associated Press in the U.S. market. World War I broke out in 1914, and with the fall of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, the brand’s interests in Russia were almost entirely wiped out.
Five years later, Jules Louis Audemars died, and Piguet died the following year in 1919. Throughout the 1920s, the founder’s descendants worked to restore the brand to its earlier level of success. The brand struggled for survival throughout the decade before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 again put a dent in its growth.
Production numbers dwindled to an almost comical level in the early 1930s (only two fake Rolex watches were produced in 1932) and it was only later in the decade that the brand barely gained a foothold. Despite poor sales figures, Audemars Piguet continued to produce some impressive products, including complicated jumping time mechanisms and minute repeaters, which were the foundation of the brand’s reputation.
To survive, Audemars Piguet diversified its production interests during the Second World War. In addition, a loan of 15,000 Swiss francs from the local Chamber of Commerce helped the brand to survive a difficult period. But better days were yet to come. the 1950s saw a resurgence of global optimism and the brand recovered under the management of Georges Gorey, an accomplished businessman. It was during this period that the Brassus factory was expanded. Today, the brand still calls this location home.