“I’ve always been curious about watchmaking but that interest peaked as soon as I moved to Switzerland,” says Ilaria Resta. The Naples-hailing Audemars Piguet CEO is in London for the launch of a music collaboration with Mark Ronson and Raye – the brand’s latest luminaries – and we are nestled together in a listening room at 180 Studios. “Of course you cannot be immune to watchmaking in Switzerland,” she adds matter-of-factly. “You’re surrounded by so many amazing watchmaking companies. So, I got curious.”

When her appointment was announced in 2023, the fact that Resta is not only a woman, but that she hails from a stellar career in fast consumer goods (fragrance firm Firmenich, and Procter & Gamble) sent ripples of surprise throughout a male-dominated industry that typically promotes from within. What’s more, the maison she was set to helm is a powerhouse: Audemars Piguet is one of the big four Swiss watchmakers, and according to Morgan Stanley, the estimated revenue in 2024 was $2.6bn.  

Resta is among a growing cohort of female CEOs in luxury, including Leena Nair (Chanel); Francesca Bellettini (Gucci); Delphine Arnault (Christian Dior) and Hélène Poulit-Duquesne (Boucheron). But in the watchmaking world, she is the only woman in the highest rank (she was at one point joined by Catherine Rénier, though she has left Jaeger-LeCoultre to head up Van Cleef & Arpels).

“I didn’t feel any obstacles as such,” Resta says of leading in a man’s world. “But I do feel there is clearly a missed opportunity in this industry,” pointing to the growing percentage of women who are collectors and buyers. She speaks with great clarity and at speed throughout our conversation, nimbly explaining the matrix of the brand: one that spans mechanism manufacturing for other watchmakers as well as its own famed collections. 

Resta was preceded in the role by François-Henry Bennahmias, a CEO who lassoed the power of street and sport culture to capture a diverse audience, and did much to open up the doors to the closed world of haute horlogerie. It’s an approach Resta is determined to evolve, within her own vision. 

When we meet, Resta is wearing a white cropped shirt, blue tailored trousers, a pretty brooch and the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar watch which sits proudly on her slender wrist. “Yes, it’s big as I have a relatively small wrist,” she admits. “But I like to wear a big watch. Other watchmakers would classify this as for men, but it’s stunning and it suits my style. We don’t differentiate size by gender.”

The non-genderisation of watches is one important strategy that Resta is spearheading. Right now, the Audemars Piguet range runs in scale from 23mm to 44mm in diameter, offering up a myriad of options to clients. But gender, age and location rarely enter into the equation when it comes to ‘understanding’ the existing and future audience. Resta believes such classifications are outdated, superficial and fail to embrace the way we invest and wear watches: whether you are a connoisseur who can name every mechanism, or an admirer who is simply curious about watches and the artistry of watchmaking. “What we are trying to do is really go deep into the motivation of what compels somebody to buy a watch, and to offer them what fits in their lifetime,” she adds.

The new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, launched this year, is a mind-blowing piece of design and technicity. Every function is adjustable, in any direction from the crown (which means no trips to a specialist for re-setting), and all the components are accommodated in a slim 41mm or 38mm case. The design joins the ranks of groundbreaking Audemars Piguet models dating back a century and a half through four generations – a thread which began when Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet first joined forces in 1875.

Preserving the legacy and excellence of this unique business is something that is always at the forefront of Resta’s mind, inflecting every decision. Indeed, when she joined the company in 2023, her first few months were a period of deep immersion and research at the HQ in Le Brassus, situated 60km north of Geneva. Coming up, the company is bringing together its various production sites in the Vallée de Joux under one roof, relocating its manufacturing activities to a new 17,000 square-metre environmentally-friendly facility called The Arc, which will be officially inaugurated in 2026. Also in Le Brassus, there’s the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet, designed by the Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and a luxury hotel, Hôtel des Horlogers. “You need to understand the context, you need to understand the business – but also you need to really go deep into the relationship with the board and the families. We are the largest company still owned by the founding family, which is rare,” says Resta of connecting all the strands of the company both personal and historical.

It’s this careful blend of innovation and heritage that drives the business forward in highly volatile times. Macroeconomics, politics, questions of value and context are creating seismic shifts in all areas of luxury, causing a market slump in the Swiss watchmaking business. As customers, we are seeking out what is truly exceptional, personal and in dialogue with our own emotions and life journeys – nurturing those connections is vital, whether in the business of hospitality or handbags. Across the boutiques and AP Houses around the globe (including venues in London and Manchester), the brand crafts a convivial yet intimate atmosphere that keeps both longstanding clients and newcomers coming back.

Openness is a hallmark exemplified in the broad roll call of friends of the brand including Serena Williams, John Mayer, and DJ and producer Mark Ronson, who composed a track, “Suzanne”, with Raye for the 150th anniversary. “We don’t believe in framing the creativity of anybody we work with, not even our own watchmakers, because then you limit the genius that can come out,” says Resta of these collaborators. “Like Serena Williams. Beyond being a tennis champion, she is an amazing mum, entrepreneur, and she shares our values. She is a watch enthusiast, so it is not a forced partnership in that regard. That’s helpful, because it opens up this passion that we believe is contagious.”

Resta recently oversaw the immersive AP House of Wonders experience in Shanghai which attracted over 35,000 visitors. “There are so many people passionate about learning about watchmaking: not necessarily only people who want to buy. Maybe they want to learn or want to work in this industry one day. And that’s what we feel is special and unique about the approach,” she enthuses.

These days Resta makes use of the commute time from her home in Geneva, where she lives with her husband and two children, to meditate on future plans. Her overriding mission is to maintain Audemars Piguet as an independent, family-owned company. “You need to keep innovating. So, a lot of my time and focus is invested in what [feels] new. And innovation does not necessarily have to be the movement, it can be in materials, in the decorative aspects, or new ways of assembly as well as new models,” she says.

There’s an ease to Resta today, but also a sense of excitement. “In my career I’ve had the possibility to travel a lot and to work in different cities and countries,” she muses. “I think you develop the ability to really understand how to fit into a different context and environment – and still be understood, and be able to understand.” It’s a statement that speaks to the CEO’s skills in translation: bringing storied Swiss tradition from its home of innovation to the rest of the world.