#Audemars Piguet’s chic Royal Oak watches dazzle on Ralph & Russo runways

When Ralph & Russo virtually presented its spring 2021 collections from Paris this month, the models wore something unexpected on their wrists: Audemars Piguet’s latest Royal Oak watches. The Swiss watch brand and the London fashion house have established a partnership that goes far beyond the catwalk to include private, co-hosted VIPclient experiences around the globe. The goal? Showcasing the luxury labels’ shared values of no-compromise craftsmanship and inspired design.

“Ralph & Russo represents talent at the highest level, mixed with simplicity and authenticity,” says François-Henry Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet, who notes that the watch brand has always cultivated cross-disciplinary collaborations with likeminded companies. “First and foremost, it was their human values and absolute talent that drew us to work with them.”

Ralph & Russo’s spring/summer readyto-wear presentation was complemented by downsized 34-mm versions of Audemars Piguet’s flagship Royal Oak — one of the world’s most coveted men’s watches.

Petite aficionados will continue to have the option of a 33-mm quartz-powered Royal Oak, but for those who prefer an authentic mechanical movement, the new Royal Oak Selfwinding 34-mm lineup consists of four variations in stainless steel, 18-k pink gold and mixed-metals, with prices ranging from $18,300 to $44,500. The steel version offers a streamlined silver-toned dial or, for a little more pizzazz, a blue-gray dial is paired with a diamond-set bezel. The solid-gold model also shines, with a silver-toned dial and a generous splash of diamonds on the bezel.

Despite their slim profile, the watches still embody Royal Oak’s distinctive aesthetic codes. Those include visible screws on the octagonal bezel and a grid-textured “Grande Tapisserie” dial, engraved with a grooved pattern that’s intended to evoke the warp and weft of a woven tapestry.

As for Ralph & Russo’s haute couture show, only haute horlogerie would do. Models there brandished the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon (about $157,000), which comes in 18-k pink or white gold, shimmering with the brand’s Frosted Gold finish.

To create this dazzling effect, designer Carolina Bucci has modernized an ancient Florentine jewelry technique: craftspeople wield a tiny, diamond-tipped tool to form miniscule indentations on the angular surfaces of the Concept case. The result? A fashion forward Royal Oak with an icy sparkle, like a sprinkling of diamond dust.

A watch movement can roughly contain between 250 and 500 tiny components, each meticulously handfinished before being assembled by hand for the watch to work perfectly.

 – François-Henry Bennahmias

The watch’s multilayered dial, meanwhile, draws attention to a flying tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock, appointed with a flash of brilliant-cut diamonds. Emanating from that focal point are four concentric circles, in ombré shades of blue, which enhance the dial’s mesmerizing depth. Designers dispensed with hour markers so as not to distract from the drama of the striking contemporary design.
Such artfulness is matched only by the extreme technicity of the Concept’s hand-wound flying tourbillon movement, designed to offset the effects of gravity on timekeeping. The revered mechanism is so complex that only the world’s most skilled watchmakers attempt it. But you don’t have to be a gearhead to be captivated by the twirling tourbillon at the bottom of the dial.

“Haute horlogerie and haute couture share an incredible attention to detail,” says Bennahmias. “A watch movement can roughly contain between 250 and 500 tiny components, each meticulously handfinished before being assembled by hand for the watch to work perfectly.”

Similarly, he adds, “A dress or a jacket is composed of tiny details often invisible to the eye that took hours and hours to accomplish — from the shape of a shoulder to a button to a small design adorning the garment. These tiny invisible details directly impact the way the dress will look or fit in the end. Everything has to be perfect.”

And perfectly timeless.