Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon "COMPANION" / 43mm
Companion Piece: KAWS and Audemars Piguet Make Beautiful (Royal Oak Concept) Art Together
The Le Brassus-based brand and the American artist and designer have created a concept tourbillon-equipped Royal Oak that is also a high-concept work of art for the wrist.
By Rhonda Riche
Editor-At-Large
I believe in the hypothetical force that determines the course of future events, known as kismet.
In fact, only a few hours before I was given this assignment, I was talking to a colleague about how collectors never collect just one thing. And among younger enthusiasts, in particular, there are a lot of crossovers between watchmaking and art appreciation. It was a fascinating conversation; plus, I got the chance to brag about my modest art portfolio, which consists of various multiples by the artist known as KAWS.
Then kismet intervened.
Not two minutes after I got off the phone, I learned that Audemars Piguet was launching a new 43mm limited edition Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon designed in collaboration with KAWS. And it’s also an interesting portent of the future of AP, art, and luxury watchmaking in general.
KAWS for Celebration
Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, is a New York-based artist whose art has famously straddled the line between fine art and commerce, making a name for himself designing limited-edition toys and clothing. For example, my own modest collection of Donnelly’s work consists of items from the Japanese retailer UNIQLO that feature KAWS collabs with Sesame Street, Peanuts, and Andy Warhol.
Audemars has also given the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon collection a subversive spin over the last couple of years starting the “Spider-Man” and “Black Panther” editions.
When they were released, many collectors clutched their pearls at the thought of a $359,995 character watch. However, considering that Connelly’s paintings have gone for eight figures at auction, I think, as a work of art, the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon x KAWS is a bargain.
Just as pop culture and multiples became an acceptable subject in fine art with artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, it seemed natural that these themes would migrate over into haute horology. And in this context, a KAWS x Audemars crossover makes perfect sense.
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Collectors sometimes call this kind of collaboration “art merch.” But these mashups between art and commerce have real appeal in the art world. For instance, this 250-piece limited edition from Audemars Piguet features KAWS’ signature subject: a figure with Mickey Mouse’s body and a skull and crossbones for a head called COMPANION.
The figure is supposed to evoke both life and death, the real and the artificial, the goofy and the unsettling. Thus, wearing this symbol on the wrist (instead of contemplating as it sits on a gallery wall) is meant to make the viewer look at the world differently.
Donnelly’s cartoony characters started life as graffiti, then reinvented the category of collectible vinyl toys. They have since been artistically elevated literally, as inflatables at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and figuratively, thanks to career retrospectives at major art museums like the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
To spotlight this cartoon-like character, Audemars Piguet literally set time to the side, thanks to an innovative peripheral time display. Meanwhile, a 43mm sand-blasted titanium case provides the frame.
Plus, in tribute to the KAWS’ early “ad intervention” work, a sculpted-from-titanium COMPANION peers out from behind the watch’s sapphire crystal while its chest reveals the watch’s tourbillon.”
“It has been an incredible experience working with Audemars Piguet over the past two years to bring this project to fruition,” commented Donnelly in a press release. “I find the world of watchmaking fascinating, and the artisans at Audemars Piguet are truly exceptional in their craft.”
Memento
According to Lucas Raggi, Research and Development Director at Audemars Piguet, the watch brand was equally inspired by KAWS’ untraditional aesthetic: “As part of this collaboration, we have pushed back our limits in terms of watchmaking technology to create a spectacular setting with the character at the center, surrounded by a brand-new hour and minute display system housed in the periphery of the movement.”
This new hand-wound Calibre 2979 keeps the conversation between mechanics and aesthetics lively by adopting unusual decorations such as black-PVD titanium bridges, whose padded look is inspired by KAWS’ cartoonish characters. Meanwhile, the gear train bridge opens onto the ratchet wheel that arms the barrel-arbor, which has been crossed out to reproduce the COMPANION’s emblematic X’ed out eyes.
Other graphically pleasing touches include the laser-engraved language of “Swiss,” “39 jewels,” and the “Audemars Piguet” signature being filled in with white lacquer. There are also two interchangeable leather strap options, light gray or slate gray, both of which have a textile effect to make things even more interesting.
Pricing & Availability
The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” x KAWS is limited to 250 pieces and priced at CHF 200,000 tax excluded. For more information visit Audemars Piguet’s website.