Audemars Piguet is the oldest fine watchmaking manufacturer still in the hands of its founding families (Audemars and Piguet). Standing on the strength of tradition and history, this great watchmaking house traverses centuries of technical design and innovation, firm in its position as one of Switzerland's leading brands. The company had two distinct watchmaking founders - Jules Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet. These two horological masters met in 1875 and over the years, worked together to create exceptional timepieces that paved the way to the foundation of their company with the premise of consistent high-quality watchmaking. In 1881 at the heart of the Swiss Jura in the Vallée de Joux, the company known as Audemars, Piguet & Compagnie was legally formed to manufacture and market high-end timepieces produced to exacting standards. Built on the strength of character of its founders, the company succeeded in the creation of numerous masterpieces embodying a remarkable degree of horological perfection and has written some of the finest chapters in the history of Haute Horlogerie, including several world firsts. One of which was creating the world's first-minute repeating movement for wristwatches in 1892. They were also the first to develop the skeleton watch in 1934 and manufactured some of the thinnest watches in the world, such as the 1986 ultra-thin automatic tourbillon wristwatch (Calibre 2870). The brand's famous 1972 octagonal Royal Oak is widely recognized as one of the most important innovations in watchmaking. As the first luxury watch to be made of stainless steel, it catapulted Audemars Piguet's rise to prominence within the industry. Nowadays, collectors and connoisseurs equate the brand with the Royal Oak, which has since become a standard of excellence and symbol of power and wealth internationally.