[WatchTimes]

The F is for FRÉRES French for Brothers.
They were related to AP

Here is a brief bit of history I found


In 1885, Hector (born 28th1864), the son of Charles-Henri and his brother Charles-Henri (born 18th November 1887), founded “Audemars Frères”. The oldest son, François (born 20th September 1853), founded “F. Audemars Fils”. In the same year Louis Audemars-Valette (born 19th April 1850), the son of Eugène Audemars (7th son of L.B. Audemars) founded “Louis Audemars” (“official” successor of Louis Audemars).

When the “Ancienne Maison Louis Audemars” was liquidated, the completed watches, the blanks, the tools, materials and machines were divided among the three new companies. The new Louis Audemars company received most of the blanks and completed watches together with many resourced blanks made by well-known manufacturers.

François Audemars Fils, founded by the oldest son François (born in 1853), produced very few movements and finished watches. Most were very high quality watches, some with extremely demanding complications. Their blanks were bought by well-known watch companies. François Audemars Fils in Le Brassus was liquidated in 1898, because of financial difficulties. Thereafter François Audemars went to Geneva and worked as a watchmaker. A few years later he founded another company in Geneva-Eaux-Vives under the name “F. Audemars fils, fabrication”, producing watches and watch components. This new company was officially registered on 31st October 1911. This company was of no significance and was liquidated in 1925 or 1926. No watches by this company in Geneva are known.

The brothers of François Audemars, Hector (born in 1864) and Charles-Henri (born in 1867) were only 21 and 18 years old when they founded Audemars Frères in the empty workshops of the Ancienne Mason with their father’s help.

The third successor company, Louis Audemars, was founded by Louis-Benjamin Audemars-Valette, son of Eugène-François Audemars (7th son of Louis-Benjamin Audemars). They set it up in the old 1805 workshop in the Crêt-Meylan.

In the following years the newly established companies Audemars Frères and Louis Audemars mainly sold finished watches taken over from the old Audemars company (cf Figs. 87, 113, 114, 115, 116). They finished the blank movements they had inherited and sold them to other companies or finished them completely and then sold them under their own names. Watches with blanks finished before 1885 are of higher quality. To some extent the two companies also made highly complicated watches built on the old blanks. This is why both companies had very good reputations right up to the 20th century. They took advantage of the fame of the Ancienne Maison Louis Audemars which is why they always signed their watches “Louis Audemars” on the bezel and frequently referred to the foundation of the company in 1811, as well as to the numerous medals and distinctions.