When it comes to brands like Audemars Piguet, many watch enthusiasts ask themselves: Why are these watches so expensive? It’s a fair question when you consider that an Audemars Piguet watch costs, on average, as much as a brand new mid-size car. That’s not to mention Audemar’s top-of-the-range models, which command prices for which you could easily buy an entire fleet of cars. So, let’s take a look at how these seemingly astronomical prices come about and whether or not they are justified.
What’s behind AP prices?
Audemars Piguet is a world-renowned watch manufacturer. Alongside Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, the manufacturer is considered one of the “big three” and is the only Swiss watch manufacturer to have been continuously in the hands of its founding family since its establishment in 1875. From the beginning, AP watches have been a favorite accessory of the rich, beautiful, and powerful. The Audemars Piguet brand stands for tradition, expertise, and exclusivity. Does that explain the high prices? Certainly not, but it’s undeniable that you’re paying for the name in some respect. Despite its big name, Audemars Piguet is a relatively small company with around 1,200 employees. The production figures are correspondingly low. Around 40,000 watches leave AP’s production halls every year. By comparison, industry giant Rolex employs approximately 30,000 people who produce between 700,000 and 1 million watches each year. The small quantities are easy to explain: Unlike Rolex, Omega, or Breitling, a large portion of Audemars Piguet’s production is done by hand. Of course, this takes time. The finishing of movements, cases, hands, and indices alone can take days or even weeks for a single watch. At Audemars, the motto is very clear: quality before quantity. And that, of course, leads to correspondingly high prices. Speaking of movements, as a true manufacturer, Audemars Piguet develops and produces its own calibers. This is a very complex and lengthy process that involves a whole host of highly specialized employees. For example, the company’s watchmakers and engineers spent five years developing the new caliber 7121 to market maturity. And it should be noted that this is a fairly simple caliber that displays the hours, minutes, and date. For movements with additional complications such as a perpetual calendar or striking mechanism, the effort is many times greater. The same applies to the costs. The development of a high-end caliber can easily cost several hundred million euros. These development costs are, of course, reflected in the relatively high price of the watches.
Another factor is the cost of materials. Precious metals like gold or platinum naturally have a high price. But even less precious materials such as titanium or stainless steel are anything but cheap at the level of quality that Audemars Piguet demands for its watches. Add to that modern materials like ceramics and carbon fiber, which require completely new manufacturing processes. This often requires completely new machines, which also require a lot of research and development. Materials research is playing an increasingly important role in watchmaking. It’s not just a question of how and where the latest high-tech materials from the aerospace industry can be useful in the production of a watch. Gold and platinum alloys are also constantly being improved upon, for example, to make them more durable. These tasks require the work of highly skilled employees, and since Switzerland is not exactly known as a low-wage country, personnel costs are another important factor to consider when it comes to pricing. When you take all of these factors into consideration, Audemars Piguet’s list prices suddenly seem quite reasonable or at least comprehensible.
Audemars Piguet: List Prices vs. Market Prices
Unfortunately, list prices recommended by the manufacturer and prices charged by independent retailers are often two completely different figures. Audemars Piguet is no exception. Let’s take a look at the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15510ST.OO.1320ST.06as an example. This model is an absolute classic in the AP range. The official list price for this stainless steel model with a blue dial is 24,900 CHF (approx. $28,500) as of November 2024. On the open market, however, you’ll find completely different prices for the same model. A look at Chrono24 Watch Collection data shows that the average price for an unworn example is closer to $56,000 – almost twice as much.
How can such vast price differences be explained? In the case of Audemars Piguet, several factors come together: As we have already seen, the Le Brassus-based manufacturer produces only about 40,000 timepieces per year. However, the demand for watches from AP is much higher, which sometimes leads to long waiting times in brick-and-mortar stores. Furthermore, Audemars has been pursuing a “direct-to-customer” strategy for several years. The goal is to sell Audemars Piguet watches exclusively through dedicated Audemars Piguet boutiques. As a result, AP timepieces are even harder to find in the wild than they previously were. In summary, high demand meets low supply, which, as we all know, leads to high prices on the open market. However, this does not explain why prices have risen disproportionately in recent years. For this, we need to take a quick peek at Patek Philippe and their Nautilus. Like the Royal Oak, the Nautilus was designed by Gérald Genta. Both watches enjoy a similar cult status. The Nautilus ref. 5711/1A in stainless steel is THE grail watch for many watch lovers. However, Patek kept production of this reference quite limited, which led to years of waiting lists and constantly rising prices on the open market. When Patek announced in 2021 that they would discontinue the reference without a replacement, the already high prices skyrocketed. The hype around the Nautilus led many watch collectors to turn to the Royal Oak in search of a more affordable alternative. Thus, demand rose rapidly, driving up prices there in response.
In the case of Audemars Piguet, however, the hype is focused only on the Royal Oak and, to some extent, its more robust counterpart, the Royal Oak Offshore. Other product lines are not affected. In fact, it’s almost the opposite for the wider collection. The Code 11.59, launched in 2020, has had a very difficult time winning over fans and critics. Currently, you can almost always get watches in this range for less than the list price. Audemars Piguet’s dress watch series, the Millenary, is also clearly flying under the radar.
Are Audemars Piguet watches too expensive?
Audemars Piguet watches undoubtedly cost a lot of money. However, a distinction must be made between list prices and market prices – especially in the case of the Royal Oak. Considering the level of quality on offer, AP’s list prices are quite reasonable. If you have your eye on a Royal Oak, have a good relationship with an authorized dealer, and don’t mind waiting months or even years, you can get this classic at a reasonable price. You can buy the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak on the open market without having to wait, but you’ll have to pay a hefty premium. You must ultimately decide for yourself whether or not it’s justified.
