Audemars Piguet
Founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in Le Brassus. Known for complications and for the Royal Oak of 1972, a steel sports watch with an octagonal bezel, designed by Gérald Genta.
Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet set up their workshop in the Vallée de Joux, where watchmakers had long made complicated movements for other firms. The brand became known for striking watches, chronographs and thin movements.
The Royal Oak, shown in 1972, was a steel sports watch at the price of a gold watch. Gérald Genta's octagonal bezel with visible screws and the integrated bracelet became the model for a whole genre. Audemars Piguet is still owned by the founding families.
Case and movement numbers; the Royal Oak’s visible screws in the bezel.