The pursuit of excellence is reflected in Audemars Piguet's prestigious models, painstakingly crafted by artisans for over 130 years. Founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, the manufacturing headquarters of Audemars Piguet are nestled in the Joux Valley in Switzerland. For more than a century, this prestigious company has held a unique position in the world of high quality watch making: its expertise, creativity, and state-of-the-art technology lie behind Audemars Piguet's luxurious and innovative watches. At the turn of the twentieth century, the factory employed more than seventy craftsmen, whose mastery and excellent grasp of the changing times enabled the development of traditional pieces, and the production of revolutionary watches, both of the highest quality. These include the slimline jeweled watches for women in the Art Deco era, chronographs in the Forties, the first perpetual calendar watch in 1957, the famous Royal Oak--the first high-end sports watch--in 1972, and the ultramodern Millenary MC12 in 2008. The mechanisms, the meticulous processes by which they are developed, and their technical and stylistic inventions reveal the history of a company that combines audacity, ingenuity, and luxury.