Audemars Piguet Watches

What is Audemars Piguet Watches? A trio of warships christened Royal Oak, named after the legendary “royal oak” – a hollowed out tree which offered King Charles II a safe hiding place from his pursuers – lent their distinctive name in 1972 to an equally distinctive luxury sports watch – the Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet. Since then, the Royal Oak has become the leading model of the world-famous firm in Le Brassus and helped the stainless steel wristwatch attain respectability among watch lovers around the world. 
The Audemars Piguet story begins in 1875 when twenty three year old watchmaker Jules Audemars and future partner Edward-August Piguet, just twenty-one years of age, met in the Vallee de Joux. Both had learned the watchmaker’s trade after finishing public school in their hometown of Le Brassus by training at the bench and returned to the Vallee de Joux to find jobs in the local watch making industry. Jules Audemars was soon producing raw components for watch movements, while Edward-August Piguet sought employment as a “repasseur” (a master watchmaker who performs the final regulation on a watch). Shortly after their meeting in 1875, the two talented watchmakers decided to join forces and founded the firm that would someday come to be known as Audemars, Piguet et Cie.
Almost from the beginning, Audemars was in charge of production and the technical side, while his partner Piguet focused on sales. Their partnership was not an immediate success, however. In fact, the Audemars Piguet trademark was not even registered until 1882 and the firm’s “official founding” did not take place until 1889. Already, however, Audemars Piguet et Cie had become the third largest employer for watch manufacturing in the Canton of Vaud. More importantly perhaps, both men had deliberately shifted their focus towards the production of high-quality, complex, ultra-precise watches.
Shortly after the official founding in 1889, a branch office was built in Geneva and the partners decided to produce all of their components and assemble the finished watches in-house. This allowed the firm to maintain strict quality control over their products and as a result, only products of the highest quality left the workshop. In short order, the greatest, most renowned retail jewelers were ordering watches from Le Brassus. Today, one can find many Audemars Piguet pocket watches identifiable as an Audemars Piguet only by their serial number, the result of prestigious jewelers, such as Gubelin and Tiffany & Co., wanting only their own name engraved on the movement and case, and not that of Audemars Piguet. audemars-piguet-royal-oak-offshore-rubens-barrichello-ii-watch-21
It is interesting to note that between 1894 and 1899, a mere 1,208 watches were produced. Among these were some of the most sophisticated timepieces ever made, including the legendary “Grande Complication” series, which is still being produced today. Aside from normal time indication, a Grande Complication timepiece offers minute repetition, perpetual calendar, and chronograph.
At around this same time, the retail operations in Geneva and London were transformed into full-service branches where watches were not only serviced but also assembled. By 1914, Audemars Piguet launched a project to develop a watch so complicated that it would take six years of continuous production before the watch could be delivered to the importers Guignard & Golay in London.
The watch in question was a pocket watch with two dials and a one-minute tourbillon mechanism. As well as a tourbillon, this double dial Lepine, gold watch included a minute repeater, a chronograph with 60-minute and 12-hour counters, perpetual calendar with displays which “jump” at midnight, display of the leap year cycle, the “age” and phases of the moon, and power reserve display. The second face showed an additional 24 hours based on the sidereal hour, moving a pair of independent hands. A special system connected to this gear-train makes it possible to see the changes in the London sky at any time of the day or night, through an oval-shaped opening in the rear dial. The sky is represented by 315 stars engraved on a plate of gold, enameled in blue. The stars, with their respective names, are all clearly visible .
Unfortunately, it was the last triumph for the founding partners. Audemars died in 1918. The following year, so did Edward Piguet.
After the founders’ death, Audemars Piguet continued to prosper, establishing several technical milestones with the creation of the world’s smallest minute repeater watch, having a diameter of just 15.8 millimeters; the debut of a Hunter Model (hinged-lid pocket watch) with a jumping second hand, also featuring a barometer, quarter repeater, independent second hand, the date and day of the week; and in 1925, another first: the world’s thinnest pocket watch measuring just 1.32 millimeters. The year 1928 also saw the development of the world’s first skeletonized pocket watch.
Needless to say, then as now, Audemars Piguet was considered one of the finest watch manufacturers in the world. Business boomed, as did the world economy. Customers of Audemars Piguet included such prestigious jewelers as Gubelin, Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari. Unfortunately, the company’s success ground to a shocking halt in 1929 when only 737 watches were sold. By contrast, nearly 2,000 watches had been sold in 1920. With the stock market crash in 1929 and the subsequent Depression, there were suddenly very few customers for expensive watches. Like other Swiss watch companies, Audemars Piguet was forced to layoff most of its workforce, until hitting rock bottom in 1932, when just two watches were produced.
Despite the hard times, the company bounced back following World War II, thanks to the success of its chronographs and ultra-thin (the famous nine-ligne calibre 2003) dress watches.
The 1950’s and 1960’s saw a major rebound in the firm’s sales. In 1967, in cooperation with Jaeger LeCoultre, a new record for the thinnest (2.45 mm) automatic movement, with a centrally placed rotor of 21-carat gold, was established. Just three years later, in 1970, the watchmakers of Audemars Piguet premiered the world’s thinnest movement (3.05 mm) to include date display and a central rotor made of gold. The year 1972, of course, marked the debut of what has become the signature model for Audemars Piguet, the “Royal Oak “.Audemars Piguet_Watch_11
Designed by the legendary watchmaker Gerald Genta, its octagonal shape, steel edges and the use of prominent hexagonal screws as a design feature strike a perfect balance between power and elegance. Worthy of its name, the Royal Oak has since become a legend. Its octagonal design, originally produced only in high-grade steel, took the breath away even of many professionals. However, when the Royal Oak was unveiled at the 1972 European watchmaking fair in Basel with a price tag of just 3,300 SFr. — unheard of for a watch bearing the Audemars Piguet name — its success was beyond even its creators’ expectations!
In 1993, the company museum, housed in the original workshop of Jules Audemars and Edward Piguet, was established. This museum, a tribute to the company’s visionary founders, allows watch enthusiasts to discover Audemars Piguet technology “from A to Z.” Its exhibits retrace the key stages in the company’s history, and show many of the creations that made Audemars Piguet famous, including the Grande Complication. As well as its unique collection of antique watches, and in particular of watch complications, this very unusual museum enables visitors to see the intricacy and precision required in horology, by observing two master watchmakers at work in the modern Audemars Piguet atelier which is a permanent feature of the museum.
That same year, a new model in the Royal Oak collection premiered: the Royal Oak Offshore, which is water resistant to a depth of 10 atmospheres. The Offshore model offers following functions: chronograph to 1/5 second, tachymeter, 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter, date display, seconds display, automatic movement with central rotor in 21-carat gold.
Three years later, in 1996, a wristwatch version of the famous “Grand Complication” premiered at Basel. More than 600 components are contained in an integrated movement that does not exceed 8.5 mm in height. It is a technical marvel that marries old-fashioned craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, such as computer-aided design (CAD). It was also in 1996 that Audemars Piguet embarked on a new era, becoming one of the first major watch companies to represent itself on the Internet with its official Website.
Today, Audemars Piguet remains one of the most prestigious watchmakers in the world — yet despite the company’s enormous success (AP even owns 40% of Jaeger-LeCoultre), every watch is still made by hand the old-fashioned way – one at a time. Today, along with Patek Philippe (PP) and Vacheron Constantin (VC), AP is considered to be one of the “big-three” as one of the finest watches in the world.

