First of all, I won’t continue to beat a dead horse with this editorial while I express my honest thoughts on the just released Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon 'Companion' X KAWS. By now, my perspective on Audemars Piguet as a watch brand and on the course it has taken in the last three years has not changed. Where I feel the brand is today is something I never expected after becoming a hardcore lover of all things AP and a real AP collector in 1998.
If you are a regular at WCL, you know that I call a spade a spade and there’s not enough money one can pay me to write a positive review on a watch that I think is bad or in poor taste. I will forever remain unbiased, and whether a brand is an active advertiser or not, I will always be vocal about what I think. Additionally, I will always voice my opinion with respect and be mindful that readers deserve transparency in a very convoluted watch media space that has been turned into a joke by many of my competitors lately.
You also know that I have called today’s AP the ‘staple of the nouveau riche’ but despite that, I still wear my AP Royal Oak Offshore Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in titanium religiously. And I do so not because I am looking to flex or flaunt —like AP’s current clientele—, but because this particular watch is one of the most understated Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshores out there.
First, it is a grand complication, second it is a very comfortable watch due to its titanium construction, and third, only real Audemars Piguet connoisseurs can identify it. This watch is a faithful reminder of the Audemars Piguet that I fell in love with back in the day. This watch is the real deal and the type of classy AP that you’d only see in the wild once in a blue moon.
Alright, now on to my opinion of the new AP X KAWS watch. First of all, let me say that I am a huge fan of KAWS and I love pretty much all of his work. Every time that I run into one of the ‘Companion’ sculptures I do nothing other than admire it and photograph it. I even own a KAWS ‘Dissected Resting Place Companion’.
As soon as I heard about this collaboration, I was eagerly awaiting the release and see what the artist and AP would come out with. Interestingly enough, I don’t hate this watch and I was pleasantly surprised by it. By no means this is what an Audemars Piguet watch should look like —especially considering that there are no AP branding elements on the dial—, but hey, it is a nice watch if you like KAWS and Audemars Piguet.
Thankfully, this is nothing like the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Black Panther or the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Spider-Man. However, this is still the result of the same limited edition business model that brands like Hublot had followed and that had placed them in the gutter. I guess, Audemars Piguet is not that different when in less than thirty days, they’ve released four limited edition watches and a unique piece.
For now, I am going to solely focus on what this watch looks like from a design and execution standpoint and I will put aside any thoughts as to how far is this watch from the groundbreaking Royal Oak Concept Alacrite launched in 2002.
The Royal Oak Concept Alacrite was very revolutionary back then with its case in Alacrite 602 but also because it included a tourbillon, a dynamograph, a power reserve indicator, and the first crown function selector —later adapted for Richard Mille by APRP. Oh, and let’s not forget that the watch was water-resistant to 500 meters. For those of you not familiar with Alacrite, this is a super-alloy composed of 57% cobalt, 31% chrome, 5% tungsten, and traces of carbon and silicon with a hardness of 430 Vickers —2.5 times the hardness of 316 stainless steel.
Photo: Sotheby’s.
I do have to say that from a form and design standpoint, the execution of the Audemars Piguet X KAWS Tourbillon 'Companion' is excellent. The vision and the DNA of KAWS are heavily embedded in the watch and Audemars Piguet was able to integrate the ‘Companion’ in a very tasteful way.
For this particular collaboration, I can tell that there was a clear thought process rather than AP’s usual —as of late— “Hey, let’s just add a hand-engraved action figure to the dial and call it a Metiers d’Art”.
After looking at the live pictures of the watch that were posted on Instagram by Horoloupe —AP’s favorite ambassador—, the watch looks nice, and the way they played with the ‘Companion’ making him appear squished against the sapphire crystal is remarkable.
Not to mention that the finish of the 3D miniature ‘Companion’ with its vertical satin-brushed finish is nicely done and I also like how they incorporated the usual X X eyes of the ‘Companion’ into the hex screws.
Now let me talk about the back of the watch where the new manual wound peripheral hour and minute movement, the AP calibre 2979, is exquisitely finished and it integrates the back silhouette of the ‘Companion’ to the main plate.
However, when it comes to the look of the back of the movement, Audemars Piguet didn’t reinvent the wheel as I see a very similar look when I compare the back of the calibre AP 2979 to the back of the movement on the Richard Mille RM 52-06 Tourbillon Mask or the Skull, which of course was developed by APRP —Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi— for Richard Mille.
What I do applaud is that Audemars Piguet went through the trouble of developing a new calibre to accommodate the KAWS ‘Companion’ without any obstruction by the central pinion that holds the hour and minute hands. I also like that the tourbillon is the heart of the ‘Companion’ and the new peripheral hour and minute indication is a cool thing that was not present on any other Audemars Piguet watch to date.
Where I feel Audemars Piguet and KAWS failed drastically was in creating a 100-piece walnut sculpture of the ‘Companion’ sitting atop the iconic AP building in Le Brassus that will be sold separately through KAWS.
This sculpture should’ve accompanied each and all of the 250 pieces in this limited edition and not be sold separately in a limited edition of 100 pieces via KAWS for USD 16,000. For a watch that sells over USD 200K, this is the least that AP should’ve done for their clients.
The exclusivity of this collaboration would’ve been taken a step further if no one other than the actual owners of the Audemars Piguet X KAWS Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon 'Companion' could be the ones allowed to get their hands on this sculpture.
Now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the secondary market with the watch and the sculptures.
Now, do I think the watch is nice? Absolutely and what I do like about this particular collaboration is that there’s some substance, a clear thought process, and the watch is not as ugly as it could’ve been.
Additionally, I think that a collaboration with KAWS —who sells sculptures in the five to seven-figure price point— makes way more sense than the previous collaborations with Marvel Comics or with a tacky artist like Travis Scott who has been arrested multiple times.
But what I can tell you is that Audemars Piguet will certainly continue to release more collaboration watches to continue to create a frenzy and generate buzz in mainstream media. Whether we like it or not, this is the name of the game for them now.
As Audemars Piguet follows the business model of a brand like Hublot —with collaborations even with Nespresso—, AP is slowly becoming the new Hublot. Yes, I said it. Just don’t forget that today Hublot is slowly dying and becoming a ‘falling knife’ with watches selling in the secondary market for twenty-five to thirty cents on the dollar the most.
Only time will tell what will happen to Audemars Piguet in the next decade.
As we all can see, satisfying the demands of their ‘nouveau riche’ clientele —buying watches just for bragging rights— seems to be far more profitable than maintaining the ‘old money’ clientele that made Audemars Piguet rise to the top when they could’ve easily disappeared.
Is this a Royal Oak Concept in full AP glory? No, it is not.
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