Watchmaker Audemars Piguet tends to blend contemporary pop culture facets into the Royal Oak design philosophy. Its latest creation the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” is a true embodiment of this. In creating this watch – that intends to explore new boundaries of art and haute horology – AP is joined by KAWS, a Brooklyn-based front-running artist in the contemporary pop art scene.
The resulting KAWS x Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” is no short of charisma, even considering the fact that it is only limited to 250 examples. Making it incredibly elite and enticing in the same breath is the iconic KAWS Companion character – a grayscale cartoon mouse with a skull and crossbones for its head and eyes made from crosses, trapped inside the face of the watch with its palms pressing against the sapphire crystal.
Designer: Audemars Piguet xx KAWS
The watch’s spectacular dial with the ‘Companion’ at the center grows interesting with the surrounding hour and minute hands, featuring luminescent coating, that move in the periphery of the movement. Audemars Piguet calls it the peripheral time display that might create many aesthetic possibilities especially in such watches when a statement figure or identity at the heart of the dial does not anymore block the time-telling hands.
The Companion, revealing the tourbillon cage on its chest, sits on top of the Royal Oak’s sunburst-brushed titanium dial plate with its X-shaped eyes glowing in the dark with grey lacquer. The KAWS x Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” features a 43mm sandblasted titanium case and black ceramic crown, and measures only 17.4mm thick. Even with the visually dominant character inside, made from brushed and sandblasted titanium, the AP Royal Oak does not tip the scale too much, the titanium watch is surprisingly lightweight for everyday use.
In the past 50-plus years, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak has been through numerous iterations. Still, its design aesthetics including the tonneau-shaped case and the apparent eight hexagonal screws on the bezel have remained unchanged. It’s true with the Companion edition as well, which sees hexagonal screws earmarked in KAWS ‘X’ motif. The watch itself is powered by hand-wound 2979 movement that beats at 3Hz and offers 72 hours of power reserve. The caseback carries the KAWS branding, Audemars Piguet logo, and the words “Limited Edition of 250 pieces,” engraved on it. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” comes with a dark grey calfskin leather strap or choice of and a slate grey calfskin strap and is priced at 200,000 CHF (approx. $220,000) through Audemars Piguet boutiques.
