Ever since the 19^th century, Audemars Piguet had been an établisseur. In the small Le Brassus workshops, a handful of watchmakers adjusted, finished, assembled and fitted components made by independent Vallée de Joux artisans such as Louis Elisée Piguet, Louis Audemars, Victorin Piguet, Alfred Aubert and many others.

Relationships between these craftsmen often went well beyond the strict setting of the workbench and extended to the choir and the gymnastics or ski jumping club. In a remote valley, everyone knew each other, friendships consolidated solid work collaborations and family relationships deepened them. By way of example, Georges Golay – who joined Audemars Piguet in 1945 and would later run the company from 1967 to 1987 – was a great friend and card-playing companion of former managing director Roger LeCoultre (1906 – 1971).

This friendship is just one expression of the strong ties that Audemars Piguet and LeCoultre & Cie (renamed Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1979) nurtured from the 19^th century onwards. Mentions of these relations appear in the archives since at least 1882, but it was in the aftermath of World War II, and more specifically from 1948 onwards, that these companies drew closer together.

A third player played an important role in the birth and development of Calibre 2120. In the 1960s, Geneva-based company Vacheron Constantin already had an over two-century history behind it. It belonged to the same financial entity as LeCoultre & Cie: the SAPIC group (Société Anonyme des Participations Industrielles et Commerciales).

In addition to this close relationship with the movement blank manufacturer, Vacheron Constantin had been a loyal customer of Audemars Piguet since the 1880s. In the 1950s, the ties were so strong that some Audemars Piguet watches were sold in the Vacheron Constantin boutique in Geneva! It was in fact Vacheron Constantin’s Sales Manager, Francis Berger, who sold the first white gold Royal Oak to the Shah of Iran in 1972, a unique piece crafted upon his request.

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