“AP x Music” appears on the official website of Audemars Piguet, and it is also a major area where the brand inspires creative resonance. After preparing several different music projects in recent years, Audemars Piguet has officially announced the launch of a series of Royal Oak Offshore special edition watches inspired by music, with three different materials meticulously crafted in two sizes of 37mm and 43mm.
Over the past 20 years, Audemars Piguet has collaborated with many internationally renowned musicians. From the groundbreaking limited edition Royal Oak Offshore with music legend Jay-Z in 2005, to the joint release with another music icon Quincy Jones in 2009, the brand has since developed more meaningful music projects starting in 2010. This includes becoming the official partner of the world’s second largest jazz event, the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019, and appointing award-winning producer, DJ, and composer Mark Ronson as a brand ambassador this year. The inspiration for the brand’s new watch comes from various past cross-disciplinary collaboration projects, drawing on their influence to create something new.
This new piece, the most special part must be the brand’s transformation of its iconic Tapisserie pattern, using the common Equalizer console in the recording studio as inspiration. The pattern is turned into a colorful sound column design, the floral strap interface mimics audio jacks, and the crown guard is transformed into a mixer push rod, perfectly presenting the Equalizer on the Royal Oak Offshore. The new watch also features hour, minute, and second displays, with a curved sapphire crystal glass mirror from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock, with enlarged bevels, highlighting the colorful pop music style.
However, this time the new watch launched by Audemars Piguet is introduced in a series, so this special music edition Royal Oak Offshore brings 5 designs at the same time, including two made of titanium metal, two in 18K white gold with gems, and the last one made of black ceramic material. The first two also offer 37mm and 43mm sizes, while the black ceramic style is only available in a 43mm diameter design.
Two new models, 37mm and 43mm, made of titanium, both come with a blue dial. The 12 o’clock position is adorned with a polished white gold “AP” logo, while the hour markers and hands with luminescent coating are made of 18K white gold. The 37mm model, which omits the date window display, is the first in the series to come with a blue interchangeable “mosaic effect” rubber strap. This release also includes three additional straps in blue-green, yellow, and green to match the theme. As for the 43mm titanium model, it follows the design of the same-sized model introduced in 2021, featuring a blue interchangeable rubber strap matching the dial, and three additional blue-green, yellow, and green rubber straps. Both titanium watches are limited to 500 pieces each, with the back of each watch engraved with “Limited Edition of 500 Pieces.”
Two more 37mm and 43mm Royal Oak Offshore watches made of 18K white gold, with blue sandstone dials, and the “ten-color sound column” upgraded to invisibly set rubies, olivines, sapphires, and green, blue, and orange sapphires. The bezel is also set with gemstones of the same color scheme, echoing the dial tones. In terms of gemstone quantity, the 37mm model is set with a total of 166 gemstones, weighing approximately 3.7 carats, while the 43mm version is set with 230 gemstones, weighing approximately 6.15 carats.
It is worth mentioning that Audemars Piguet has specially developed the “harmonious” cutting process for this, becoming the first time in the watchmaking industry that the “harmonious” cutting process is used for larger gemstones. This method not only optimizes the reflection of light but also allows the extremely thin 0.65mm gemstones to exhibit a particularly rich color. On the other hand, in order to present a flawless appearance of the thin gemstones on the watch, the brand’s craftsmen have adopted the uncommon invisible setting, presenting the gemstones on a dial with a maximum thickness of only 0.85mm, allowing them to shine brightly with the brilliance of the dial.
As for the final version of this series, it only offers a black ceramic style with a diameter of 43mm. To maintain the watch’s “black soul” ultimate beauty, the strap interface, crown guard, and needle-style buckle on the watch are all made of titanium metal, making the ten color balance weights on the printed “Tapisserie” pattern dial particularly bright, creating a vivid contrast effect. The limited edition of 250 black ceramic versions still have the words “Limited Edition of 250 Pieces” engraved on the titanium metal case back, and are also paired with a black interchangeable rubber strap in the same color as the case, as well as three rubber straps in blue-green, yellow, and green.
In terms of movement, the Royal Oak Offshore Music Special Edition is equipped with an automatic winding movement that only displays hours, minutes, and seconds without a date display function. The two new 37mm models are the first to use the 5909 model, equipped with an automatic winding movement that displays hours, minutes, and seconds, with a movement thickness further reduced from 4.26mm to 3.9mm, providing 60 hours of power reserve. As for the 43mm model, it is equipped with the brand’s latest automatic winding movement that displays hours, minutes, and seconds, with the 4309 movement model. The new movement, which enhances timekeeping accuracy assurance, provides at least 70 hours of power reserve.
The all-new Royal Oak Offshore Music Special Edition once again presents the beauty of harmony and resonance in these two fields, and its new look is sure to attract music fans and watch enthusiasts worldwide. For those interested watch enthusiasts and collectors, you may want to visit the Audemars Piguet official website for more information.
資料及圖片來源：Courtesy of Audemars Piguet
