When you own one of the most iconic watch designs in history, it makes sense that only the biggest names in celebrity are allowed to come in and tinker with it. When it comes to collaborations, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak roster is stacked indeed, drawing luminaries from various fields like fashion, movies, sports, and music for fresh dials and colourways. In the past year alone, it had worked with the likes of Travis Scott, fashion brand 1017 ALYX 9SM, haute couturier Tamara Ralph, and even Spider-Man.
But its latest partnership with John Mayer is one so synergistic we’re a little surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Not because the man is an accomplished singer-songwriter with a closet stuffed with Grammys (seven, at last count), but because his collection of watches is arguably just as impressive, estimated to be worth about US$40 million (S$53.9 million) — about a quarter of his net worth according to CNBC’s The Filthy Rich Guide.
This stash includes rare models from the Royal Oak line like the Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie in titanium and Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in white ceramic. But what Mayer envisioned for his design is completely original: A Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar with a “Crystal Sky” dial. The closest Audemars Piguet has come to such a design is in the long-discontinued models with hand-hammered “Tuscan” dials, but this reference uses a stamping die created through electroforming for even greater textural detail. This process involves submerging a mould in a liquid metal solution and running an electric current through the liquid, causing metal particles to stick to the mould. The metal builds up over time, allowing the creation of this glittering “crystal sky”.
Mayer also made some minor aesthetic tweaks that eagle-eyed owners of regular Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars should notice: The numbers “31” on the date subdial are now in white instead of red, and are also smaller and slightly stepped to distinguish it from the adjacent number “1”. He chose a light blue shade for the week-indicating hand, and the words “Swiss Made” now reside inside the moon phase sub dial for the first time, rather than at the dial’s edge at 6 o’clock.
