Swiss ultra luxury watch maker Audemars Piguet continues to raise its profile in Europe‘s leading shopping destinations by opening flagship stores, or rather AP Houses, in true Audemars Piguet parlance, in coveted locations. Following high-profile openings in Zurich, Munich, Amsterdam and Hamburg, the latest AP House opened its doors in Milan‘s prestigious Duomo district. Here, the brand has secured a space which is spread across five floors –from the fourth to the ninth floor, to be exact – of Garage Traversi, a historic listed building erected in 1938 according to the project of Italian architects Giuseppe De Min and Alessandro Rimini. The interior design, created by Milan-based architecture practice Lissoni & Partners, may take ample cues from the natural environment of the Vallée de Joux, a mountainous region north of Geneva where the watch brand has its roots, but is in fact an homage to the 20th-century architectural legacy of the Lombardian capital and the design world of the 1960s and 1970s. By adopting a quirky transversal approach, the chosen aesthetic highlights Audemars Piguet‘s identity in new ways.

A striking, newly designed spiral staircase, crafted from steel and enclosed by a curved wall in backlit onyx, connects all floors. The AP House is anchored by a sleek and understated watch exhibition floor where both contemporary and heritage watches are put on display, in addition to a separate floor where visitors are immersed in the universe of the brand’s highly skilled watchmakers, enabling a close watch – pun intended – of their precision engineering. Also to be found on the premises is a plush yet homey lounge, where visitors can sit back and ponder over their next trophy watch purchase, sales areas and office space. The squared tapisserie pattern, typical of the dial of some of Audemars Piguet‘s watches, sees various interpretations in the interior settings, such as on the bright entrance canopy, on the onyx wall surrounding the staircase, on the ceilings and on the surfaces that customise the display systems. The custom-designed displays and showcases not only reveal a great eye for detail, but also offer the required functionality, creating innovative and unique settings. © superfuture