Audemars Piguet launches sand gold and new collaboration with John Mayer

April 1, 2024, 12:40PM GMT+0200

Audemars Piguet developed a proprietary gold alloy in a color that oscillates between white and rose gold, which it called sand goldappropriate Forbes USA. It is featured in one of the brand’s premium movements, the Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon.

The watch has movement parts electroplated in a shade to match the new color sand gold. The result is a contemporary take on the gold watch, which is now much less flashy than standard yellow or rose gold, but more interesting than white gold, which can be mistaken for steel.

Audemars Piguet says the new color was named after the sand dunes in the sunlight, and is a shade that now often appears on watch dials – maybe inspired by the Dune movies? Gold is combined with copper and palladium to achieve the warm color of the alloy, and because palladium is hard, it also adds durability. The case and bracelet are alternately satin and polished in such a way that it results in a 3D effect, and sand gold it seems to change color depending on the light.

The Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Sand Gold is priced at $275,000. right Forbes USAit is possible that the new gold alloy will be implemented in other, more affordable models in the future.

The company’s second major release this spring is a collaboration with musician John Mayer, who is known to be passionate about luxury watches. Audemars Piguet describes John Mayer’s watch as the last limited edition Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar equipped with the automatic caliber 5134, which will cease production in the future.

The main attraction of the watch is the dial that Audemars describes as “crystal sky”, with a texture similar to broken glass. It was created using a metal deposition process called electroforming, which involves stamping the dial with irregular crystal-like shapes with sharp angles. The result is a reflection of light that resembles a starry sky. “My favorite watches have dials that you can look at without getting bored,” says Mayer, which explains where the concept came from. “It gives a sense of depth and vastness with the mechanism of a perpetual calendar … a very powerful combination.”

The watch worn by John Mayer also has some custom details on the dial: there are two digits for “31” on the date ring, which are now smaller to distinguish them from the adjacent “1s”, and the week indicator is light blue so that they mostly fade into the background.

The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar is a collector’s item that will be produced in a limited edition of 200 watches in 18K white gold, priced at $180,700.