John Mayer Marries Complexity and Creativity to Design Audemars Piguet Watch Inspired by the Night Sky as New Creative Conduit
John Mayer has joined the Audemars Piguet team as the luxury Swiss watchmaker’s newest creative conduit. A longtime watch collector, the singer started the new partnership by codesigning a limited-edition Perpetual Calendar Royal Oak watch, which was unveiled on Thursday.
The luxury watch features the manufacturer’s self-winding Calibre 5134, 18-karat white gold hour markers, and a deep blue dial designed to evoke the feeling of staring up into the night sky.
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“My favorite watches have dials that you can stare endlessly at. A great watch dial feels like a picture window — you look into it, not at it,” Mayer said in a statement. “In the case of this QP [quantième perpétuel, which translates from French to perpetual calendar], it’s like looking up at a moonless sky. There is a true sense of nature in it. And when you couple that sense of depth and vastness with the complication of a perpetual calendar, it is a very powerful combination of technical prowess and aesthetic design,” he added.
Audemars Piguet’s artisans created the brass dial plate following Mayer’s vision. They used a metal deposition process known as electroforming to achieve a detailed design with different shapes resembling crystals.
The dial’s deep blue shade was created using physical vapor deposition (PVD), a technique that preserves and enhances the depth of the pattern. Subdials in a matching blue PVD color are included in the design.
To enhance legibility, Mayer modified the traditional perpetual calendar display, changing the color of the number 31 from red to white.
“The perpetual calendar is for me the ultimate complication, the benchmark for high horology, and though there are complications that are more complex, the historical footing of the OP in the history of watchmaking is what makes it stand out,” Mayer said.
The dial is framed in 18-karat white gold, and its case and bracelet are both finished with the manufacturer’s alternation of satin brushing and polished chamfers. The white gold frame of the sapphire caseback is engraved with “Royal Oak Quantieme Perpetuel” and “Limited Edition of 200 Pieces.”
“John’s love of complicated watches combined with his creativity made this an organic and fun collaboration. He wholeheartedly delved into the intricate design details of the dial, so there is a moment of discovery each time the watch is worn, which gives us a glimpse of infinity,” said Ilaria Resta, Audemars Piguet’s chief executive officer.
The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” Limited Edition is the last limited-edition equipped with the self-winding perpetual calendar movement, Calibre 5134.
First introduced in 2015, the Calibre 5134 was designed to fit a perpetual calendar movement into a larger 41 mm case diameter. This particular calibre possesses the capability to account the number of days in the month and correctly displays the prevailing date even in leap years. Assuming the watch is kept fully wound, the date will not require manual correction until 2100, at which point it will need to be adjusted to stay in line with the Gregorian calendar.
“Calibre 5134 will go down in history as one that defined an era of watch collecting and public enthusiasm at large for a complication that had not enjoyed that kind of attention and desire before,” Mayer said.
Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875 by Louis Audemars and Edward Piguet in the Vallee de Joux. The Royal Oak watch, now updated by Mayer, was first released in 1972 during the quartz crisis in collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Gerald Genta. The watch is considered the first luxury sports watch of its kind.
The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” Limited Edition is available for purchase by appointment. Price will be disclosed on request.
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