FASHION
AUDEMARS PIGUET OPENS THE MUSÉE ATELIER AUDEMARS PIGUET
JUNE 30, 2020
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WORDS
by KRISTOPHER FRASER
PHOTOS
COURTESY of OPTIMIST CONSULTING
Audemars Piguet has opened a new museum that’s an homage to the company’s history of luxury, craftsmanship, and impeccable taste. The new Musée Atelier Audmears Piguet immerses visitors in the Swiss manufacturers cultural universe and takes them through the history of the brand.
In 2014, Bjark Ingels Group (BIG) won the architectural competition Audemars Piguet hosted to expand its historical premises. The firm designed a contemporary spiral-shaped glass pavilion to complement the company’s oldest building where Jules Louis Audemars and Edward August Piguet set their workshop in 1875. The juxtaposition of the modern building against the company’s oldest building is symbolic of how Audemars Piguet blends both tradition and modern design to create their watches.
The mission of the museum is to honor Audemars Piguet’s history and origins in the Vallée de Joux. It was at this remote and pristine location that it all began. The region is home to Audemars Piguet’s traditional workshops, where some of the brand’s most complicated timepieces are still perfected today. These workshops are included in the museum’s spatial experience to bring visitors in close contact with Audemars Piguet’s craftspeople.
Bjark Ingels Group (BIG) designed a contemporary spiral-shaped glass pavilion that juxtaposes the old workshop building. The Grandes Complications and Métiers d’Art Ateliers situated at the heart of the spiral are a testament to the design skills of both Audemars and Bjark Ingels Group’s architectural prowess.
The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet offers a unique perspective of the Vallée de Joux and of the history of the brand’s watchmaking process. The architects and engineers of the new building along with the artisans that helped create Audemars Piguet’s products all came together for this collaborative creation for a new chapter in the brand’s history.
Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet
“We wanted visitors to experience our heritage, savoir-faire, cultural origins and openness to the world in a building that would reflect both our rootedness and forward-thinking spirit,” said Jasmine Audemars, chairwoman of the board of directors of Audemars Piguet. “But, before all, we wanted to pay tribute to the watchmakers and craftspeople who have made what Audemars Piguet is today, generation after generation.”
To offer visitors a diverse experience with crescendos, highpoints, and contemplative moments, German museum designer Atelier Brückner imagined the composition of the exhibition as a musical score. Interludes, sculptures, automata, kinetic installations and mock-ups on intricate mechanical movements came to characterize the new museum space. Visitors to the museum can even get hands-on with the experience by trying out some of Audemars Piguet’s ancestral techniques such as satin brushing and circular graining.
“The Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is a unique place of discovery, learning and conviviality where knowledge and savoir-faire are passed on to the next generation,” said Sébastian Vivas, Audemars Piguet’s Heritage and Museum Director. “The technical complexity of its architecture and scenography connects it to the highly complicated movement of a Grande Complication.”
The showcases at the museum feature almost two centuries of Audemars Piguet’s craftsmanship including more than 300 watches. Together all of the watches tell the story of how the original artisans of the brand managed to produce top-of-the-line Swiss made watches from the Swiss Jura.
