Life story of the watchmaking genius Louis Audemars - Audemars Piguet

The company Louis Audemars was founded in 1811 in Le Brassus in the Jura Valley by Louis-Benjamin Audemars with the assistance of his brother-in-law, Philippe Samuel Meylan , after the latter had joined forces with Isaac Piguet to form the later renowned firm Piguet et Meylan in Geneva. Louis-Benjamin died on May 21, 1833, in Le Brassus , and a family council was held on May 24, 1833. Subsequently, an agreement regarding the distribution of his estate was concluded before the Justice of the Peace of Cercle du Chénit. Later that year, the eldest sons decided to continue their father's business under the name Louis Audemars & Fils, with the technical management of the eldest sons , François Élisée Audemars and Auguste Audemars . The other sons were Louis Audemars , Julien Audemars , Adolphe Audemars , Henri Hector Audemars , Eugène François Audemars , and Charles Henri Audemars . The brothers Henri Hector, Eugène François, and Charles Henri were presumably trained as watchmakers in the family business. The company signed the Watches were not made with the name Louis Audemars & Fils, but simply with Louis Audemars, Brassus, Louis Audemars, Brassus & Geneva, because there was an office for the agency in Geneva . From 1848 onwards, it was decided to no longer supply parts or ébauches . Only complete watches remained in the product range.

Louis Audemars watches were of outstanding quality. Most were equipped with complications. Several other well-known companies used movements or purchased complete watches from Audemars, such as Charles Oudin , Paul Léopold Buhré , and Le Roy et Fils .

Louis Audemars won a First Class Medal in London in 1851 (a medal that was later awarded in 1873) , a Bronze Medal two years later in New York, another First Class Medal in Paris in 1855 , a First Class Medal in London again in 1862 , a First Class Honorary Medal from the Académie Nationale de France from 1856 to 1863, a Medal for Innovation in Vienna in 1873 , another in Philadelphia in 1876 , and a Gold Medal and an Honorary Medal at the Great Exposition in Paris in 1878. The company even received the Cross of the Legion of Honour ("Croix de la Légion d'Honneur"). In Sydney in 1879, it won a First Class Medal, and again in London in 1880. Audemars was even appointed Watchmaker to the Queen of England, which was unusual but also a great honor for a foreign watch company.

Unfortunately, Charles Henri Audemars had to declare bankruptcy for the company Louis Audemars in 1885. François Audemars attempted to save the business by founding the company François Audemars Fils. This company later relocated to Geneva. Charles Henri's two sons, Hector Adolphe Audemars and Charles Henri Audemars Junior, then founded the company Audemars Frères .

Source: Wikipedia