Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is proud to present a short interview with Octavio Garcia, hosted by Arthur Touchot. Responsible for the design of Audemars Piguet's watch collection between 2003 and 2015, Octavio Garcia played a pivotal role in shaping the company's current catalogue. In the following interview Garcia shares some of his fondest memories of his time in Le Brassus, captured by three pieces from his personal collection. Garcia also explains his decision to offer these during The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII, on May 13 and 14, 2023.
– By Arthur Touchot
Imagine being 35 and driving up to Le Brassus for your first day at Audemars Piguet, knowing that the company you’ve just signed for expects you to pursue the legacy of the 20th century’s greatest watch designer.
As you enter the last roundabout before Rue de la Gare, you might be tempted to keep your hands firmly on the steering wheel until you’ve done a full 360 and made it back to Route du Campe to drive away with the manufacture in your rear-view mirror.
Octavio Garcia’s hands remained steady that day.
The young watch designer was ready for what stood before him. He had built quite a reputation at Omega – a company he joined in 1999 and where he spent four years working with some of the industry’s largest forces, including Mr. Nick Hayek Sr. and Jean-Claude Biver.
“Omega is a wonderful company to begin a design career,” says Octavio Garcia. “I had access to the best design tools, a competent floor of managers and engineers with a clear understanding of the brand’s culture.”
Some of Octavio’s most well-documented projects at Omega include the birth of the Aqua Terra family in 2002, and the full re-design of the Constellation (a project that would come out following his departure from the brand). He is also known his work on the Seamaster – some of his favourites include models with complications, such as the America’s Cup Team New Zealand and the Chronograph series.
“I could not imagine starting at Audemars Piguet without that prior experience,” said Garcia, who was approached by the brand at the end of 2002.
Not for the first time, Audemars Piguet was searching for a promising young designer to bolster its creative team, then led by Claude Emmenegger. The watch company had recently introduced its first Concept Watch (CW1), while in North America, a certain Mr. François-Henry Bennahmias was turning the Offshore into the company’s new flagship product, ahead of the Royal Oak.
This was an exciting time to join Audemars Piguet. The company was developing cutting-edge mechanisms at Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (APRP), while it was also finding joy in the use of modern materials, including special alloys, carbon fibre, and ceramics, sprinkled throughout its catalogue.
The Offshore perfectly captured the mood at Le Brassus. Launched to celebrate the Royal Oak’s platinum anniversary in 1992, the Offshore was a very controversial anniversary piece when it first came out. Designed by Emmanuel Gueit at the tender age of 22, the watch was mean to rejuvenate the Royal Oak line. Despite a torrid reception and public criticism from none other than Gérald Genta due to its size, the Offshore found support within its intended market – younger collectors.
This was not new for Audemars Piguet, who had experienced similar scepticism in 1972 with the release of the original Royal Oak. They would continue to back the development of the Offshore line, expanding the line to include precious metal cases and high-end complications.
The move paid off. The Offshore’s growing popularity had other brands re-thinking their own strategy, and it eventually initiated a radical transformation of the watch industry, establishing the trend for oversized watches.
Given the context, Octavio Garcia’s choice to wear a Royal Oak Chronograph ref. 25860ST as his “company watch” may have surprised his new employers. Garcia admits he was a little unfamiliar with the model but it acted as a great introduction into Gérald Genta’s original design.
The Royal Oak Chronograph became Octavio Garcia’s daily wearer, and it would have been on his wrist when he produced sketches of many of Audemars Piguet’s novelties between 2002 and 2015, including innovative limited editions in the Offshore family and watches inspired by the brand’s past.
I was first introduced to Octavio Garcia shortly after the hugely successful launch of the ref. 15202, which brought back Gérald Genta’s original Royal Oak design to the Audemars Piguet catalogue, and just as he was working on the development of a new line – the Millenary. I remember it well because instead of meeting formally at the manufacture, we ran into each other in the streets of Le Brassus during lunchtime.
He made an immediate impression on me, not just as the man behind a lot of the watches I greatly admired, but more importantly, as someone people in the village seemed to know and appreciate. And I remember he was wearing his trusty Royal Oak Chronograph.
We spoke on a couple of occasions after that, when I had questions about Audemars Piguet’s new releases. I was always curious to learn about the brand’s unique relationship with its ambassadors, and their role in the design process of limited editions that bore their names. And I was surprised, like many around me, when it was announced that he was leaving the company after 12 years to give his seat back to Claude Emmenegger.
Following his departure from Audemars Piguet in 2015, Octavio Garcia continued to design watches. In 2016 he introduced his own label, Gorilla Watches, an automotive-inspired collection priced between CHF 950 and CHF 8,750.
While it doesn’t pretend to compete with Audemars Piguet’s collection, the Gorilla Watch catalogue includes features that are reminiscent of Garcia’s time at Audemars Piguet, including visible screws that go through the cases, the use of carbon in several models, and some complications – the brand’s flagship model, the Outlaw Drift, even features a wandering hours display.
I would like to thank Octavio for inviting me to his design studio near Neuchâtel to discuss his design philosophy and explain his decision to sell some of his personal pieces to further invest in Gorilla Watches. The brand has just announced the imminent launch of new piece – the Fastback Touring – which you can learn more about on Gorilla's website.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Arthur Touchot
Arthur Touchot is a former journalist who specialized in the luxury market. Having earned a master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University, Arthur combined his love of watches and words by becoming a regular contributor to The New York Times and the Financial Times at the start of his career, later becoming senior European editor at Hodinkee. In 2017, Arthur joined Phillips as International Head of Digital Strategy to lead the global content and digital marketing strategy of the auction house’s watch department, and has been involved in bringing some of the world’s rarest timepieces to auction.
Recommended Reading
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, The Man Who Made It, And The Watch That Honours It
Understanding The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept CW1
A Guide: The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore