It’s been a long time coming. Audemars Piguet revealed it was creating a museum to honour the brand’s storied history back in 2016. It was all ready to open, too. But then the pandemic hit, forcing AP to pump the breaks on its lavish launch celebrations.
Fortunately, the brand has decided that now is the time – officially opening the doors to Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in the sleepy Swiss town of Le Brassus.
The museum is part of an ambitious play by the watch brand, that now wants more than just its customer’s wrists. It was announced alongside the brand’s Hôtel des Horlogers, scheduled to open in 2021, that will help facilitate museum guests and the brand’s most important clients.
The new facility houses some of AP’s most interesting watches, as well as workshops that lets guests get up close and personal with the brand’s watchmakers. The spiral-shaped building comes from the mind of Bjarke Ingels, the highly-celebrated Danish architect who worked on Google’s tent-like silicon valley HQ.
“Swiss building rules are very strict,” said Ingels, at the brand’s media unveiling back in January. “I was told a building here must resemble other buildings, meaning that it must have a double-sided angular roof.” The results are anything but an ordinary building in Le Brassus.
The spiral-shaped building is supported by huge circular glass panels, that separate the pavilion into workshops and the main museum, which currently houses more than 300 historic timepieces.
Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet is now officially open to the public. For more information, head to audemarspiguet.com
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