Audemars Piguet Introduces The 43mm Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion”
Audemars Piguet put a tourbillon inside an edgy titanium watch, and Kaws put a miniature Companion. “AP” is very active in the art scene, so every once in a while, a special collaboration watch emerges. Audemars Piguet introduces the 43mm limited-edition Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion,” a series of 250 futuristic titanium watches infused with the aesthetic DNA of the artist Kaws. He put a miniature Companion at the very heart of the watch, which made AP move the time indication to the edge. The result sure is edgy.
Brian Donnelly, aka Kaws
You want to know who Kaws is; I get it. Brian Donnelly, aka Kaws, lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and started as a graffiti artist in New York City in the 1990s. He made a name for himself by augmenting ads in phone booths and bus shelters with a cast of original characters, including Companion. Over the years, Companion has traveled across media and worlds, from toy figures and large-scale sculptures to giant, floating inflatables and AR versions. Sometimes the character is at once endearing and disconcerting. In essence, it’s a disruptive character that challenges the viewer. It’s not unlike what Audemars Piguet does with its edgy Royal Oak Concept. Die-hard fans of the Royal Oak might feel a bit uncomfortable when confronted with a Concept version of their coveted watch. This latest Concept most certainly will ruffle their feathers.
Introducing the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion”
Step out of your comfort zone, Fratelli, and take in the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” (ref. 26656TI.GG.D019VE.01). To let the main character shine, AP moved the time out of the center of the dial to its periphery. Haute Horlogerie serves art in this case.
The miniature 3D character Companion appears beneath the sapphire crystal, with its face and hands seemingly touching the inner surface of the glass. The titanium character shows contrasting shades of light and dark gray on top of a titanium dial plate decorated with a sunburst pattern. This helps add even more texture and depth to the watch’s coarsely brushed and blasted finishes. Companion’s skull-shaped head, X-shaped eyes filled with a thin layer of gray lacquer, gloves, and cross-bone ears make it instantly recognizable. A neat touch is that Companion’s chest reveals its beating heart — the tourbillon. This is where the character and movement merge.
Time on the side
The hour and minute hands rotate around the movement’s periphery and dial. Responsible for this are two visible, superimposed gear wheels driven by pinions and guided by rollers. The hour and open-worked minute “hands” (or, rather, triangles) are crafted from titanium and fixed to their respective peripheral wheels. They also received a touch of luminescent material that turns blue in the dark. To further aid low-light legibility, the five-minute graduations carved into the titanium inner bezel light up blue in the dark too.
The latest “ROC” is powered by the new Audemars Piguet in-house caliber 2979. This hand-wound movement shows the tourbillon on the dial side at 6 o’clock. Through the sapphire-equipped case back, we see the movement’s black PVD-treated titanium bridges with a padded aesthetic inspired by Kaws’s cast of characters.
Some clever little touches signal the movement is inside a special-edition watch. The gear train bridge, for instance, opens onto the ratchet wheel, which arms the barrel arbor when the watch is wound. This component has been crossed out to reproduce Kaws’s emblematic X. Furthermore, the blackened bridges show the laser-engraved words “Swiss,” “39 jewels,” and the “Audemars Piguet” signature filled with contrasting white lacquer.
The edgy Concept case
The ROC’s multifaceted case design is a love/hate affair. It’s fair to say it’s the most provocative take on the Royal Oak out there, and it proves to be a great platform for original movement concepts and collaborations. The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” features a 43mm titanium case with sandblasted, satin-brushed, and polished surfaces. Both the bezel and the case back feature eight hexagonal screws, subtly showing Kaws’s trademark X. You will also see this on the satin-brushed frame of the display case back alongside Kaws’s signature and the words “Limited Edition of 250 pieces.” Topped with a titanium chip, the black ceramic crown adds the final touch.
The 250 watches each come on a dark gray calfskin strap, with another one in slate-gray calfskin included. These straps have a quick-release system to make swapping them easy. They also include a triple-blade folding clasp with a quick click-and-release system. The price of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” is CHF 200,000 excluding taxes.
So, what do you make of this watch, its novel time display, and the implementation of the Companion character? Does it resonate with you more than other character watches, like the ROC Black Panther and Spider-Man editions, or is it too edgy after all? Have your say in the comments below.
