Rare glimpse into Swiss watch-making reveals a passion for precision

Feb 18, 2010, 13:28 GMT

Le Brassus, Switzerland - The silence in the room is interrupted by a barely audible rustle as the man with the white coat picks up a tiny object with a pair of tweezers and his sleeve brushes against the table.

The surroundings are as sterile as an operating theatre and with the dexterity of a brain surgeon Dominique Burdet inserts the minute component into one of the most complicated watch movements ever invented.

Burdet is employed by venerable Swiss watchmaker Audemats Piguet at Le Brassus in Switzerland. The engineer has performed this delicate task many times before and knows only too well that the slightest mistake can ruin hours of painstaking assembly work.

The 59-year-old is head of the 'Departement Grande Complication,' where exactly 648 separate components are brought together to create an exclusive chronograph. Burdet's team spends between four to six months building each watch and only 12 examples of the Grande Complication leave the factory every year.

There are no guided tours of this exclusive establishment in the Vallee de Joux, the region known as the cradle of upmarket Swiss watchmaking, and only a few, selected visitors are ever allowed inside.

Audemars Piguet produces only 25,500 timepieces a year, far fewer than larger companies such as Rolex. There are classic and sports lines to choose between, with models fashioned from stainless-steel, platinum or rose gold. All are available with copious inlays of precious gems.

Customers for these works of art include California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and basketball legend Shaquille O'Neill.

Time is of the essence in the valley of the watchmakers between le Brassus and Le Sentiere, where some 40 manufacturers and their suppliers are located. Among the idyllic meadows and holiday chalets engineers are under pressure to create even more sophisticated and elegant timepieces for a competitive high-end market.

Audemars Piguet is one of the most traditional of Swiss manufacturers. The company was founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, both aged in their early twenties, and it is still owned by the family.

Fashions change but the demand for watches with a magnificent price tag has not diminished. The advent of digital quartz watches in the 1970s might have spelt the death knell for hand-crafted timepieces but Audemars Piguet opted to be innovative.

The 'Royal Oak' first introduced in 1972 was one of the first high-quality sports watches to be made from steel instead of the usual platinum or gold. It is still in production along with a number of exceptional variants, including an extreme sports version with oversize case.

Whether to order a watch with or without diamonds is the excruciating choice facing many of Audemars Piguet's wealthy clientele and a visit to department where these gemstones are crafted into the watches is a breathtaking experience.

Some of the ladies watches are literally studded with hundreds of glittering miniature diamonds. These are not glued into place but located in individual settings, however tiny they are. The product description for the 'Lady Royal Oak' from the 'La vie en Rose' collection reads like an excerpt from the jewel catalogue from Tiffany's in New York's 5th Avenue.

'Cased in 18-carat rose gold, fully-paved setting of 323 brilliant cut diamonds, black dial flashes with red sub-dials offset with individual brilliant cut diamonds in place of numerals at the hour markers ....' This watch costs around 85,000 dollars and is by no means the most expensive in the company's range.

'The lowest-priced watch in our collection is priced at 7,800 euros,' said Axel Felmy, managing director of Audemars Piguet Germany. The most expensive is a platinum Jules Audemars with a 'skeletonised' or cut-away, face, so that the intricate Grande Complication can be seen whirring away inside. It retails at 706,000 euros, not including any diamond applications.

Martin Wehrli has worked for the company for 37 years and knows more than most about its history and achievements. He is a walking encyclopaedia of horology and a cordial host.

The walls of the museum are covered in photographs of luminaries who count an Audemars Piguet watch among their possessions. Boxing legend Mohammad Ali is among them along with former chess champion Garri Kasparov and ex-Olympic slalom ace Alberto Tomba.

The 'Royal Oak' was revolutionary when it came out nearly 40 years ago but today's chronological sensation is a watch with a case and movement made from ultra-light carbon fibre.

For years it was considered impossible to machine this high tech material to the fine tolerances needed. Audemars Piguet then came up with the limited edition 'Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team,' which =weighs a mere 90 grams, followed by a production carbon chronometer which features a unique forged case made of the exclusive material largely confined to the aviation industry.

Another department at Audemars Piguet concentrates on the styling of exclusive watches. Sketches are followed by mock-ups and models of the new form with great attention paid to ensuring the correct proportions and functionality of the timepieces.

Chief designer is Octavio Garcia, a sprightly 51-year-old who prepares for his task by jogging 5 kilometres a day: 'I need that in order to ensure a steady hand needed for working with watches like these. I suppose it's a little crazy really,' he said with a smile.

Audemars Piguet has certainly needed a level head to survive the stock market crashes and global downturns over the past 130 or so years. Continued success is highlighted by a recently-completed new factory. Here the watchmakers enjoy natural sunlight from the northern exposure and a fine view of the Orbe river valley.

Despite its large size, its design and setting give the plant a look akin to the randomly dispersed family workshops of olden times in this Swiss valley where workers have honed their celebrated watchmaking skills for centuries.