Audemars Piguet have sent shockwaves through the watch community with the official reveal of their latest collaboration, a brand new ceramic Royal Oak with 32-year-old Houston native and globally renowned artist Travis Scott. The musician is a long-term advocate of the Swiss powerhouse and this limited edition openworked watch is turning heads for all the right reasons.
Rap artists and Swiss watches is a love story as old as time itself, but direct collaborations are few and far between. After working with Nike, Dior and Helmut Lang however, Travis Scott has turned his attention to the watch world, and to a project over four years in the making.
AP have never shied away from branching away from their core demographic under CEO François-Henry Bennahmias and they were delving into the world of hip-hop way back in the early 2000s, with the official Jay-Z collaboration Offshore released in 2006 to much acclaim. This latest Royal Oak with Travis Scott however is far more thought out, and far more of a collaboration of ideas rather than just names.
The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” Limited Edition (26585CM.OO.D301VE.01) will be released in a chocolate brown ceramic case with a brown textured calfskin leather strap, but the talking point is the dial. Imbued with stunning complications on an openworked skeleton dial, the functions include a perpetual calendar with week indication, day, date, astronomical moon, month, leap year, hours and minutes.
The watch features white gold hexagonal screws and a sapphire dial with the gorgeous openworked Calibre 5135 beneath, which combines pink-gold hues rhodium-toned components. The typography on the dial is based on Travis Scott’s hand-drawn model, and the hand of the day subdial takes on the shape of the ‘Cactus Jack’ logo.
The most visible design update is the moon phase at six o’clock; the usual representation of Earth’s natural satellite has been replaced Travis’ emblematic Cactus Jack smiley face, whose luminescent coating glows blue in the dark. The other calendar indications however, with the exception of the week indication, are endowed with a luminescent material that turns green at night.
A new textured calfskin brown leather strap also makes its debut for the occasion, a first for this complication, while the pink gold folding clasp is engraved with the signatures of both Audemars Piguet and Travis Scott.
Limited to 200 pieces worldwide and priced at 178,000 CHF /201,000 USD, this piece will likely be CEO François-Henry Bennahmias’ swansong piece and, with his departure from the brand just around the corner on January 1st, what a way to go!
Brand: Audemars Piguet
Model: Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” Limited Edition
Reference Number: 26585CM.OO.D301VE.01
Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 9.9mm
Case Material: Ceramic
Dial Color: Skeleton
Indexes: Applied
Lume: yes
Water Resistance: 20m
Strap/Bracelet: Brown calfskin leather strap with textured jeans effect, pink gold folding clasp engraved with the double “Audemars Piguet” and “Travis Scott” signatures.
Caliber: Calibre 5135
Functions: Perpetual calendar with week indication, day, date, astronomical moon, month, leap year, hours and minutes.
Diameter: 29mm
Thickness: 4.5mm
Power Reserve: 40 hours
Winding: Self winding
Frequency: 2.75 Hz
Jewels: 38
Interested in learning about some more exciting watch collaborations? Click here to read our article on some of our favourite watch collaborations.
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