Audemars Piguet @ Royal Oak 40 Years Exhibition

To break the rules, you must first master them. 40 years ago, Audemars Piguet broke all rules of fine watchmaking when in 1972 it introduced the ground-breaking design of the Royal Oak, the first luxury sports watch in Haute Horlogerie. 40 years on, the four characteristics that defined this timepiece and the luxury watch industry are even more than ever recognisable; the octagonal bezel fixed with the hexagonal screws, one of the thinnest selfwinding movements, the seamlessly integrated to the case bracelet and the tapisserie pattern on the dial. 

Audemars Piguet host a design, photography, sound and film come together for a stellar Royal Oak 40th anniversary worldwide exhibition begin from New York. To celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Audemars Piguet’s iconic timepiece Royal Oak, the world’s first ever luxury sports timepiece which sparked a complete paradigm shift in the watch industry, the Swiss Manufacture from Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux has put together a unique, ephemeral exhibition.

The exhibition using design, photography, sound and film from three unequivocally 21^st century artists, Sebastien Leon Agneessens, Quayola and Dan Holdsworth, the Manufacture has curated an exhibition of 100 exceptional timepieces set against the backdrop of a stage that underscores Audemars Piguet’s origins, mastery and artistry.The exhibition also carries dedicated areas displaying images taken by photographer Dan Holdsworth and film, by digital artist Quayola. The contemporary lens of photographer Dan Holdsworth captures the terrain of the Vallée de Joux and its special – cosmic – relationship to time. He documents the Valley at its stillest hours, capturing the ancient forests and glacial topography under the celestial presence of mist or moon to convey the extraordinary temporal significance vested in the landscape.

This incredible link between nature, man and his creations, the complex movements that have become the beating hearts of each Audemars Piguet timepiece, continues to live in Le Brassus of the 21^st century and inspires the watchmakers of today as they pursue their never-ending quest to unravel the mysteries of nature. One of these images has been selected for the new branding campaign of Audemars Piguet, launched worldwide beginning of January 2012.  The year-long celebrations of one of the most iconic timepieces in the word of Haute Horlogerie will take place for a short time only, in iconic buildings of key cities around the world. The exhibition, open to the public, will stop in Milan, Paris, Singapore, Beijing and Dubai.