Audemars Piguet is pleased to announce a new collaboration with American designer Matthew Williams, founder of the brand 1017 ALYX 9SM. To mark the occasion, four new Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore references and a Royal Oak unique piece are being launched simultaneously.
The Chicago-born designer likes to play with materials that are high quality, innovative, and highly technical to develop surprising and disruptive creations. The two brands share this avant-garde spirit as well as a passion for details and the mastery of their craft. In addition, they both adhere to a holistic, sustainable approach.
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For this collaboration, the Manufacture and the designer have developed a collection with a minimalist aesthetic composed of several references ranging from 37 to 42 mm. Adaptable to all wrist types, these sober timepieces let the owner’s personality shine through and constitute a bridge between the worlds of fashion and Haute Horlogerie.
The four references come in 18-carat yellow or white gold and are comprised of two Royal Oak models and two Royal Oak Offshore models of different diameters. This is the first time that the same design has been developed for both collections simultaneously.
In an effort to make the aesthetics as clean and pure as possible, Matthew Williams and Audemars Piguet have reduced the dials to their simplest form, removing the hour-markers and the date aperture on the Royal Oak models to highlight the elegant vertical satin-finishing decorating the gold dials. The result is timeless monochrome timepieces that blend refined aesthetics with advanced watchmaking techniques.
The two Royal Oak models are crafted entirely in 18-carat yellow gold. The first is a 37 mm selfwinding reference indicating the hours, minutes, and seconds, which is ideal for smaller wrists. The minimalist dial comes with luminescent yellow-gold hands and the signatures “Audemars Piguet” and “1017 ALYX 9SM”, the former in a gold applique and the latter transferred.
The second model is a selfwinding chronograph measuring 41 mm in diameter, which pushes the minimalism of the dial to the limit, going so far as to eliminate the chronograph counters, leaving only the hands to rotate 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 theme, dispensing with the information usually present on the dial and keeping only the bare minimum. Only the date aperture, which is emblematic of the Royal Oak Offshore collection, remains at 3 o’clock, next to the AP monogram. The 1017 ALYX 9SM signature is, for its part, located at 6 o’clock. The chronograph counters at 6, 9, and 12 o’clock have also been removed, leaving only the hands—a first for a chronograph.
These 42 mm limited editions are available in a choice of 18-carat white or yellow gold, giving them a style that is both sober and dazzling. Equipped with the Manufacture’s interchangeable strap system, these models are accompanied by an additional strap in black rubber for an intense contrast.
The 37 mm Royal Oak Selfwinding model houses the Calibre 5909, beats at a frequency of 4 Hz, and has a power reserve of 60 hours. The 41 mm Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph is powered by the latest selfwinding chronograph movement with the integrated chronograph Calibre 4409, which features a flyback chronograph and has 70 hours of power reserve. Meanwhile, the two Royal Oak Offshore models are equipped with the Calibre 4404, which comes with an integrated chronograph and a flyback function.
Each model is fitted with a sapphire crystal caseback that opens onto the oscillating weight that has been specially developed for these limited editions. Made of 22-carat yellow or white gold, it features an engraving of the 1017 ALYX 9SM signature as well as the indication of the winding force and of the rotor weight, a nod to the technical references indicated by Matthew Williams on his buckles.
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