Its name evokes the magnificent gleaming orbs of a pirate’s deep-sea treasure, but perlage (also know as circular graining or stippling) has long been considered a lesser form of adornment. “It’s a pattern of tightly overlapping, concentric circles created with a revolving, abrasive peg. In general, the technique is used to camouflage the unpolished parts of a movement, such as the bridges, plates and recesses. But here at Audemars Piguet, it’s more and more valued,” says Sylvain Freiholz, manager of the pre-assembly and movement workshop, which includes decoration, at the Manufacture AP.

For the past eight years, Freiholz’s team of six experts has used the technique on about 25,000 movements annually. The work is done by hand, using a machine equipped with a rotating peg that is lowered to mark the part’s surface. The decorator-watchmaker uses varying pressure to determine the luster and design of the graining. “By mastering this technique, we’re able to create patterns and textures that are increasingly beautiful,” he explains.

Aware of the aesthetic potential of this traditional decoration, the AP designers have become more interested in highlighting it. It can be found, for example, as a subtle touch on the balance of the caliber 3120. But it’s on the new Millenary 4101, on the market only a few weeks, that it can be seen in all its splendor because it appears on the face of the watch. In the future, according to Freiholz, it’s highly likely that this technique will be used in even more daring ways.

The story behind the birth of this resonating case is as charming as that of Audemars Piguet’s timepieces themselves. This because it is the fruit of a close collaboration between luthier and horology craftsmen who mingled their ancestral know-how and sensitivity in the heart of le Brassus, just a few steps away from Audemars Piguet’s headquarters.

“When the horology Manufacture commissioned me to come up with a harmonious, wooden resonance support that would be able to amplify the very sustained sound of a chiming watch, I thought of a case that would look like a grand piano,” recalls luthier Jeanmichel Capt, who founded JMC Lutherie. This particular case comprises two ultra-thin harmonic tables made of Vallée de Joux’s native spruce. Three chords tuned to the watch’s frequency give sustainability (the ability to maintain a note) to the very short sound of the timbres allowing the watch’s ring to be tuned. Mr. Capt’s passion for his craft is obvious as he explains, “This allows the note to be prolonged while having fun approaching it as closely as possible” while demonstrating the chiming device in his workshop.

This unusually elegant object is not created by chance. The harmonious wood must be absolutely perfect. The specialist himself goes out to find it, selecting his trees in the surrounding forests. The best specimens are very rare, less than 1 in 10,000. “I learned the technique with a tree gatherer, an old lumberjack who spent the better part of his life in the forest. I found out how to discern perfection using objective – as well as subjective – criteria by trying to sense the tree’s vibration,” explains Jeanmichel Capt. Once the tree has been felled, the trunk is quartered and stored all winter before being cut into thinner planks which are aged for 15 to 20 years. It’s only after this long period of rest that the wood can reveal its sensitivity by vibrating on either an instrument or a modern audio speaker (Soundboard) the luthier manufactures.

The resonance cases are sent across the globe with Audemars Piguet’s chiming watches.

www.jmclutherie.com

Photo credit: JMC

A progression through three legendary watch collections: the Royal Oak, the Royal Oak Offshore and the Millenary. It’s also the culmination of a project carried out over an entire year by students in the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL) under the supervision of the famous French designer Ronan Bourroullec in ECAL’s Master’s Program in Design and the Luxury Goods Industry. “Students were asked to give free rein to their imaginations, designing pieces that could be part of these collections, but still shake the DNA of the brand up a bit,” explains Augustin Scott de Martinville, head of the school’s master’s programs. “That being the case, they naturally came up with bold ideas that were nonetheless perfectly respectful of the codes that govern the world of Audemars Piguet.”

Created in 2008, this postgraduate degree is producing a new generation of designers who are able to meet the demands of the high-end segment of the market. They will be able to create new luxury products by putting into practice what they’ve learned about new technologies, traditional skills and the various materials used in the sector.

“This artistic collaboration with ECAL illustrates Audemars Piguet’s openness and commitment to creativity,” emphasizes the brand’s artistic director, Octavio Garcia, who led this cooperation with the prestigious Swiss design school.

It’s not the first time that ECAL has collaborated with the watchmaking Manufacture. Audemars Piguet is a privileged partner of the Master’s program in Design and the Luxury Goods Industry. Students designed and produced a jewelry accessory in 2009, and leather purses last year. “Working with a traditional company like this is a real opportunity, because it represents an unquestionably high level of savoir-faire. At a time when the notion of luxury is bandied about indiscriminately, becoming more of an abstract idea, it is important that our students discover the watchmaking culture,” says de Martinville, who is also a designer in the Lausanne-based BIG-GAME studio.

Note: the three prototypes will be exhibited until the end of June in Elac, ECAL’s exhibition hall. For more information: www.ecal.ch

Photo credit: Peter Mauss

When Facebook began in 2004, the social network rapidly created a storm with web users. By contrast, luxury brands stood timidly on the sidelines. It was some time before they dared to join the ranks of this vast movement of 450 million potential friends.

“The Internet is the principal marketing channel for counterfeits, and the luxury brands wanted total control over their own websites,” says David Sadigh, co-founder of IC-Agency, which specializes in digital marketing for the luxury industry.

Last year, the number of luxury watch fans on Facebook grew by 286 percent, according to the agency. With such an explosion, it was clearly difficult to ignore such a direct and powerful marketing tool. Audemars Piguet created a profile on Facebook a little over a year ago. It was one of the first luxury brands to do so. But it was only in early 2010 that its presence on the social network really took off. “In six months, we grew from 1,800 to 32,000 fans,” enthusiastically exclaims Webmaster Yann Lauener. “With Facebook, we can carry out opinion polls and strengthen customer loyalty.”

Sadigh notes that Facebook focuses heavily on the user’s private life. “It’s perfect for creating bonds and a sense of pride.” Clicking on “like” effectively signals “support for the brand’s ideas”. Federating the fans and reinforcing customer loyalty, while at the same time presenting new products – all are excellent reasons for a company to have its own “fan page”.

Via Facebook, some luxury producers are now creating online events. The approach is experimental, but it could soon become widespread. “Facebook gives us an opportunity for interacting in a personal context,” says Sadigh. “It’s a tool that creates emotion.”

An escapement that runs lubricant-free and ensures excellent efficiency and superior shock-resistance. A balance that oscillates twice as fast as normal with a frequency of 43,200 vibrations per hour (6 hz). All this in a three-dimensional platinum case, designed to highlight finishing and movement decoration inspired by the grand watchmaking tradition.

It’s no surprise that the Jules Audemars with Escapement, more commonly known as the “ChronAP,” has been showered with honors. It received the Men’s Watch Prize during the 9^th Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in Geneva last November, as well as the Asian Edition Public Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Asia held in Singapore a month earlier. But its international success doesn’t stop there. Last fall, the timepiece was also named best “Horological Value” at the 3^rd Tiempo de Relojes in Mexico and “Best Complicated Watch” in a ceremony organized by VOGUE Spain.

What makes this model so exceptional? “It’s excellent chronometry, its innovative design, and of course the new escapement,” explains Giulio Papi, founder and technical director of APRP (Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi). In addition, this model has a balance that beats twice as fast as normal, which gives the movement enhanced precision. “As for style, we were inspired by the spirit of the marine chronometry typical of the 1980s, while applying a three-

dimensional design to the watch face,” explains Papi, without whom this extraordinary timepiece would never have been created.

More information on the Audemars Piguet website: www.audemarspiguet.com