A Tête-à-Tête With Ilaria Resta

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Well, I must say that I'm very excited to be in this wonderful industry. Ever since I joined, I felt like I belong to this industry in the sense that it's such a contagious passion for what we do, for the way we work with clients in proximity. And I have a long history of experience in managing direct to clients. So we are in a situation where we have a very diverse set of clients. And I found it extremely enriching to work with the artisans and watchmakers inside Audemars Piguet and outside. We have the boundaries of this industry very thin in the sense that it's an industry that was born in collaboration with others. And this my style of leadership and my experience fit very well with this context.

Indeed it's contagious. Why? Because it's a human industry. When you interact with the watchmakers, with people passionate about this industry, you can't stay immune to the beauty of the industry and you understand the complexity of assembling and producing and designing a movement, a watch, and then you realize what's behind the creation, then it becomes really a category that you want to learn more and more. And that's why here at Watches and Wonders we put forward so many of our colleagues. We have 100 Audemars Piguet people here engaging every day with lots of people and explaining what they do, how a watch is done, and this knowledge turns immediately into an emotion and a passion.

Well, it's been already a almost 2 and 1/2 years journey.

So I feel I've been here forever and it went very fast because it's an industry, I repeat, it's an industry that once you get into and you understand how things are done, how the production goes, but also not only that, how the history is so rich, and that's why I believe Audemars Piguet is in the intersection of art, culture, emotion, and of course mechanical craftsmanship.

Well, because you know, there is something in common which is the craftsmanship, the creativity, the artisanal aspect of Audemars Piguet that speaks, I guess, to the Indian clients. We have lots of connoisseurs and collectors there that have been following the brand for many years. And there is this respect for the artisanal expertise, but also the innovation behind it. So, it's not a nostalgic view of the past, but it's a constant moving forward view. And I think this contrast of these two words is matching very much with the taste in India.

Classic yet very pure, but at the same time rich. Because if you look at the good run, the way this watch is constructed, it has the contrast that we like. The contrast of modernity and classicism, the contrast of simplicity and complexity. But also what I really love and I believe it's going to be a very successful collection is the fact that there is so much we can do in this design to change and evolve. We are showing here at Watches and Wonders a fully engraved gold version just to prove that this canvas is a big creativity canvas, this shape.

I'm talking the shape. This can be really changed with new materials, new designs, also new decoration. So, I can see this evolving over time while still being relevant and new even if it was inspired by the past.

I believe the richness and the beauty of Audemars Piguet in the past was really the creative diversity. And in fact, here at Watches and Wonders, we are presenting so many models, so many materials, different complications, different shapes. This tells you that the story of Audemars Piguet, which is 150 years long, is a story of richness, of diversity. And the Code is a first step, this new frame is another step, and we will have many more to diversify further. Atelier des Grandes Complications is another great example, three different watches with three different personalities and savoir-faire and movement, and at the same time we have been launching the pocket watch. So, this creative diversity belongs to the story of Audemars Piguet, and I can see this diversity continuing in the future.

I agree 100%, and the data confirms exactly what you say. We see an average age of clients getting younger and younger. Very interesting, we see more younger people being interested in complications, and we see younger men and younger women, which I like this diversity of clients. Many enter through the door of vintage watches, so they're interested in the story of watchmaking, which is nice. So, they really look at with a wide spectrum the entire industry, and the same case for Audemars Piguet. So, we welcome this younger generation and we are very excited.

We do. In fact, our user base when you look at the demographics is going down in age as well. But, in general, we serve I think five generations at the same time of clients. It's never been so diverse the clientele of Audemars Piguet that we have. We no longer cater to one age group specifically, but many many more.

I see it a brand with the creative audacity to continue pushing the boundaries in developing new movements, and new materials, new shapes. At the same time, I see Audemars Piguet becoming really a cultural brand, the brand that attracts people to learn about watchmaking. And I see Audemars Piguet still being forever relevant to the new generation that continue coming.

Indeed, and we have a little space for our little watchmakers of tomorrow who can draw and or assemble some wheels of the movement because it truly watchmaking is so fun. And that's why we created also the AP Lab here in Geneva in the center of Geneva. The lab is truly an edutainment place, education and entertainment where we really want the families, the kids, everybody to come and discover the world of watchmaking. You are invited. Come to the AP Lab in Geneva until the end of June.

Indeed, and if you talk to any of the colleagues at Audemars Piguet, they are all warm, nice, and welcoming. So, that's who we are at Audemars Piguet and we welcome everybody who wants to learn about watchmaking.

Yes.

Join us. Come. The doors are open and we really need the diversity of point of view, not only of genders. This is a world that will thrive on diversity, on creativity, and I think there is space for everybody who has passion.

Thank you.

Same. Thank you.

Well, we love India. Audemars Piguet loves India. We have amazing clients, amazing passionate friends. So, stay tuned and we'll see you soon.

Thank you.