What Makes The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak So Popular?
Audemars Piguet has been a massive star in the luxury watch industry for a long time now. It’s history that spans over a hundred years is proof of the quality that the watchmaker is known for. The brand was founded by two partners, namely, Jules Auguste Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, whose families even today own the brand and look over all the operations that are undertaken under the brand name. What really separates Audemars Piguet from the rest of the watchmakers in this industry is aptitude. In the art of high-end horology, Audemars Piguet has made several watches over the years and all of them, somehow, managed to be simply iconic. The Royal Oak is a great example. This product from Audemars Piguet has not only been revolutionary but also downright game changing. Surprising? Not really.
The Story Of The Royal Oak
The Royal Oak has a very inspiring and shocking story. The Quartz Crisis was on the rise in the 1970s and the luxury watch industry was on its knees. After all, why would you buy in expensive mechanical watch when you can get the same value at one-third the price and plus you never have to wind a watch ever again. This was exactly what brands like Seiko and Citizen were doing. The impressive battery powered watches from Japan were taking over the world and no one was giving a second thought to intricate mechanical timepieces anymore. But Audemars Piguet watches had other ideas.
The First Draft
It was, quite frankly, a very harsh period for Swiss watch brands. Many perished at the hands of adversity but some struggled and Audemars Piguet was one of these brands. In fact, the brand had almost given up. However, before calling it a day, it threw a Hail Mary pass. The watchmaker hired the world renowned designer Gerald Genta who famously drafted a rough sketch of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak within one day.
Shunning the Critics
Before anyone knew, the Royal Oak was launched in 1971. The critics we especially rough on the brand new Audemars Piguet creation. They criticised the watchmaker for taking unwanted risks. You see, this was a time when battery powered watches were gaining popularity. In such a time, for a brand to launch another mechanical timepiece seemed to be a fool’s errand. But AP stuck to its game plan and in no time it regained its market share. The Royal Oak was such a hit that even today, it is considered to be one of the most prized possessions that the Haute Horlogerie business has.
The Royal Oak paved the way for many other timepieces such as the Audemars Piguet ladies Millenary and Royal Oak Offshore.
The Swiss watchmaker is also popular because of its purist ideology. Many would not know this, but AP has been among the very few brands that have always conducted every operation in-house.
About Kapoor Watch Company
Established in 1967, Kapoor Watch Company is a renowned and authorized swiss luxury watch retailer in India. While officially partnering with brands like Rolex, Omega, Audemars Piguet, IWC, and Hublot, Kapoor Watch Company also harbours professionally certified and skilled technicians in its service Centre along with state of the art infrastructure for watch repair and servicing. With a total of 10 stores all across Delhi-NCR, Kapoor Watch Company is embarking on a journey that involves working on providing customers with authentic Audemars Piguet watches at the best possible prices.
Contact:
Kapoor Watch Company
Address: D-10, South Ext. Part -2, New Delhi – 110049.
Luxury Watch Helpline (11am to 8pm): 9910555111
Email: enquiry@kapoorwatch.com
Website: https://www.kapoorwatch.com