In Le Brassus, where time seems to breathe through the valleys, Audemars Piguet marks its 150th anniversary with a publication that reads like both an ode and a revelation. The Watch – Stories and Savoir Faire, released by Flammarion, is a six-hundred-page exploration into the anatomy and poetry of time. It unfolds the story of a craft sustained by human hands — those that file, engrave, polish, and adjust with a devotion as meticulous as it is eternal.
Far from a simple chronicle, the book offers an immersion into the very soul of watchmaking. Its chapters lead readers through the many layers of a timepiece: the dial that reflects light like a captured dawn, the movement that beats with the quiet certainty of a heart. Essays, archival photographs, and interviews reveal the invisible dialogue between artistry and engineering — a dialogue that has shaped Audemars Piguet since 1875.
The volume is the result of a collective endeavour: more than forty contributors, guided by Flammarion’s artistic direction, have lent their voices to this compendium of knowledge and passion. Sébastian Vivas, Director of the Audemars Piguet Museum and Heritage, writes that he wishes such a book had existed when he first entered the world of watchmaking — a companion to curiosity and a bridge between tradition and discovery.
For CEO Ilaria Resta, The Watch – Stories and Savoir Faire stands as a tribute to generations of artisans who transformed technique into emotion, precision into beauty. “It unveils hidden wonders and highlights the unique skills required to bring a timepiece to life,” she observes — words that echo the brand’s enduring motto: The Beat Goes On.
Flammarion’s Managing Director, Sophie de Closets, calls it “a unique creation, driven by a clear purpose: to share the world of watchmaking with the widest possible audience.” That the book appears in the same year as both houses’ 150th anniversary only deepens its resonance — two institutions united by heritage, craftsmanship, and the patient art of creation.
The Watch – Stories and Savoir Faire will be available on 8 and 9 October across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and on 21 October in the United States. Within its pages, the rhythm of centuries endures — a heartbeat that began in the Vallée de Joux and continues, unwavering, to measure the beauty of time itself.