 

Why You Should Buy Panerai Replica Watches

Panerai replica watches is the trends of fashion in the world. There are different areas of intervention of panerai brand of products. Perhaps the area where the intervention of panerai replica is well known is in area of watches where there are several products of panerai replica watches. This is a household name in all parts of the world. There are different styles and designs of panerai replica watches. The available designs and styles available in the market are of high and intimidating qualities. The high qualities apart, these designs and styles are also affordable. This is one of the factors that made them the most loved brand that is available in the market today.

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There are other reasons that made panerai replica watches the choice watch for most people. In the area of beauty and fashion panerai replica watches are brand on top. This is not surprising because many of the panerai replica products are aimed at giving the user the best in terms of appearance and beauty. Many of the users of panerai replica watches are made to match with other panerai replica products such as handbags, necklaces, shoes and other beauty accessories that can be classified as panerai replica products.The panerai replica watches is more popular than Rolex replica, the more people buy.

The panerai replica watches are durable watches, the durability is as a result of the high quality materials that are used in making them as well as the state of the art technology that is employed in developing them. This brand of watch can compare favourably with any other brand of watches that is available in the market. Like most other high quality watches panerai replica can be purchased from the internet from any of the acknowledged dealers. The prices as said earlier can be cheap but that depends on the type of panerai replica watches that one wants to buy and from the sources that one wants to buy them.

