The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet combines contemporary architecture, innovative scenography and traditional savoir-faire.
Behold the new architectural and museographical marvel by Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer, Audemars Piguet.
The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is a new museum designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and located in the Vallée de Joux, where Audemars Piguet’s deep-rooted origins stem. A feat of engineering and design, it is the first construction of its kind to be built at such altitude. As a commitment and devotion to the perpetuation of Haute Horlogerie, Audemars Piguet presents its rich legacy through a selection of the brand’s emblematic heritage and contemporary timepieces.
The museum’s collection displays more than 300 watches that span over two centuries of mechanical mastery, showcasing feats of complication, miniaturisation and unconventional designs. One’s visit will naturally culminate at the centre of the spiral. The astronomical, chiming and chronograph complications that have been at the core of the Manufacture since its establishment, orbit around the Universelle pocket watch from 1899 – the most complicated watch ever produced by Audemars Piguet.
To complement the display, two specialised ateliers are included in the museum’s spatial experience to let visitors experience the Manufacture’s ancestral savoir-faire first-hand. The Grandes Complications and Métiers d’Art Ateliers are situated at the heart of it all, deserving of their symbolic placement, as this is where the Manufacture’s architectural intensity is at its highest.
Visitors are also invited to try their hands at some of the ancestral techniques perpetuated by Audemars Piguet’s finishing experts, such as satin brushing and circular graining. And at this immersive museum, visitors can expect a diverse experience with crescendos, highpoints and contemplative moments – complete with interludes, including sculptures, automata, kinetic installations and mock-ups of intricate mechanical movements.
Audemars Piguet has also created a new take on one of its rare chronographs in 1943, in celebration of the opening of its Musée Atelier. Named [Re]master01, this new self-winding flyback chronograph embodies the Manufacture’s blend of tradition and forward thinking. This limited edition of 500 watches evokes all of the design attributes of the original and features a round stainless steel case and teardrop lugs enhanced by 18-carat pink gold bezel, crown and pushers.
Images courtesy of Audemars Piguet, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related links:
Audemars Piguet CODE 11.59: Ahead of the Curve
Audemars Piguet: Time for CODE 11.59
