Audemars Piguet China has made its e-commerce debut with an online pop-up boutique in partnership with WeChat and JD.

The 143-year-old watchmaker says the collaboration is a perfect combination of analogue “Swiss made” and digital “Chinese speed”, offering a personalised luxury shopping experience online to offline. JD will be handling the luxury delivery service.

Through the partnership, Chinese clients and collectors will have exclusive access to a curated range of the manufacturer’s latest timepieces including Royal Oak Offshore Diver, Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph, Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph and Royal Oak Quartz.

Buyers will receive their purchases via JD’s “white glove” luxury service, offering the shortest possible delivery time with personal couriers.

Already, the first client to order online received his watch delivered personally by Audemars Piguet CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias and JD.com founder Richard Liu. 

Watches at the outlet are priced from RMB149,000 yuan (US$24,000) to RMB463,000. The pop-up is rendered in the form of a mini-program below Audemars Piguet’s official WeChat account.

“We chose to go for the pop-up store under WeChat because it is one of the most popular platforms in China right now,” says Bennahmias. “What attracts us to use a mini-program among other websites is the flexibility that lets end users pay directly rather than going through a third-party website.”

In another innovative move, Audemars Piguet last month launched a concept in Hong Kong with a store designed like a luxury apartment.