A brand from Le Brassu and an American artist and designer have created a conceptual Royal Oak tourbillon watch, which is also a conceptual work of art for the wrist.
Among the elite Swiss watchmaking brands Audemars Piguetoften stands out for doing something out of the box and exploring other territories. In particular, the brand is not shy about associating watchmaking with a broader culture, which has been reflected in recent collaborations with Marvel (Spider-Man, Black Panther) or with the cool Travis Scott x AP Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” model. Speculation and rumors have been circulating for some time when artist and designer KAWS was spotted wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch with one of his cartoon “companions” on the dial. Audemars Piguet’s newest collaboration is the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion”, released in a limited edition of 250 copies.
One of the most popular figures in modern art and design, Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS, started out as a graffiti artist in New Jersey, signing his tags with the letters K, A, W and S, simply because he likes those letters. Pop art and culture permeate his unique universe, blurring the boundaries between product design and art. KAWS has achieved great success through collaboration with various brands from high-end to more affordable, such as Air Jordan, BAPE, Dior and Uniqlo, to name just a few. As a global celebrity, he has also built an image and social media presence for himself with at least 4.4 million followers on Instagram.
Brian Donnelly is a New York—based artist whose work is known to balance fine art and commerce, having made a name for himself by creating limited-edition toys and clothing.
For this collaboration, Audemars Piguet and KAWS chose the most avant—garde of all the Royal Oaks Concepts. Since its inception in 2002, the Royal Oak Concept (ROC) has always been a platform for experimentation for Audemars Piguet, combining innovative technical solutions with avant-garde design.
The first thing that catches your eye is the “Companion” inside its 43mm case. By pressing his face and hands against the sapphire crystal, he creates a direct connection with the outside world beyond his reach. And he uniquely embodies the emotional sense of isolation characteristic of KAWS satellites. Right under his X-shaped skull, the minute-long tourbillon breathes life into a miniature 3D character that is mounted directly on platinum with a radiant guilloche.
The contrasting textures and shades of the Companion echo the angular body finish. The crown is made of black ceramic, and the slots of the screws on the bezel are carved in the symbolic shape of the letter X KAWS. To ensure an unobstructed view of a familiar character, Audemars Piguet has developed a new mechanism that brings the hours and minutes to the periphery, with two moving triangular indexes superimposed on each other, driven by visible gears. They are made of titanium, and in order to distinguish them, the minute hand is made of delicate lace. The markers and arrows are covered with luminescent material with a blue glow for better readability in the dark.
The new manual-wound AP2979 Tourbillon calibre operates at a frequency of 3 Hz and has a power reserve of 72 hours. It is also visible through a sapphire crystal back cover with an original black PVD-coated “lined” finish inspired by the KAWS universe and a 4-spoke ratchet wheel bearing the KAWS X brand name.
The new hand-wound caliber 2979 maintains a lively dialogue between mechanics and aesthetics, using unusual decorations such as bridges made of black titanium with PVD coating, whose soft look is inspired by the cartoon characters KAWS. Meanwhile, the gear bridge opens onto a ratchet wheel that arms the drum shaft, which has been crossed out to reproduce the symbolic COMPANION eyes, crossed out with the X sign.
Other graphically pleasing touches include the laser-etched “Swiss”, “39 stones” and the signature “Audemars Piguet” filled with white lacquer.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Companion comes with a light grey embossed calfskin strap with a textile effect, as well as a spare calfskin strap in slate grey. The replacement strap system, introduced at ROC in 2023, allows you to change the strap in seconds without tools. The watch is attached to the wrist with a triple titanium folding buckle.
Such collaborations are always a bit surprising. The watch will undoubtedly cause a stir among fans of classics. Like it or not, informal collaborations are also an interesting way for Audemars Piguet — and the watch industry in general — to attract new clientele, particularly the younger generation. The wristwatch certainly attracts attention. At a size of 43 mm.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Companion watch is available in a limited edition of 250 copies. The retail price is 200,000 Swiss francs, excluding taxes.
Just as pop culture became an acceptable topic in fine art with artists such as Andy Warhol, Kit Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, it seemed natural that these themes migrated to fine watchmaking. And in this context, the KAWS x Audemars crossover makes perfect sense.
Collectors sometimes refer to this collaboration as “art-merch.” But these crossbreeds of art and commerce are really attractive in the art world. For example, this 250-piece limited edition from Audemars Piguet features a signature KAWS theme: a Mickey Mouse figurine with a skull and crossbones instead of a head called COMPANION.
The figure should evoke associations with both life and death, real and artificial, ridiculous and disturbing. Thus, wearing this symbol on the wrist is designed to make the viewer look at the world in a different way.
Donnelly’s cartoon characters began their lives as graffiti, then gained the category of collectible vinyl toys.
“Working with Audemars Piguet over the past two years to bring this project to life has been an incredible experience,” Donnelly commented in a press release. “I find the world of watchmaking fascinating, and the masters of Audemars Piguet are truly exceptional in their field.”
According to Lucas Raji, director of research and development at Audemars Piguet, the watch brand was also inspired by the unconventional aesthetics of KAWS: “With this collaboration, we pushed the boundaries in terms of watches: creating technology to create an impressive environment with a character in the center surrounded by a completely new clock and minute display system located on the periphery of the movement.”
“This was uncharted territory for us,” said Lucas Raji, director of research and development at Audemars Piguet. “From the very beginning, the task was clear — to create a space for the external display of hours and minutes, while allowing the COMPANION to truly shine. We had a blank canvas in the middle, and that’s where our creativity came to life. I still remember the brainstorming sessions where we discussed how to convey this feeling — as if the character is trapped in a clock and is trying to break free. Peripheral time display was the first completely new concept for us.”
Technical Characteristics of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Companion
| Housing | diameter 43 mm, thickness 17.4 mm, sandblasted 5th grade titanium case, polished and frosted, black ceramic crown, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, sapphire glass back cover, water resistant to 100 m |
| Dial | delicate architecture with miniature 3D titanium KWAS Companion hands and hour markers made of luminescent material that glows blue in the dark |
| Mechanism | Caliber AP2979, manufactured, manually wound, 39 stones, 332 components, size 32.25 x 10.4 mm, frequency 21,600 vibrations/hour, power reserve 72 hours, functions: peripheral clock, minutes, one-minute tourbillon |
| Strap | light grey calfskin with textile effect, removable system and triple folding AP clasp, additional slate grey calfskin strap with textile effect |
| Reference | 26656TI.GG.D019VE.01 |
| Series | limited to 250 pieces |
| Price | 200,000 Swiss francs excluding taxes |
