Audemars Piguet announces a new collection of 4 Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore watches designed in collaboration with Matthew Williams’ fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM. The designer, who was born in Chicago, uses high-quality, cutting-edge, and highly sophisticated materials to create surprising and disruptive products while sticking to a comprehensive sustainable strategy. A number of Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore references are included in the firmly modern collection, which is the first to feature a similar minimalist style.
There are four references for sale and an additional 5th piece that will be sold at auction today in Tokyo to benefit both NGOs Kids in Motion and Right to Play. These understated watches, which range in diameter from 37 to 42 mm and are suitable for all wrist shapes, enable the wearer’s personality to come through and serve as a link between the fashion and haute horlogerie sectors.
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 textures and the shape of the watches.
The two Audemars Piguet x 1017 ALYX 9SM Royal Oak models are crafted entirely in 18k yellow gold. The first is a time-only selfwinding indicating the hours, minutes and seconds.
Starting with the two Royal Oak models, a time-only ref. 15550BA in yellow gold with a matching dial. The movement is the selfwinding cal. 5909 which fits inside the 37 mm wide and 9.1 mm thick case indicating the hours, minutes and seconds. 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 is transferred.
Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 41mm in full yellow gold and matches with the time-only version in its appearance. Again, the date window is gone, and there are no markers to read the time or the chronograph functions from. This edition, with a 12.4mm profile, is powered by the in-house, integrated automatic calibre 4409. A flyback chronograph with column-wheel, this movement also features a vertical clutch and boasts a comfortable power reserve of 72 hours. Again, it is worn on an 18k yellow gold RO bracelet.
The two Royal Oak Offshore models have the same design aesthetic, removing everything but the most essential details from the dial. They both feature the distinctive Offshore styling in the case, pushers and bracelet, but unlike the other two models, they have retained their date window. Powered by the in-house, integrated automatic calibre 4409, these measure slightly bigger than the Royal Oak Chronograph at 42 mm wide and 15.2 mm thick. Each model includes a sapphire crystal caseback that reveals the oscillating weight that was created especially for these limited editions. It is made of 22-carat yellow or white gold and has the signature “1017 ALYX 9SM” engraved on it.
Finally the unique piece comes in the form of a two-tone – yellow gold and stainless steel – Royal Oak Chronograph. With all the same measurements and features as the limited edition but the gold dial has been given a black PVD coating with all the text and hands appearing in yellow gold, providing a good contrast. The dial also includes the signatures of both brands as well as yellow-gold chronograph hands.
Price: $73,500; $90,400; $111,500; $111,500