“Often, they are inspired by us and we are inspired by them,” says Jonathan King of the relationship that Audemars Piguet has with the artists it supports. The statement can also be a lens through which the brand views its place in the world, from its rapport with its customers to its outlook on innovation.
It’s difficult to know what the luxury watchmaker is better known for — its iconic Gérald Genta design Royal Oak, or the fact that rappers from Jay-Z to Lil Wayne have all name checked the storied watchmaker, bringing a street cred and cultural cachet that can be hard to manufacture.
The former is firmly on the mind of King, the Chief Executive Officer for South East Asia, Audemars Piguet (pronounced Awe-DEH-mahr PEE-gay), who recently concluded a whirlwind two-day trip to the country from his base in Singapore. Prior to his most recent appointment, King was CEO and Regional Director for Japan and Korea, and has previously worked with companies as varied as Van Cleef and Arpels, Harrods and the Four Seasons Hotel Group.
Art and horology
King is an imposing yet assured interviewee, and is obviously familiar with the brand’s history and ethos. With a 47mm Millenary on his wrist, he draws parallels between the brand’s handmade watches, and the artists that the company has supported at big international fairs like Art Basel.
Elaborating on the symbiotic relationship that the two share, King says, “Sometimes, in the art installations, you’ll find something that really relates to our craftsmanship, the amazing elements of our creations. To us that’s a never-ending, beautiful journey.”
The most recent edition of Art Basel Hong Kong saw the unveiling of a video installation by Chinese artist Cheng Ran, which was shot in the Jura Valley, home to Audemars Piguet. Similarly, this past July, the watchmaker teamed up with Times Square Arts agency to present a video work by Sun Xun, on the iconic billboards of the New York square.
Material matters
Getting to the interdependent relationship between the company and the customer, King says, “Our customers love innovation and the fact that we do things differently, so we will continue to mirror them in these coming decades.”
He does, however, concede that when it comes to spearheading the use of new materials, the advancement is so rapid, that often it would be something many customers wouldn’t have heard of. “We did titanium at a very early stage, we did certain elements of ceramic too, like the bezel. We did a number of special materials. On the original Royal Oak Concept in 2002, it was made of alacrite (a family of cobalt-based alloys) — this is an incredibly hard, expensive, difficult to mill aerospace material,” he elaborates.
Sticking to basics
This is the reason he gives for not venturing into smartwatches, even though other Swiss manufacturers like Tag Heuer are tentatively dipping their toes into the market. “I got to tell you, I’d be surprised if any of our customers said, ‘Oh no, we don’t own any of those,” says King, referring to smartwatches, but he also takes the long view, comparing the advent of the smartphone with the rise of the quartz watch industry of ‘the 1970s and 80s.
For King, a word that keeps coming up, is ‘scale’ — when talking about the artworks that the company has supported, to the difficulty of working on mechanical watches by hand. In his enunciated lilt, his smartwatch explanation also gives the impression that the company looks at a different time-scale when focussing on its product development than most.
This ties in with his views of the Indian market. “We want to develop [the market] very organically and qualitatively,” he says, while acknowledging that India is “very much on our radar, as one of the very, very important countries of the world.” For King, and for Audemars Piguet, they’re keen to let the country develop on its own time, allowing for the symbiosis and scale that have characterised the company so far.
Frosted gold
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Royal Oak for women, Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Frosted Gold this year. The watch makes use of Florentine technique to bring a distinctive shimmer its bezel and strap. A collaboration with jewellery designer Carolina Bucci, the timepiece gets its distinctive shimmer from an ancient hammering technique that sees the gold being beaten with a diamond tipped tool. This leaves the watch with a strap that is tactile, and that glimmers as it catches the light, but still true to the iconic original design. The watch comes in three sizes (33mm, 37mm and 41mm), and brings subtle Italian handicraft to the storied Swiss watchmaker.