Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

T he Audemars Piguet booth in the VIP section at Art Basel is markedly different from all the other stands at the international art fair; it is an artwork itself. Created by the artist Fernando Mastrangelo, it brings the birthplace of the company to the fair through seamless gradients of tones and textures, with walls, display cases and furniture made of crushed boulders from the home of Swiss watchmaking – the Vallée de Joux. At the booth, a picture of calm and easy elegance, is the great-granddaughter of founder Jules Louis Audemars, Jasmine Audemars. Like the powdered strata in Mastrangelo’s work, she is also from the Vallée de Joux. She grew up there and was a regular visitor at the manufacturer, visiting her grandfather. She was enchanted by the miniature world of watchmaking, but she followed a journalistic path and became the Editor at the Journal de Geneve for 12 years. In the early 1980s, Jasmine’s father asked her to take over the presidency of Audemars Piguet. She agreed to this new life and in 1992 she succeeded her father as the head of the Board of Audemars Piguet, where she has been at the helm ever since. Jasmine speaks to Simply Abu Dhabi about the unique spirit of independence at the company and its faithful dedication to the art of Haute Horlogerie. What are the best things about not being part of an overarching publicly traded group? You can choose your own way. Of course, you have to take responsibility for that, but there is nothing better in life then to be able to choose your own way. We have to grow, protect and develop this knowhow from our ancestors. And it comes down to talent, passion and hard work. Very often people ask me, how can AP be creative? To be creative, the thing you need, is to always ask yourself questions. Is there a better way to do it? Is this the right way? Maybe I can add something? Maybe I can invent something? You must respect the roots but at the same time develop always. And the craftsmanship that we have at AP is a kind of treasure. And the treasure has to grow. Does the relatively new relationship with the art world help AP to see things fromnew perspectives? Exactly, yes, because artists see things differently, but at the same time they understand our soul. It’s an inspiration for us and very often artists are forward- thinking… they can sometimes understand the world as it is, and as it is going to be. So, it’s a way to help us. Consumers aremore aware than ever of what goes intomaking a luxurywatch – is that a positive thing for AP? For us it’s a good thing that people want to know where their watch comes from and who makes the watches. For us, with our legitimacy, it’s very good. Now, we have customers that may be a little difficult, or critical. Sometimes they know our watches as well as the watchmakers – they can really discuss with them at the same level. But it’s an asset. Very often today, people don’t want to just go to a boutique and pick out a watch… they want the full experience. To meet the people, know the history of the brand and see the place where the watch is made – in Le Brassus. That’s why we’ve created the Le Brassus Experience with the museum and the future hotel. As well as the forthcomingmuseumcan you tell usmore about the newhotel? There’s been an old hotel there for many years hasn’t there? Yes, there has always been a hotel there, it’s burnt down and finally in the end we bought it because it’s so close to us and we decided to build a new one. To develop the famous experience so we can have our customers in the hotel, in the manufacture, and in the museum. They can stay in Le Brassus and enjoy the landscape from their room, look out of the window to see the cows grazing… for some people that could be very exotic. We are also renovating the founder’s house, so there is a lot happening for us. “We have to grow, protect and develop this knowhow from our ancestors. And it comes down to talent, passion and hard work.”