This year, Revolution turns 20. Two decades of chronicling watches, people and ideas have given us a front-row seat to a remarkable story: how an age-old craft has both preserved its soul and reinvented itself for the 21st century. To celebrate, we’ve chosen over 100 names and milestones that, for us, define the era so far. From leaders to watches, you can see the whole list here.

François took Audemars Piguet’s turnover from 630 million Swiss francs to over 2 billion Swiss francs in 2023. But it was the way he did it that was impressive. From the beginning, he had the desire to transform his timepieces into the Hermès bags of the watch industry, meaning that for every one watch he created, there should be multiple people vying to purchase it. He understood the importance of the secondary market, and that if your watch was truly desirable, it should command a premium, thus ensuring your primary business. Then he set about making it happen.

Under his command, the Royal Oak went from being the OG sports-chic watch to a coveted trophy for every hedge funder, finance bro, rapper and athlete in the world. Indeed, it was the very original “hype watch.” The desirability went on to affect every model in the Royal Oak family, from the perpetual calendars and tourbillons down to the chronographs. Bennahmias went on to controversially push the awareness of Audemars Piguet even further through collaborations with Marvel, which resulted in the“Black Panther” and “Spider-Man” Royal Oak Concept Tourbillons. While his brand was at an all-time high, he also transformed the distribution strategy, so that almost all of the watches were only sold at Audemars Piguet boutiques, allowing the brand to capture all customer data and all margin, turning Audemars Piguet not just into a highly successful brand, but also an immensely profitable one. In 2023, he retired from his role, leaving new CEO Ilaria Resta in his place.

Royal Oak Concept “Black Panther” Flying Tourbillon

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Spider-Man”

Are there challenges for Resta to contend with? Yes, there are several. Even after multiple transformations, the Code 11.59 has yet to really resonate with customers. Secondary prices are falling with the end of the speculative hype era. Many collectors feel excluded by the aggressive policy enacted under Bennahmias’ watch of having to submit your name and personal information in order to apply for a watch. But all in, Bennahmias is still one of the greatest leaders of our era who, at the age of 61, remains at the height of his powers. What will be just as exciting is Bennahmias’ next phase of his life after his non-compete agreement expires. There are already rumors of his acquisition of independent watch brand De Bethune, which if true, could be very interesting for the future.