The new museum for Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, the Maison des fondateurs, is a new cutting edge glass pavilion, designed as an extension to the headquarters in Le Brassus. The museum’s scenography shows the milestones of the brand’s development and related technical innovations as well as the entire design process. This starts from the origins of watch making in the Vallée de Joux, passes over the escapements and the "complications" by putting emphasis on the "Royal Oak" series.

In the exhibition, reflections and shadows combine to create a spectacle in which the course of time is inscribed. Visitors experience the route as a flowing continuum with a composed narration where each chapter has its own design language.

The history of the company serves as a starting point of the narration: Visitors gain a unique perspective of the Vallée de Joux and on the history of watchmaking. Visitors are invited to try their hand at some of the ancestral techniques perpetuated by Audemars Piguet’s finishing experts. Visitors travel through the building as they would through the spring of a timepiece.

Optically flowing transitions characterise the exhibition. Depending on the time of day and the season, the overall impression changes. Reflections and shadows combine to create a spectacle in which the course of time is inscribed. Visitors experience the rhythmically flowing route as a flowing continuum with a composed narration. Each chapter has its own design language and is introduced by an interlude, a mechanical sculpture or an artistically designed display item. At a workbench, visitors can re-enact the technical and design aspects of this craft as well as the design process. In addition, workshops are integrated in the extended route through the exhibition and can be viewed any time. The degree of concentration the work requires can be sensed directly.

Due to the high quality of design, quality tourism is attracted and there is a high press attention. Tickets for a guided tour are sold out well in advance. The Museum has not only a direct commercial intention, but also a desire to spread the local know-how and communicate it to a wider audience. Thus, the visitor does not find a store at the exit of the museum.