A Swiss fine watchmaking brand founded in 1875, allying itself with a designer who has refined the most current urban fashion. It is the perfect union that Audemars Piguet and Matthew Williams, founder of the fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM, have distilled.
Together they have worked on four new Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore references, as well as a unique Royal Oak watch. The Royal Oak is, without a doubt, the preferred range of celebrities from various fields, who wear it at public events and regularly on their social networks.
Like Audermas Piguet, the designer from Chicago based in Italy likes to play with superior quality, innovative and highly technical materials to develop surprising and groundbreaking creations, all with a sustainable and holistic vision.
The pieces combine Audemars Piguet's characteristic aesthetic codes with the designer's refined touch. The collection is endowed for the first time with a similar minimalist aesthetic. Adaptable to all types of wrists, these sober watches ranging from 37 mm to 42 mm reveal the personality of their wearer and draw a bridge between the universes of urban fashion and fine watchmaking.
This unprecedented collaboration between Audemars Piguet and the fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM, founded in 2015, is the latest example in a long history of celebrating the strong ties forged by the watch company with different creative universes, such as fashion.
Both brands share both the avant-garde spirit and the passion for details and the mastery of craftsmanship and distinction, which is why Matthew Williams, he explains, sees the watch “as the expression of oneself.”
In 18-karat yellow or white gold, the four references include two Royal Oak and two Royal Oak Offshore of different diameters. It is the first time that the same design has been developed simultaneously for both collections.
To keep the aesthetic as pure and clear as possible, Matthew Williams and the Swiss manufacture have reduced the gold dials to their simplest form. Thus, they have dispensed with the indexes and date window on the Royal Oak models to highlight the elegant vertical satin finish that decorates the gold dials. The result is timeless monochrome watches where refined aesthetics are combined with the most advanced watchmaking technique.
The two Royal Oak models are made entirely of 18-karat yellow gold. The first is a 37mm self-winding model with hours, minutes and seconds display, ideal for smaller wrists. The minimalist dial incorporates luminescent yellow gold hands and the signatures Audemars Piguet and 1017 ALYX 9SM, the first applied in gold and the second transferred
The second is a 41 mm automatic chronograph that boasts extreme minimalism on the dial, to the point of eliminating the chronograph counters and leaving only the hands rotating at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. These two Royal Oak References are produced in limited series.
The two Royal Oak Offshore models follow the same pattern of absolute minimalism, without a trace of the information usually present on the dial. Only the date window, emblematic of the Royal Oak Offshore collection, remains at 3 o'clock next to the AP monogram.
These models, equipped with the manufacture's interchangeable bracelet system, include an additional strap in contrasting black rubber.
The four references also present the refined hand-made finishes emblematic of the manufacture, with their alternation of polished and satin surfaces in an infinite play of light. The case back is engraved with the Limited Edition inscription.
Along with these four models sold in Audemars Piguet boutiques, the designer and manufacturer have created a unique Royal Oak Automatic Chronograph. This 41 mm model has a two-tone 18-karat yellow gold and stainless steel case and bracelet. This combination of materials contrasts with a black PVD-coated gold dial decorated with a vertical satin finish.
This unique piece was auctioned during the launch party for the collaboration between Audemars Piguet and 1017 ALYX 9SM in Tokyo. The proceeds, in line with the brand's historical philanthropy, will be donated to the NGOs Kids in Motion and Right to Play dedicated to the learning of the most disadvantaged children with whom Matthew Williams has already collaborated in the past.
