There are any number of books out there which have been produced by various makers, with a view towards adding another dimension to our experience and knowledge of their watches. They vary in the degree to which they succeed. They can be lavishly beautiful, but fail to measure up when it comes to actual hard information, and what enthusiasts and serious students of horology often bemoan, is the somewhat superficial, coffee-table book approach which is sometimes taken, to a subject that merits a more in-depth approach.
An in-depth approach is exactly what you get from the team at Audemars Piguet, who produced Audemars Piguet: 20th Century Complicated Wristwatches. The book is very much eye candy, as you might expect from AP but it is also much, much more than that. While AP has increasingly been defined by the Royal Oak and its myriad offspring (including the Offshore) in recent years, for much of its history it was also nothing less than one of the greatest complications specialists in the world (and still is today). The Vallée de Joux, where Audemars Piguet makes its home, has been despite its remoteness, perhaps the greatest single center of horological complications specialists in history. The success of the Royal Oak models speaks for itself, of course, but there is another side to the company ?many other sides, one wants to say ?which are much less well known; this book partially addresses what I suspect is a considerable gap in the knowledge of many AP aficionados.
A perpetual calendar wristwatch, model 5516.
In the book's introduction, by AP Heritage and Museum Director Sebastian Vivas, and AP Historian Michael Friedman, they note: "During the late 19th and early-mid 20th century, Audemars Piguet was an Etablisseur, producing replica watches in collaboration with a variety of small workshops in the Vallée de Joux, conducting an orchestra of closely networked and highly talented craftsmen. Production volumes were very small for much of the history, rarely more than a few hundred replica watches made per year."
The book is impressive in both its scope, and its rigor. Many brands today strive to represent themselves as monolithic in terms of production ?a result of the pressure from the market to adopt in-house production as much as possible during the mechanical fake watch renaissance of the 1990s and early 2000s. As with the notion of in-house vs. outsourced movements, the reality of fake watch production in Switzerland is actually far more complex, and involves an extremely complex interlocking network of mutually dependent producers, of everything from movement components, to hands, dials, cases, and so on.
Video Series: Complicated Watchmaking At Audemars PiguetIf you're interested in learning more about complicated watchmaking at Audemars Piguet, take a look at our 3-part video series, The Art Of Complexity, which takes you from its origins right up to the present day ?including a look at some of the rarest and most beautiful complicated timpieces in the world. Above, AP triple calendar chronograph in yellow gold, early 1940s.
The existence of this network and the real nature of Swiss watchmaking's history is fully documented in this remarkable volume. The authors of the introduction emphasize this:
"The goal of the research has always been to share as much as possible of the available and verifiable data and analysis that we have learned ... Respecting a principle of academic research and transparency, we have chosen to publish the names of all documented entities involved in the production of Audemars Piguet watches. For example, the blank makers including Louis Elysee Piguet company, Le Coultre & Cie, Valjoux, etc., all of which were based in the Vallée de Joux; as well as dial makers such as Croisier, Eggly, Wenger, Stern, etc., most of which were based in Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds are all detailed within this book."
ADVERTISEMENTA great deal of detective work went into the book, and this is obvious from its wealth of detail. AP has kept fairly exhaustive records throughout its history (preserved very well, thanks in no small part to the fact that the company is still owned by members of the original founding family) but watchmakers who specialized in this level of horology often worked, if not in secrecy, then in an environment characterized by typical Swiss discretion, and protectiveness of individual craft and trade secrets.
Complicated watchmaking today at Audemars Piguet: the world's record setting Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin.
Audemars Piguet: 20th Century Complicated Wristwatches is organized into five chapters. Four of these document the history of different types of complications at AP, including a chapter on so-called "double complications," and the last chapter details the rebirth of complicated watchmaking at the firm, beginning with the perpetual calendar in 1978 (AP's first tourbillon of the new era was the famous ultra-thin ref. 25643, better known as the caliber 2870).
For much of the period leading up to, and just after, the Second World War, AP's production of replica watches was extremely low and many of the replica watches produced had individual variations in the execution of various aspects of their designs ?making them essentially unique pieces. Woven through the book are innumerable fascinating details about the production of complicated timepieces in the 20th century at AP. (The slideshow below shows several of these replica watches ?all are detailed in the book, and were photographed by HODINKEE at AP Le Brassus).
First generation AP chronograph wristwatch, No. 42625. Sold to AP retailer Astrua in 1926; probably a unique piece.
Model no. 5504, 20 models produced from 1948-1959. Unusually large (for its era) 37mm case; central date hand.
Model 5514 ?22 made, 6 known, produced 1949-1950. Full calendar, 24.90mm x 25mm
Model 5516, perpetual calendar. Only 3 produced; sold in 1959 and retailed by Vacheron Constantin (who did not sign the watches)
Full calendar chronograph, produced 1941-1942, in 10 documented examples, all in 33mm gold cases
"Lunette Cubiste" chronograph, in Staybrite stainless steel. Part of a series of nine, produced from 1930 to 1928. An unusual combination of steel case and enamel dial.
Minute repeater, unique piece. Movement completed in 1927; cased and sold in 1945. Platinum case, brushed silver dial.
Just a sample: Over half of the production of 35 minute repeating replica watches were cased in platinum (in contrast to the received wisdom that red gold is the most suitable material. Of the 307 chronographs produced, only 52 were made in stainless steel. Also of the 307 chronographs produced, only two were made in white gold. 22 of the 35 confirmed minute repeating wristwatches were made in just one decade: the 1920s. No calendar replica watches were made at all between 1930 and the eve of World War II, thanks to the Great Depression and its effects ?and, the very first Royal Oak chronograph appeared in 1972, and used the caliber 2385 which, " ... stems from cooperation with the movement blank producer Frédéric Piguet."
To say that this book is absolutely essential for any serious AP enthusiast or collector is beyond an understatement. It is one of the most clearly laid-out, well-presented, well-researched horological books ever produced, and although AP fans will certainly find it fascinating, so will anyone who wants a genuinely in-depth, clear and candid presentation of the state of complicated watchmaking in Switzerland in the 20th century.
Available online, at watchprint.com.
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