Audemars Piguet x KAWS: Where Haute Horology Meets Playful Artistry with the Royal Oak Concept ‘Companion’
Audemars Piguet has a history of blending haute horology with artistic collaborations. The brand is certainly no stranger to stepping outside the norm to create daring timepieces. The Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’ is the latest in a range of “Concept” watches that the brand has created, which expresses their creativity, reflecting the brand’s forward-thinking philosophy and dedication to push past the creative boundaries.
The all-new Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’
To some, this latest collaboration may seem too far-fetched and outside the norm of what Audemars Piguet is well known for. But isn’t that exactly what concept designs are for? Audemars Piguet’s Concept collection was created to showcase the brand’s avant-garde side, which features innovative designs, groundbreaking materials and complex horological complications, all the while still retaining the DNA of the Royal Oak. The Concept collection was first introduced in 2002 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak, and since then, Audemars Piguet have created a host of concept watches that do exactly what it was intended to do: push the boundaries of traditional watchmaking.
The Concept collection also allows the brand to try-new things. As we will see with this latest Kaws collaboration, when the brand is allowed to experiment, it pushes them forward and brings new innovations to the watch industry as a whole. This is similar to the car industry, where they will release concept models that will feature innovative and “futuristic” features, which, if successful, can be used on the brand’s existing collections.
Audemars Piguet X Marvel – Royal Oak Concept “Spider-Man” Tourbillon shows the 3D silhouette of the super-hero, almost as if it’s leaping out of the dial!
The more recent collaborations for the Concept collection were the Marvel editions; Royal Oak Concept “Black Panter” Flying Tourbillon released in 2021, and the Royal Oak Concept “Spider Man” Tourbillon released in 2023. Both models featured a 3D white gold silhouette which depicted the two characters as the main focus on the dial. This was not only a first for Audemars Piguet, but also luxury watch brands in the world of horology as well.
This latest Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’ follows the same path as the Marvel editions in that it features a large 3D model of the iconic Kaws character on the centre of the dial. While the dial has been re-imagined for this latest Concept project, the case takes familiar shape to previous Audemars Piguet Concept designs, with the iconic Royal Oak bezel still retained.
The 43mm case is fully crafted from titanium and measures 17.4mm in thickness, making this a large piece on the wrist. For a concept watch, the case certainly looks the part with its futuristic looking design. The case also features multiple different finished surfaces, from the matte-like finish on the bezel surface, and the polished finish on the angular parts of the case, to the black ceramic crown.
What is also notably different and is a first for Audemars Piguet is the change of screw “design” for the bezel. On the Black Panther and Spider-Man Concept editions, for example, the screws on the bezel kept the signature Royal Oak design intact. However, for this latest Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’, the brand has replaced the standard flat screw-head and instead used Kaws signature “X” symbol.
The open-worked dial features a ‘Companion’ figure, which shows only the head, hands and chest on the watch. Even though the dial and watch have a monochromatic look, the tourbillon, with its pink upper bearing, immediately catches the wearer’s attention. This tourbillon is also placed on the centre of the chest of the ‘Companion’ figure.
The design of the 3D ‘Companion’ figure makes it appear as though it’s pressing against the crystal glass of the timepiece and looking outward at the wearer. This miniature 3D character is entirely made from titanium and is mounted on a titanium dial plate which has been decorated with a sunburst motif. The ‘Companion’ character features alternating satin-brushed and sandblasted finishing, which gives it texture and depth.
“As part of this collaboration, we have pushed our limits in terms of watchmaking technology to create a spectacular setting with the character at the centre, surrounded by a brand-new hour and minute display system housed in the periphery of the movement.“
Lucas Raggi – Research and Development Director at Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet has introduced another “first” for the brand on the dial. As you can see, there are no hour and minute hands. Instead, Audemars Piguet has pushed “time to the side” by implementing a peripheral time display, which, as the brand states, “offers new aesthetic possibilities for both movement and dial designs”. The hour and minute hands rotate around the periphery of the movement and dial, thanks to two visible, superimposed gear wheels driven by pinions and guided by rollers.
The movement inside the Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’ is the new hand-wound calibre 2979. The movement as gives allows the tourbillon to be placed at 6 o’clock, perfectly fitting in with the 3D ‘Companion’ figure on the dial. The movement operates at a frequency of 3Hz (21,600 VpH), which is quite standard for hand-wound calibres, while giving out a power reserve of 72 hours.
Final Thoughts
This latest collaboration with the iconic artist KAWS showcases Audemars Piguet’s desire to push the boundaries of watchmaking and haute horology while also strengthening its ties with the cultural world. It is stated that KAW’s early “ad intervention” work paved the way for his cast of characters, including this iconic ‘Companion’ character. The characters served KAWS as experimental platforms to push the boundaries of what is possible to create in terms of shape, material and size.
And that is precisely what Audemars Piguet’s groundbreaking Concept collection represents for the watchmaker. The core essence of the Concept collection is to experiment, try new things, and push not only Audemars Piguet’s boundaries but also horology as a whole. We can see with this latest Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’ that the brand has made great strides in improving its own design while also bringing in a brand new movement with a peripheral time display, something that hasn’t been done at Audemars Piguet before. Whether you are a fan or not, the brand’s Concept collection is here to stay, and rightly so, as not only does it keep the company constantly evolving, but it also brings about cool creations like the Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’!
Model: Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon ‘Companion’
Reference: 26656TI.GG.D019VE.01
Specification:
- Case: 43mm x 17.4mm thickness
- Case Material: Titanium
- Dial: Openworked dial with microblasted and satin-finished “Companion” figure. Peripheral titanium hands with luminescent coating.
- Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
- Movement: In-house hand-wound Calibre 2979 movement, which features tourbillon and peripheral hours and minutes.
- Case-Back: Open case back showing hand-wound movement
- Water resistance: 100 metres / 10ATM
- Power reserve: 72 hours
- Straps: Light grey textured calfskin strap with titanium AP folding clasp and interchangeable strap system. Additional dark gray calfskin strap.
