(Photo Credit: Audemars Piguet)This is a combination of posts which were originally published in April 2009, following my visit to the Audemars Piguet manufacture in Le Brassus. Click "more" to view the entire tour (37 photos, 4 slideshows, 1 video).I Invicta Corduba watch visited Basel, Switzerland in March, to attend the 2009 Baselworld show.Also , since I had been already in Switzerland for that show, I decided to visit the Audemars Piguet factory as well. So after my final day in Basel, I took a 3-hour train ride to Geneva.
factory and museum, in LeBrassus, Switzerland. My tour started in the "forged carbon" department. Rather than taking notes, I figured it would be more interesting to actually photograph and videotape the carbon forging process. The replica Invicta Corduba watch slideshow (above) features photos of all the steps required to turn raw "carbon fibers" right into a single bit of "forged carbon". First the raw fibers are unrolled, measured and cut. The little strands of carbon are then weighed on the digital scale, where they must be accurate to 1/100th of a gram. If the weight is off, a hundredth of a gram, the process will not work.
The weighed fibers are sealed in a small, dust-free container and taken to an adjacent room. Here, the carbon fibers are inserted into a metal mold for forging. This is done inside a work suce that features a semi-sealed electronic dust filtration. Cordubawatch Dust can certainly result in a piece to be rejected, so many steps are taken to prevent this. (Below) Video showing the entire process of manufacturing "forged carbon".aram (Slideshow of entire CNC department
