To give greater resonance to its research and innovation activities, Audemars Piguet recently announced a long-term partnership with Art Basel as an Associate Partner of the Basel, Hong-Kong and Miami events. This sponsorship will open with Art Basel Hong-Kong, May 23-26, 2013, where Audemars Piguet will welcome visitors in a dedicated space built within the Art Collectors Lounge, an exclusive salon reserved for art collectors. Within this new space, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the origins of Audemars Piguet, in Le Brassus, a small isolated village in the heart of the Vallé de Joux, Switzerland, and will be able to admire a selection of exceptional timepieces from yesterday and today. They will find here some highlights from the travelling exhibition "From Avant-Garde to Icon", which the watch manufacturer took around the world in 2012 to mark the 40th anniversary of its emblematic Royal Oak, which revolutionised haute horlogerie. Within the framework of the ArtBasel fair, visitors will have the privilege of seeing a retrospective dedicated to this legendary watch, as well as other classic pieces produced during the brand's 138-year history. The Audemars Piguet space will also display a watchmaker's bench and offer guided tours with haute horlogerie specialists. The backdrop to the exhibition will be the spectacular shots taken by British photographer Dan Holdsworth, who was commissioned by Audemars Piguet in 2011 to capture the richness of nature in the Vallée de Joux - one of Europe's most remote and preserved Alpine regions - and its cosmic relationship with time. Interviewed on this new partnership, François-Henri Bennahmias, Audemars Piguet's CEO, is delighted: "We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with Art Basel, the world's leading contemporary art fair. The history of the Maison is one in which art and craftsmanship are intertwined. We are in a hurry to strengthen these bonds that unite us with the world of contemporary art and to establish a collaboration that is as lasting as it is valuable with Art Basel". After the ArtBasel fair in Hong-Kong, Audemars Piguet will participate in the forthcoming fairs in Basel, from 13 to 16 June, and Miami Beach, from 5 to 8 December 2013.
