Audemars Piguet is a master of complicated mechanisms, and its advanced watchmaking techniques are also evident in the evolution of the tourbillon. We will introduce the history and masterpieces of Audemars Piguet, which created the world's first automatic tourbillon wristwatch and was also the pioneer of the flying tourbillon.
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Audemars Piguet is a manufacturer that incorporates all kinds of complications into elegant watches. Before we look at the history and masterpieces of Audemars Piguet, let's first explain what the tourbillon is.
Mechanism for dispersing gravity
The "tourbillon" is a regulating mechanism patented by the legendary genius watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801.
Mechanical watches are powered by the unwinding of the mainspring, and are kept isochronous, or in other words, timekeeping accuracy, by a regulating escapement consisting of an escape wheel, anchor, balance, and hairspring.
Accuracy is maintained by the stable pendulum movement of the balance wheel, but when the position of the watch changes, gravity causes subtle errors, and this is even more significant when the movement is held upright vertically.
To solve this problem, Breguet invented the tourbillon, a mechanism that houses the regulating escapement in a single carriage and rotates the entire carriage once per minute.
This allowed the deviation in pendulum motion to be dispersed even when the watch was held upright, allowing the pocket watch to maintain isochronism even when held upright in a pocket.
The star of complications
The tourbillon was an excellent regulating mechanism, but it was too complicated to guarantee sufficient accuracy for practical use. It was extremely difficult to put into practical use, especially in wristwatches, which require small movements, and for a long time, almost no watchmakers adopted it.
The tourbillon made a comeback in watch history in the late 1980s, during the aftermath of the quartz crisis and a period of decline for mechanical watches.
In response to the quartz movement, which allowed for the mass production of highly accurate watches at low cost, the tourbillon was revived as a symbol of the complex mechanism used in wristwatches.
At the time of its revival, there were only a handful of watchmakers who could assemble tourbillons, and their elegant and rhythmic movement propelled them to stardom as the flagship complication.
The History of Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet has been a leader in the watch industry as a leader in complicated mechanisms for its 145-year history (as of 2020). Let's take a look at the history of Audemars Piguet, focusing on the tourbillon.
A maison specializing in complex mechanisms
The history of Audemars Piguet began in 1875 when watchmaker Jules-Louis Audemars opened a watch workshop in Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland.
Audemars, who was skilled in complex mechanisms, invited his childhood friend, watchmaker Edouard-Auguste Piguet, to join him, and with Piguet in charge of management, they started their own brand, Audemars Piguet, in 1881.
In 1892, the company released the world's first wristwatch minute repeater, and has continued to release a series of complications, including perpetual calendars and moon phases, focusing on chronographs, which have been the company's specialty since its founding.
In 1986, they released the world's first thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch, making them a master of complications that has always led the watch industry.
Development of the Flying Tourbillon
In 1920, Alfred Helwig, director of the Glashütte Watchmaking School in Germany, invented the "flying tourbillon," which does not have a bridge supporting the tourbillon carriage on the dial side.
Since the tourbillon's resurgence, several watchmakers have incorporated flying tourbillons into their watches, but Audemars Piguet was the first to incorporate this elegant complication in the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT, released in 2018. Surprisingly, this is a late start for the maison.
