WatchTime India: It’s been a little over nine months since you took on a very coveted position at Audemars Piguet. What have these past months been like for you?

Anne-Gaëlle Quinet: My new role involves new responsibilities, of course, in terms of management, communication around complications, and client experience, to which Audemars Piguet pays deep attention. My experience so far has been excellent. I learn a lot, and every day has something different to offer. I meet great people, and I am involved in different things around complications. I feel fortunate, and it is all very exciting.

WTI: You took on the role and sort of announced your arrival in a big way with the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication Universelle (RD#4), one of the brand’s highlight watches of this year. What was that experience like?

AGQ: Imagine! It was huge, and I got on the train when it was already rolling. But I was so proud and amazed by all the work that was achieved by the team, and the product itself. To me, it represents a watch of the 21st century that combines the complication mechanisms from the 17th-18th century. You had the tourbillon, chiming watches, perpetual calendars, and while the way we design and assemble watches has evolved, the purpose of the mechanism hasn’t. So, for me, it is very poetic. RD#4 is a 44mm size, is very user-friendly, and when I first showed it to a customer and saw his eyes shining, I was like, wow, this is where the magic happens.

WTI: What are customers looking for, both men and women, from Audemars Piguet today?

AGQ: Without sounding silly, I want to say that what they want is to dream. What they want from Audemars Piguet is a sense of creativity, a contemporary way to reinterpret complications. Another important thing is that they all want a story to tell when it comes to their watches. It could be personal or professional. So, they expect Audemars Piguet to reinvent watches for their dream.

WTI: What does that ‘dream’ really mean then?

AGQ: It means to extend the diversity of complications. If you go to the Audemars Piguet museum, people see what we have done in the past, our heritage, and what we are doing now, and they will ask us why we don’t reproduce, say, one of the materials or colours. This is their dream. They really want us to provide a watch that is made for them.

WTI: After a long haul at Patek Philippe, what attracted you to Audemars Piguet?

AGQ: It was definitely the different approach and vision of business, which brings diverse dynamism. I wanted to challenge myself, and I found it at Audemars Piguet.

WTI: Women have always been in top leadership and collaborative roles at Audemars Piguet, something that is not seen often in the watch world. Did that factor into your decision?

AGQ: Not really. I always trust in my path. I never had any specific vision of where I wanted to be or anything like that. I am very confident that things happen when they have to—you meet good people when you are at the right place at the right time, and this is what happened for me. When I saw the advertisement that they were looking for someone at Audemars Piguet, my inner voice said that it was my time to go there.

My mother introduced me to this field when I was a teenager. I never thought about watchmaking. At my time, it was not very trendy to become a watchmaker. She was the one who influenced me. She knew that watchmaking will be a great business, and helped me on this path.

WTI: You have studied watchmaking as well as been in positions in sales, training, and have had client-facing roles. What aspect of this industry would you say you have most enjoyed in your roles?

AGQ: Each role has taught me a lot. But what I have really learnt is that the final product is a result of many collaborations. It is very important to mention that after all the different roles I have taken, when I was in sales, I knew of all the attention to detail, all the work that had gone on behind the product, all the people who were involved. So, you tend to have huge respect for the product, and you share that love and passion with the client—you transmit something to the client with love. What I enjoy most is these parts—knowing all the different worlds, what is inside the final product, and how to pass it on to the client.

WTI: How have you seen the industry develop in the context of watches for women and 

women watchmakers?

AGQ: When you walk around the Audemars Piguet museum, you see these tiny wristwatches made for ladies. They have stones and colours, along with tiny mechanical movements that were so complex. For men, it was pocket watches and wrist watches with bigger movements. Of course, in the 1970s, quartz happened and quartz became something for ladies. Wristwatches for women meant diamonds and jewellery. And these days, we have come back to gender-free and no specifications on watches. This is what I have seen evolving. And I have to talk about women in watchmaking! We have a fantastic lady who works in the restoration workshop. She is very young, and restoration is the most complex watchmaking process because you have to rebuild the parts, you can’t change them. I am so glad to see her and other young watchmakers like her working in the industry.

WTI: I had read that you want to develop something that is more in the area of women’s watches at Audemars Piguet. Could you elaborate on this?

AGQ: It means that now Audemars Piguet is focusing on further developing the relationship and client experience for women, which is important to us. I am more sensitive to the case-wrist size ratio. Women don’t always want small. They are looking for ergonomics on the wrist, and sometimes we have to rethink the design of the case.

WTI: What do you hope to bring to your role at Audemars Piguet?

AGQ: I would like to bring new dreams to clients of all types—woman, man, collector, influencer—and extend the diversity of complications. I would love to have a specific addition in terms of watches from the past that we reinterpret for today, while retaining the spirit of the incredible know-how of Vallée de Joux and Audemars Piguet.

WTI: What would you say has been a career-defining moment for you?

AGQ: Joining Audemars Piguet. The overall knowledge that I have gained doing whatever I have done has allowed me a bird’s eye view of the technical, historical, and commercial side.

Images: Courtesy Brand