News Audemars Piguet’s nineteenth store has just opened its doors in the Moda Mall of the World Trade Center in the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain. A guided tour.
The majestic 240-metre high World Trade Center of Manama, composed of two 50-floor twin towers resembling two huge sails, overlooks the magnificent Arabian Gulf and the Manama urban landscape. This skyscraper, the first to integrate wind pumps into its construction, is a modern interpretation of the traditional windmill and successfully associates technological innovations with environmental, design-oriented and functional concerns.
The architectural concept of the Audemars Piguet boutique echoes the brand’s aesthetic identity codes through the use of elegant, natural and understated materials such as wood, glass and leather.
A single look at the boutique store front draws us into the heart of the Royal Oak collection thanks to its chequered aluminium pediment echoing the famous «grande tapisserie» dial motif. The outside windows create an effect of transparency, revealing broad printed hangings in the background and a pure, welcoming interior, while wengé and glass displays highlight the brand’s latest creations.
Upon stepping through the broad glass doors, beams of light mark out the sales area and lead visitors towards the slender elongated showcases adorned with magnificent photos of iconic product visuals.
The Lounge area features a blend of traditional and modern elements, including wengé bookshelves carrying portraits of the company founders Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, the two family crests, along with high-tech screens showing the brand’s latest 3D animations and thematic films. Within this cosy environment, customers can settle into a comfortable beige sofa and set off to discover the history of Fine Watchmaking by leafing through a number of beautiful Audemars Piguet books.
On either side of the rooms, oval-shaped lamps in warm chocolate and beige colours sutbly evoke the Millenary collection and its off-centred dial. Further enhancing the luminous, airy atmosphere, huge glass walls finely engraved with the tourbillon movement of an Audemars Piguet timepiece diffuse a soft, silvery light.
«Even though our distribution network is particularly well developed in the Middle East, we must constantly improve our visibility. This new point of sale – which reflects our fundamental brand values of Tradition, Daring and Excellence – is the third in this region, and we are planning to open a fourth in Riyadh», said Philippe Merk, CEO of Audemars Piguet, who is accompanied in our picture by brand ambassador Sébastien Buemi, Formula 1 driver.
April 23, 2010
