Audemars Piguet Enters the World of Jewellery

Today, among the market’s major industrial players, there is a certain reluctance to cross the boundary between watchmaking and jewellery (or vice versa) when they do not natively master both crafts. This dual expertise is found in only a handful of key players: Bvlgari, Cartier, Chanel, Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels, to name just a few. By contrast, purely jewellery creations bearing the names of traditional watchmaking manufactures are virtually non-existent: no Rolex sautoir necklace, no A. Lange & Söhne ring, no Panerai tiara. Until today. Audemars Piguet is crossing the Rubicon.

Neither Without the Other, and Vice Versa

The collection is called Royal Oak Joaillerie. The approach is clear: to make its debut, “Jewellery” is anchored to “Watchmaking”. The “Royal Oak” name will drive growth for bracelets and necklaces.

It is a cautious choice, given the strength of the watch’s marketing appeal. But it is also risky: by tying jewellery to a watch collection, the former is deprived of its own identity and of a broader audience for whom the name “Royal Oak” might mean little. A female audience in particular, to whom this new jewellery range would appear to be dedicated. It is only a small step from here to the assumption that AP jewellery will primarily be sold to existing AP customers, a possibility that time will tell.

The Club of Three

The new collection comprises three ranges. The first two draw on the world of the Vallée de Joux: Risoud Eclipse (named after the forest) and Dream of Joux. Both belong to Haute Joaillerie: each piece is made to order and as a unique example. The third range builds on Frosted Gold, developed by Florentine jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. This hammered gold has already contributed to the success of the Royal Oak for ten years (since November 2016, with its official presentation at SIHH 2017).

All the pieces, with three exceptions, were created with Nathalie Barzilay, Audemars Piguet’s gemologist. Their collaboration goes back a long way. In 2022, for the Royal Oak’s 50th anniversary, the duo had already brought two sets of watches to life, made entirely using invisible setting, in an extraordinary explosion of colour and carats.

The Dream of Joux line combines precious and semi-precious stones, including diamonds, sapphires, spessartites, tourmalines, amethysts, tsavorites and topazes. It also includes a tie necklace and earrings featuring pear-cut diamonds and blue anodised titanium links set with blue sapphires in a snow setting. The Risoud Eclipse line, meanwhile, comprises a matching necklace and cuff in black PVD-coated titanium and emeralds, surrounded by diamonds. Finally, the Frosted Gold line features cuffs and necklaces in 18-carat grey, pink and yellow Frosted Gold.

The Return of an Ancient Craft

These new collections are extensive, spanning both Haute Joaillerie and jewellery, demonstrating the desire to reach a (reasonably) broad audience. This is relatively new territory for Audemars Piguet. Purely jewellery creations, those without a watch dial, however small, have until now fallen into the category of accessories, much like Patek Philippe cufflinks, for example. In this regard, Audemars Piguet explains that “the first accessories and jewellery were designed by Jacqueline Dimier, who joined Audemars Piguet in 1976 as a stylist (...). Everything suggests that the first accessory designed by Audemars Piguet was the Royal Oak cufflink. Many objects followed, several bearing the mark of their era. The cigar cutter, for example, recalls how much a cigar was an essential attribute of success in the 20th century (...). We should also mention the banknote clip (...), key rings, pens, letter openers, forks, lipsticks, lighters, mirrors, photo frames, perfume bottles, shirt buttons, glasses, combs, pillboxes…”

As for pure Haute Joaillerie, it did not exist. The last examples date back to 2017: the Pink, Furious and Outrageous triptych, extravagant in the extreme, yet still built, both literally and figuratively, around a watch dial. With Dream of Joux and Risoud Eclipse, that link is severed: these are jewellery pieces, and jewellery pieces alone. To tell the time, you will have to buy… a Royal Oak!