In honour of its sponsorship of the Investec Derby Festival, Audemars Piguet hosted two full days at the races in the Audemars Piguet private box at the Epsom Downs racecourse.
Audemars Piguet UK CEO, Mr. Gary Mead, welcomed the guests to the most distinguished horse race event in the world which included the famous Oaks race on Ladies Day, and the even more famous Derby race in the presence of HRH Queen Elisabeth and members of the Royal family on Derby day.
Audemars Piguet’s partnership with the Jockey Club as official timekeeper of the Investec Derby started in 2011. Committed to its origins and passionate about its spirit of independence, Audemars Piguet was the natural choice for the Derby: centuries ago, Louis Benjamin Audemars made the perfect pocket watch for Sir John Hawley (1814-1875), an English baronet with a long association with the turf whose horse, Beadsman, won the Derby in 1858. It was one of the most complicated watches ever made at the time and was called Beadsman in honour of Sir John Hawley’s Derby winner. This extraordinary timepiece is still in possession of Audemars Piguet and very difficult to value today as there is no watch brand making a similar model. The 18 carat yellow gold hunter case houses a manual winding movement that comprises some 500 plus components and a dial featuring two time zones, a thermometer, a simple calendar, two jumping centre seconds and lunar phases.
Audemars Piguet is very proud to be the timekeeper of not only one of the most prestigious sporting events worldwide, but also a true English institution that caught the world’s imagination.