Audemars Piguet returns to Watches & Wonders: why this changes everything
After seven years away from trade shows, AP is back at Watches & Wonders Geneva. Here's what it means for collectors and the pre-owned market.
For seven years, Audemars Piguet did its own thing. While Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin held court at Watches & Wonders Geneva, AP hosted private "AP House" events, courted influencers, and released watches on its own schedule. The message was clear: we don't need the trade show circuit.
That era is over. In April 2026, Audemars Piguet returns to Watches & Wonders for the first time since leaving SIHH in 2019. And they're not coming back quietly.
Why AP left (and why that matters now)
When AP pulled out of SIHH after the 2019 edition, the reasoning was strategic independence. The brand wanted to control its own narrative, launch watches on its own timeline, and engage directly with collectors rather than competing for attention in a crowded exhibition hall.
The approach had its merits. AP House events in cities like Miami, Tokyo, and London created genuine buzz. The brand launched the controversial Code 11.59 collection, reworked the Royal Oak Offshore lineup, and steadily climbed secondary market charts without a single trade show booth.
But isolation has limits. While AP was hosting private dinners, Watches & Wonders evolved into something bigger than any single brand. The fair absorbed Baselworld's energy, attracted new independent watchmakers, and became the one week a year when the entire industry — press, retailers, collectors — converges in one place. Missing it started looking less like confidence and more like absence.
The 2026 return: what AP is bringing
AP isn't tiptoeing back. The brand has already dropped 21 new references in February alone, well ahead of the April 14-20 fair. The highlights tell you where AP's head is at.
The Neo Frame Jumping Hour is the real statement piece. A 34.6mm pink gold watch with a black PVD sapphire dial and aperture displays, it's based on a 1929 pre-model design and houses AP's first automatic jumping hour movement (Caliber 7122). This isn't another Royal Oak variant. It's AP saying: we're a full-spectrum manufacture, not a one-watch brand.
Then there's the 150 Heritage Pocket Watch, limited to just two pieces. Thirty complications. Forty-seven functions. Grande sonnerie, minute repeater, flying tourbillon, perpetual calendar, flyback chronograph with split seconds. Only the third pocket watch AP has ever made, after the legendary Universelle of 1899. It's a flex, pure and simple, but an earned one.
The Royal Oak family got its share of attention too. New 38mm chronographs in steel and pink gold join a ceramic perpetual calendar in AP's signature "Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50" colorway developed for last year's 150th anniversary. The new Caliber 7138 perpetual calendar movement, with its crown-adjustable correction system, now appears across both Royal Oak and Code 11.59 collections in openworked versions.
The Royal Oak Offshore gets new flyback chronographs in ceramic and titanium, plus divers in pink, turquoise, and deep teal. If you've been waiting for AP to push color harder on the Offshore, this is your year.
What it means for the pre-owned market
Here's where it gets interesting for buyers. AP's return to Watches & Wonders will put the brand front and center in a way it hasn't been for years. Every major outlet will cover whatever AP unveils in April. That kind of concentrated attention has a measurable effect on secondary market demand.
Historically, new AP releases don't hurt pre-owned values of existing references. They tend to lift the entire brand. When AP launched the green-dial Royal Oak in 2021, secondary prices on blue and grey dials actually rose alongside the new reference. The logic is simple: more people thinking about AP means more people buying AP, including on the pre-owned market.
The 2026 releases lean heavily into complications and limited editions. The pocket watch is unobtainable. The Neo Frame Jumping Hour will be allocated to top clients. The ceramic perpetual calendars will have waiting lists measured in years. Collectors who want an AP right now, rather than in 2029, will turn to the secondary market.
We currently carry nine Audemars Piguet pieces, including a Royal Oak Chronograph in steel, the collectible Royal Oak Offshore "Vampire", and the Survivor limited edition (one of 1,000 made). For collectors who want the brand's classic DNA without the allocation games, these are the kinds of pieces worth looking at before April's spotlight drives demand higher.
The bigger picture
AP's return completes the Holy Trinity at Watches & Wonders for the first time. Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet under one roof in Geneva. Add the 66-brand lineup (including newcomers like Sinn and Corum) and the 2026 edition is shaping up to be the most significant watch fair in a decade.
For AP specifically, this is a reset. The brand spent seven years proving it could thrive independently. Now it's rejoining the conversation at the highest level, armed with new movements, new case shapes, and enough inventory to fill a booth that will probably be the most visited at the fair.
Whether AP unveils more surprises in April remains to be seen. Given that they've already shown 21 watches in February, whatever they're saving for the main event must be significant. We'll be watching.
Interested in pre-owned Audemars Piguet? Browse our current AP collection or contact us about sourcing specific references.
Related reading: Watches and Wonders 2026 preview: the biggest Geneva fair yet | The Patek Nautilus at 50