Inside The Wonderful World Of Audemars Piguet At WAW 2026

Audemars Piguet was back in Geneva after a seven-year absence, and it felt like it had never left. A watch salon at which the biggest and most prestigious watch companies strut their stuff just isn’t the same without AP. And that’s why its return to the show felt so natural. But while every other participant at Watches and Wonders 2026 presented its novelties, AP offered an experience. The brand built the House of Wonders to explain to visitors the ways of AP and introduce them to the Atelier des Établisseurs, a new program for bespoke creations that reinterprets 18th-century établissage through three craft-driven timepieces. These are the organic, gem-like Galets, the geometric Nomade desk clock, and an opulent secret watch called the Peacock. Please enter the wonderful world of Audemars Piguet.

Audemars Piguet didn’t come to present novelties. The brand already spilled the beans during the annual Social Club earlier this year. Instead, AP returned to the Geneva watch salon to once again be an active part of the world of high horology and to present its strategy and vision for the future. Its return is part of a strategic effort to (re)connect directly with retailers, collectors, and watch fans while showcasing its rich 150-year history.

Inside the wonderful world of Audemars Piguet

During this year’s edition of the AP Social Club, CEO Ilaria Resta spoke about inclusive exclusive watchmaking. She said in her opening speech that she wanted to promote watchmaking as a cultural phenomenon and that it should be inclusive and open. It should present itself in a way that attracts a crowd. To ensure a bright future for high-end watchmaking, people need to understand its historical position, cultural relevance, and specialized craftsmanship. Watchmaking is not just about owning a watch but also about technical innovation and artistry. AP wants to promote the world of horology so that young people will want to work in the watchmaking universe. And opening the world of haute horlogerie to everybody, making it a place people want to visit, explore, and understand without necessarily feeling the need to buy something, turns it from a consumer’s world into a place of experience.

Step into the House of Wonders

The House of Wonders, an immersive exhibition, is what that vision looks like in real life. A guided tour through the House of Wonders traced the brand’s origins in the Vallée de Joux and allowed visitors to experience the ins and outs of timekeeping through detailed, collaborative, and hands-on demonstrations of high-end horology.

The tour started with the novelties introduced earlier this year, presented by watchmakers in lighting that made it very easy to take a cool wrist shot. Yes, this part was still a bit about creating the desire to own an AP. At least, that’s how I experienced it when strapping on the blue ceramic Royal Oak QP.

The tour was guided by an expert from the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) and continued to an archive-like room before leading us to a place where the inner and outer workings of a watch were explained.

After that, the route took visitors to a vault containing plenty of historically relevant watches from way back to not so long ago.

After an impressive amount of relevant watch creations, a room opened up where two important aspects of AP were highlighted — movement development and the new Atelier des Établisseurs.

Audemars Piguet Établisseurs Galets

What is the Atelier des Établisseurs?

The Atelier des Établisseurs is all about bespoke creations, and it highlights a renewed focus on collaborative craftsmanship. AP presented three very different craft-driven timepieces inside the House of Wonders. These are unique, contemporary creations inspired by the historical établissage system, emphasizing the contributions of various artisans, such as engravers and gemsetters. Allow me to refresh your memory regarding this age-old process.

This is how the Peacock secret watch was made

The établissage system was a traditional approach to Swiss watchmaking, widely used from the 18th through the late 19th century. It relied on a decentralized model that split production among independent specialists. Rather than all parts being manufactured in a single workshop, components such as cases, dials, and movements were crafted by skilled workers in small shops or even in their homes, often in rural areas like the Vallée de Joux, where AP is from. These individual pieces were then gathered and assembled by a central figure, the établisseur, who coordinated the entire process.

Three impressive results from the new Atelier des Établisseurs were on display. There was the organic-looking, gem-like Galets wristwatch, the geometric Nomade desk clock, and the opulent secret watch called the Peacock. All creations made a strong impression because experts explained the finished work, while sketches and prototypes illustrated the building process.

Working prototype

Speaking of prototypes, visitors could see one that AP watchmakers created to test caliber 8100, the revolutionary chronograph movement that beats inside the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5. To test the chronograph system with its light-touch pushers in a wristwatch setting, they provisionally placed an escapement and a barrel on an oddly shaped plate, covered it with a bit of Plexiglas, and attached a strap.

The test rig looked cool, worked as it should, and fascinated everybody who saw, wore, and tried it. In all honesty, this rudimentary prototype, which allowed an interesting glimpse into the creation of a high-horology watch, was one of the Watches and Wonders highlights for me. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Småland, AP style

The second-to-last stop on the tour was a photo booth, and after that came a room named Les Petit Horlogers, where young children could draw and color in watches and movements and play with large, colored watch components. This space functioned as an Ikea-like Småland. Parents could leave their children there while they wandered through the House of Wonders. When looking into the room, for a brief moment, I thought about it being part of a dark strategy — a plan to plant the seed of watchmaking inside toddlers so they will want to become watchmakers later, without really knowing why.

However, I choose not to think cynically like that and instead perceived it as a nice gesture. But still, AP’s House of Wonders felt a bit like a church of watchmaking. Inside, AP “preached” watchmaking as a national Swiss treasure, a unique industry of great historical, cultural, and social value, of which the brand is an important part.

Bringing it to the attention of especially young people might not only entertain but also “convert” them. A visit to the House of Wonders might have inspired them to pursue a professional career in the watch industry. There is a constant need for watchmakers, and recruiting them involves more than offering a good salary. Future watchmakers must believe that the craft is part of a greater good, guaranteeing the continuation of history and heritage. And yes, it also pays the bills.

Spreading the word of watchmaking

Next year, AP will probably not build a House of Wonders, a Temple of Tourbillons, or a Church of Complications. Instead, the brand will likely highlight its novelties. Still, I’m quite sure there will be a strong educational, inspirational, and motivational component since Watches and Wonders increasingly focuses on introducing the public to the participating brands so they can come to see and experience them. Audemars Piguet plays a pioneering role in promoting watchmaking as a cultural and social phenomenon. It will likely continue to do so to spread the word at Watches and Wonders 2027.