Fashion meets Haute Horlogerie – Audemars Piguet X 1017 A L Y X 9SM
Audemars Piguet has launched another collaboration, this time with the designer Matthew Williams who founded the brand 1017 A L Y X 9SM. Matthew Williams had mentioned that such a collaboration allows him to bring his expertise, ideas and creativity into another area.
So let’s check out what has come of this collaboration…..
Audemars Piguet (AP) does not do a lot of collaborations, but when they do, there is always something creative or innovative about it. It may appeal to some and may not to others. Let’s see which side you are on with this release.
AP has collaborated with American designer Matthew Williams who is the founder of the brand 1017 A L Y X 9SM. The aim of this collaboration was to enhance the dial visual with a minimalistic approach, and that’s exactly what has happened here.
The timepieces are part of the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore series with a range of sizes from 37mm up to 42mm catering for the different wrist sizes in the watch world. The Royal Oak comes purely in the 18-carat yellow gold version with the 37mm self-winding watch having only the hours, minutes, and seconds on its dial. Similarly, the 41mm Royal Oak self-winding chronograph eliminates the chronograph counters, thus leaving the hands to rotate at the 3, 6 and 9 O’clock positions. The 42mm Royal Oak Offshore comes in either 18-carat yellow or white gold. All the timepieces come with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal as well as a screw-down crown.
The 37mm watch is powered by the in-house calibre 5909 offering 60 hours of power reserve and beats at a frequency of 4Hz. The 41mm is powered by the in-house self-winding movement that also has the flyback chronograph (Calibre 4409) and finally, the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore has the in-house calibre 4404 that possesses the integrated chronograph as well as flyback function.
Each of these watches come with a sapphire crystal caseback showcasing the oscillating weight which is either a 22-carat white or yellow gold depending on the watch. The oscillating weight is engraved with the AP as well as 1017 A L Y X 9SM logos, and also showcases the rotor weight as well as winding force. Finally, the whole watch comes together with the 18-carat gold bracelet (can be white or yellow) with the AP folding clasp.
The 37mm timepieces come in a limited edition batch of 194 pieces, the 41mm is limited to 202 pieces and the 42mm is limited to 76 pieces. The watches are priced at over 100,000 USD (Over 400,000 AED) which puts it in the higher bracket of the luxury brand pricing, and not a surprise considering it’s an AP with the additional tag of a fashion collaboration.
These watches have been reduced to the simplest form, and yet they come with elegance as well as an eye-catching factor. However, my choice would be the two-tone stainless-steel version which I did not mention earlier.
The two-tone variation somehow gives the simplicity an oomph factor! It comes with a black dial with vertical satin-finishing, an 18-carat yellow gold bezel, crown, and pushers. The bracelet is stainless-steel with 18-carat yellow gold links. All other aspects of the watch are similar to the other models. The other factor that makes this model unique is the fact that it is limited to one and was put up for auction. So which one would you go for?
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