Audemars Piguet was founded in Le Brassus in 1875 by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Piguet.
Both founders came from the Vallée de Joux, a Swiss region long associated with complicated mechanical watchmaking. Audemars specialized in designing complex movements, while Piguet focused on regulating and commercializing them. Their partnership established the company’s technical and business foundations.
Audemars Piguet remains one of Switzerland’s best-known independent luxury watch manufacturers. It is especially associated with complicated watches and the Royal Oak, but the company existed for almost a century before that model appeared in 1972. The founders’ names are sometimes confused with the brand’s later designers, but neither Gérald Genta nor any later executive founded the company.