Breitling Watches, the Timeless Charm

SONY DSC Breitling, with its roots in the Jura Mountains of the nineteenth century like many other traditional Swiss watches, has a story far from conventional. Having survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, the brand has had to reinvent itself numerous times. Even so, it has always remained faithful to its core belief in providing extreme accuracy in extreme conditions.
Breitling has had an incredible journey. Here are 12 of the most fascinating facts from the watch maker’s history.
Breitling was established in 1884 by the talented young watchmaker Léon Breitling. Léon was just 24 years old when he founded the company.navitimer
In less than a decade after launching the company, Léon moved headquarters to a new factory employing over 60 people.
Both Léon and his son Gaston, who inherited the company, died unexpectedly at a young age.
In 1915, Breitling developed the first wristwatch chronograph.
The name “Breitling” didn’t appear on the dials of the watches until over 40 years later after company was founded, in the late 1920s.
In 1930, Breitling launched the patented Vitesse stopwatch, which was so accurate that police officers used it to clock speeding motorists.
The company has weathered two major storms in its 130 year history. Both the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Quartz Crisis of the late 1970s nearly sank the business.
In 1939, Breitling shipped large quantities of chronographs to the Royal Air Force for use in aircraft. This is what led to Breitling becoming one of the best known manufacturers of aviation timepieces.
Breitling further cemented its role as the timepiece creator for pilots when it developed the “navigation computer” in 1952, which was able to handle all the calculations needed for a flight plan.
In 1969, Breitling invented the self-winding chronograph movement, an invention vital to the continued success of the Swiss watch industry.
The Breitling Emergency wristwatch, launched in 1995 and still available to this day, features a built-in micro-transmitter for use during emergencies. This feature makes Breitling popular with daredevils and adventurers.
Breitling’s SuperQuartz technology, launched in 2001, is ten times more accurate than standard quartz. As such, they’re the only electronic movements on the market able to meet COSC requirements.

Tips to Identify Your Tag Heuer Watches

TAG-Heuer-WatchIf you have kept an eye on the outfits of Brad Pitt, Michael Schumacher, Uma Thurman and several other Hollywood celebrities, you should have noticed the luxury watches they wear. You are not the only one if you want to search those watches. The Swiss-made luxury timepieces of Tag Heuer are known for their superior quality and excellent craftsmanship. However, this also makes these watches a target for replicas, so you’ll need all the insider information before making that purchase on a watch that claims to be authentic.
Sometimes we are tempted to buy a replica, but often we regret our decision when only a few months down the track, the watch breaks, falls apart, or stops working altogether. It really is worth the money when you buy a genuine Tag Heuer watch. Here are a few simple ways to tell if you’re buying the real deal online:
1. The crown should not show any signs of glue on it.
2. Check the dial for dirt, dust and fingerprints. A genuine Tag Heuer watch made from a factory has strict quality control procedures.
3. Watch the dial in the dark to see how luminous it is. Fake Tag Heuer watches won’t glow brightly at all.
4. Listen to the ticks of the watch – replicas will tick about once per second; a genuine Tag Heuer will tick about eight times a second.
5. If the links, hands, detail and clasps with the loupe are obviously poorly crafted, then the watch is most likely to be a Japanese or Asian fake.
6. On the bottom of the face, a genuine Tag Heuer watch will say “Swiss Made.” Fakes may say “Japanese Movement.”

