A visit to Audemars Piguet

A few weeks ago I received an invitation from an Autodesk customer – Audemars Piguet, a luxury watchmaker based here in Switzerland in the town of Le Brassus – to have a tour of their museum and production facility. So it was that yesterday I headed across to the Vallée de Joux with my friend and colleague, Francesco Tonioni, who works closely with Audemars Piguet.

The view from Audemar Piguet's reception in Le Brassus

We were welcomed by Denys, who took care of us throughout our day there. Our tour started in the Audemars Piguet museum, where Denys educated us about the rich history of the region and its watchmakers, as well as about the company itself.

An introduction to watchmaking in the area

It was a real treat, getting to see not only antique tools…

A watchmaker's bench

… but some incredibly historic (and valuable) timepieces.

Some gorgeous old pieces

Many of the timepieces made in the region – and by Audemars Piguet – have “complications”. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (in fact, the opposite :-), it means they go beyond the basic features of displaying hours and minutes.

A beautiful three-hammer watch from the late 19th century

A nice old sign

Over the…

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