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This collaboration highlights Audemars Piguet’s ongoing dialogue with the cultural world, bringing collectively the avant-garde spirit of the Royal Oak Concept assortment and KAWS’ provocative creative imaginative and prescient. Known for his roots in Nineteen Nineties New York graffiti and “advert interventions,” KAWS has developed into a world icon, along with his COMPANION character taking up varieties starting from toy figures to monumental sculptures. Through this partnership, COMPANION takes on unprecedented miniature dimensions, humanising haute horlogerie and pushing the bounds of creativity.
Laurent Kleitman, Chief Executive Officer of Audemars Piguet, emphasised, “We are delighted to collaborate with KAWS to create a timepiece that challenges conference and invitations us to see horology by means of a contemporary, imaginative lens.”
The dial design showcases a three-dimensional titanium COMPANION beneath the sapphire crystal. Positioned as if touching the internal floor of the glass, COMPANION’s X-shaped eyes and gloved arms are immediately recognisable. Crafted with alternating satin-brushed and sandblasted finishes, the character includes a skull-shaped head and crossbones, making a playful but thought-provoking presence.
A nod to KAWS’ dissected sequence, the chest of the COMPANION is open to disclose the watch’s tourbillon, symbolising the fusion of artwork and mechanical precision. The titanium dial plate’s sunburst motif enhances the interaction of textures and light-weight, making COMPANION the central focus of this distinctive timepiece.
To guarantee COMPANION stays the star of the dial, Audemars Piguet employs an revolutionary peripheral time show. The hour and minute arms, crafted from titanium and stuffed with luminescent materials, rotate across the fringe of the dial. Superimposed gear wheels pushed by pinions and guided by rollers allow this seamless motion. The openworked minute hand distinguishes itself from the hour hand, and five-minute markers carved into the titanium internal bezel additionally glow blue in dim gentle, making certain each performance and aesthetic attraction. This design innovation provides new potentialities for rethinking conventional watch layouts.
The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” is powered by the brand new Calibre 2979, a hand-wound motion that showcases the tourbillon at 6 o’clock. Designed to minimise the consequences of gravity, the tourbillon includes a steadiness wheel and escapement housed in a rotating cage that completes a revolution each minute. This ensures distinctive precision, an indicator of Audemars Piguet’s craftsmanship.
The motion’s intricate particulars are seen by means of the sapphire caseback. Black-PVD titanium bridges, impressed by KAWS’ padded character designs, distinction with the laser-engraved “Swiss,” “39 jewels,” and “Audemars Piguet” signatures, stuffed with white lacquer. The gear practice bridge, ratchet wheel, and click on mechanism all bear refined references to KAWS’ signature X motif, integrating his creative language into the mechanics of the watch.
The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” is as sensible as it’s creative. Its titanium arms and bezel markers emit a luminous blue glow, making certain simple readability in low gentle. The watch can be waterproof to 50 metres, reinforcing its on a regular basis performance regardless of its avant-garde design. The watch’s building displays Audemars Piguet’s dedication to craftsmanship. Titanium, chosen for its power and lightness, enhances the futuristic aesthetic whereas making certain sturdiness. The 43 mm case and complex dial design seamlessly mix innovation and artistry, showcasing the maison’s capacity to steadiness performance with visible influence. With solely 250 items accessible, the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” is an unique collector’s merchandise.