Breitling Bentley Barnato Replica watches, Excellent Men’s Watches

barnato_02Through purchasing your replica watch from reputable merchants, you will be able to acquire top quality replicas which look and feel like the authentic ones. Really, within these stores, every new design that’s created using high quality materials. The fake Breitling watches usually match the original designs in every detail, via using high quality materials than the others. The very best factor about replica Breitling watches is always that they’re of top quality but they are less expensive than the actual Breitling watches.
As early as 1800s, Breitling has been creating masterpiece timepieces for people. It is famous for timepiece for aircraft pilots because they appeared to be produced with aviation in your mind. Users of the watch are always seen in the list within the celebrity and business community. However, these watches do not need to be considered a preserve from the wealthy. Today, these watches are typical among our prime and mighty. You may also benefit from classic steel Breitling Bentley Barnato replicas.breitling-bentley-barnato-42-midnight-carbon-dial
First glance at Breitling Bentley Barnato replica watches is its distinctive characteristic and fashion style. It comes in a heavy case with a diameter of 49mm, perfectly suits for any wrist. This watch also features an excellent rotating pinion bezel with tachometer and slide rule. Breitling has replaced the pointer type counters with disc-type counters that have an open worked shape, which reminds us of the Bentley steering wheel. This watch is driven by a reliable self-winding mechanism which bears 38 jewel calibers. The chronograph functions include seconds, minutes and hours. It is covered with transparent case back; its modern look is highlighted by stainless steel Speed bracelet. Besides, silver storm dial with silver index markers and black steering wheel shaped sub dials that will surely impress everyone around you. There set date indication between 4 and 5 o’clock and it resists waterproof depth of 100 meters.
Breitling replica watches are available in lots of places. You can check out offline stores or purchase from the web. Some people would rather enter an actual store, the web can also be quite ingenious as you will find many Breitling replica watch on purchase at very competitive rates. Now make a trial order and enjoy excellence and fashion.

Buy High Quality Patek Philippe Replica Watches

patek philippe8If you have heard about the Patek Philippe replica watches, no matter from friends or the web, you should also have heard about their prices. Almost no people can believe at the beginning that their prices are so cheap. Then you may doubt about the quality. Actually if you ever see somebody wearing one of them and if he had not informed you, you would have never believed that it was not the original. Fake would not be the right word to use, since these Patek Philippe replica watches are of the highest quality and are as close to the original as possible. Some people do not understand this and they term the replica Patek Philippe as fake Patek Philippe watches.
Most of the Patek Philippe watches are available for sale on countless websites, but there are a number of shady ones too. When going in to purchase Patek Philippe replica watches you should know what you want. It does help if you have an idea about the real Patek Philippe when you are going into purchase Patek Philippe replica watches. I am stressing about the fake sites and the knowledge about Patek Philippe replica watches because there are different grades of them. The best quality Patek Philippe replica watches are assembled using parts sourced from Switzerland and they cost the most. Even then, they are far less costly than their real counterparts.
Then come the Patek Philippe Annual Calendar replica watches that are made out of parts from Japan and these too are quite good, but cost less than the Swiss ones. The last are the Patek Philippe replica watches that are made in China. These cost of these Patek Philippe replica watches are far less compared to the ones assembled from Swiss parts, but still their workmanship is quite good and they are extremely faithful as far as maintaining time is concerned. There are some cheaters who pass of third grade watches as Patek Philippe replica watches and these are the ones you should keep an eye out for. Just take the watch in your hand and you will be able to judge that they are fakes of Patek Philippe replica watches.patek-philppe-watch
Their weight, build quality, quality of the casing etc., will shout out at you proclaiming that they should not be purchased. The look, build and weight of Patek Philippe replica watches are just like the originals and even fool the experts. They provide you with value for money and assure you of a long relationship with your wrist. Wearing Patek Philippe replica watch World Time replica watches will cause others to look at you enviously and you will be the talk of the party. After all it is not everyday that one spots people wearing Patek Philippe replica watches to a party. Those who see the Patek Philippe replica watches will think that you’re wearing the original. You should have been convinced by now, so go get some Patek Philippe replica watches.

High Quality Replica Watches Save Your Money

If an authentic luxury watch is beyond your budget, then you can consider getting a replica. They are just as good and nobody will know the difference. A genuine Rolex watch is expensive because of the name itself, so why not get a copy one that of same good while sharply cheaper? More and more people are starting to discover just how great having these fake watches are. Besides being for you to know what the time is, they are a status symbol and fashion statement.

The watch that you choose will really say something about your style, so you should know which kind to get. There are massive replicas to choose from, and you will certainly want to make sure you choose the right place to buy from. Although they are replicas, they should still be made from high quality materials that make the watch just as good if not better than the brand they are imitating. Many people who want a designer watch simply cannot afford one, and this is where replicas come into play.
watches replica

Whether you are want a Rolex watch or a Cartier timepiece, you will want it look and function exactly like the brand it is replicating. Take your time in deciding which one you want. These also make great gifts for friends and family members. You can surprise them with a watch that looks like a real famous brand one, and they can never tell the difference unless you share the secrets with them.

With replica watches, you can still get all the beauty of the brand names you admire. Having a quality watch means buying one that will keep working well for years. It also means getting one that looks nice and gives you a wealthy appearance. Look through all of your options before making a decision. Even though they are not genuine, you still don’t want to waste your money.