AUDEMARS PIGUET x KAWS Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” Edition

 

AUDEMARS PIGUET x KAWS ROYAL OAK Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” 43mm Titanium Edition - 2024

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KAWS AND AUDEMARS PIGUET
OFFER A NEW TAKE
ON HAUTE HORLOGERIE

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Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet continues to explore new creative territories, drawing inspiration from and engaging with the wider cultural world. Its latest 43 mm limited edition Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon, designed in collaboration with KAWS, brings the subversive nature of the collection to the fore. 

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The futuristic design of this limited edition of 250 pieces, fully crafted in titanium, is imbued with the aesthetic DNA of one of the most popular artists working today, who has placed a miniature COMPANION at the very heart of the watch. 

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To give pride of place to this cartoon-like character, the Manufacture has literally put time to the side thanks to the use of an innovative peripheral time display. 

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At once universal and provocative, witty and inquisitive, the collaboration invites the viewer to see Haute Horlogerie in a different light and to reflect on the power of the imaginary to push boundaries.

BRINGING TOGETHER CULTURE AND CREATIVITY

The collaboration with the artist KAWS reinforces Audemars Piguet’s curiosity and ongoing dialogue with the cultural world. Over the years, the brand has partnered with luminaries across disciplines, including art and pop culture, to nurture its creativity, shake up the status quo and reflect on the meaning of Haute Horlogerie in today’s world. 

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KAWS, started out as a graffiti artist in New York City in the 1990s, making a name for himself by augmenting ads in phone booths and bus shelters. 

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His early “ad intervention” work paved the way for his cast of characters, including COMPANION, which have served as experimental platforms to push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of shape, material and size – a strong link to both Audemars Piguet’s free-spirited mindset and the groundbreaking nature of the Royal Oak Concept collection in particular.

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KAWS’ COMPANION has travelled across media and the globe, from toy figures and large-scale sculptures to giant floating inflatables and AR versions. 

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Evoking both life and death, the real and the fake, this cartoon-like character is at once endearing and disconcerting. Its inherent dichotomy challenges norms and expectations, while inviting its audience to be curious, get out of their comfort zone and look at the world differently.

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Today, this cultural phenomenon takes on unprecedented miniature proportions to explore the creative territory of fine watchmaking. 

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Placed at the very heart of its eponymous Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon limited edition, this imaginary character both subverts and humanises Haute Horlogerie, pushing the limits of the craft.

INSPIRED BY KAWS’ AESTHETICS

The 43 mm Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” incorporates KAWS’ aesthetic on both sides of the watch. 

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In a tribute to the artist’s early “ad intervention” work, KAWS’ COMPANION appears beneath the watch’s sapphire crystal, its face and hands seemingly touching the inner surface of the glass, curiously peering out to see what lies beyond.

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This miniature 3D character in contrasting shades of light and dark grey is entirely made of titanium and is mounted on the titanium dial plate decorated with a sunburst motif. 

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Its alternating satin-brushed and sandblasted finishes add texture and depth, while accentuating its rounded silhouette. Its skull-shaped head, X-shaped eyes, gloves and crossbones make it instantly recognisable. The X eyes have been cut into the titanium component and filled with a thin layer of grey lacquer.

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Lastly, in a nod to KAWS’ dissected series, the chest of the COMPANION reveals its beating heart, the watch’s tourbillon, blurring the line between the character and the movement.

PUTTING TIME TO THE SIDE

To ensure an unobstructed view of the miniature COMPANION on the dial side, Audemars Piguet has literally pushed time to the side by using a peripheral time display that offers new aesthetic possibilities for both movement and dial designs.

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The hour and minute hands rotate around the periphery of the movement and dial, thanks to two visible, superimposed gear wheels driven by pinions and guided by rollers. 

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The titanium hour and minute hands, both filled with luminescent material that turns blue in the dark, are fixed to their respective peripheral wheel. In addition, the minute hand is openworked to distinguish it from the hour hand and facilitate the reading of time. 

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The five-minute graduations, carved into the titanium inner bezel, also glow blue in dim light.

A LATEST-GENERATION TOURBILLON MOVEMENT

This limited edition is powered by the new hand-wound peripheral hour and minute movement, Calibre 2979, which gives pride of place to the tourbillon on the dial side at 6 o’clock. 

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This delicate, high-end complication reduces the effects of gravity on the watch’s accuracy. The balance wheel and escapement are housed in a tiny rotating cage that completes a revolution every minute to prevent their centre of gravity from staying in the same orientation.

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The sapphire caseback showcases the movement’s black-PVD titanium bridges, whose padded aesthetic is inspired by KAWS’ cast of characters. The gear train bridge opens onto the ratchet wheel, which arms the barrel-arbour when the watch is wound, and which has been crossed out to reproduce KAWS’ emblematic X. 

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The click that prevents it from turning in the unwinding direction is also visible at 12 o’clock. The bridges’ blackened aesthetic is contrasted by the mention of “Swiss,” “39 jewels” and the “Audemars Piguet” signature, all engraved by laser and filled with white lacquer.  

"SEEK BEYOND."

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
 

Model  Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” / 43 mm Titanium

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Ref. 26656TI.GG.D019VE.01
🔰Limited edition of 250 pieces

MOVEMENT SPECIFICATIONS
Hand-wound Calibre 2979
Total diameter
32.3 mm (14 ¼ lignes)
Total thickness 10.4 mm
Number of parts 332
Number of jewels 39
Minimum power reserve guaranteed 72 h
Frequency of balance wheel 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
FUNCTIONS
Tourbillon, peripheral hours and minutes.
CASE
Sandblasted titanium case, black ceramic crown with titanium chip,
double glareproofed sapphire crystal,
sapphire caseback, water-resistance to 100 m.
Case thickness: 17.4 mm
DIAL
Sunburst titanium dial plate with miniature titanium KAWS’ COMPANION
in shades of grey, sandblasted light grey titanium inner bezel, peripheral
titanium hands and hour-markers with luminescent material glowing blue in the dark.
STRAP
Interchangeable light grey calfskin leather strap with textile effect, titanium triple-blade AP folding clasp.
Second interchangeable slate grey calfskin leather strap with textile effect.

🔰Edition ✅ ❱❱❱ 250 pieces
🔴 Price on Request 💰 

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Press Release - 2024
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Audemars Piguet (Marketing) SA
Route de France 16 - Case postale 16
1348 Le Brassus - Switzerland
Phone : + 41 21 642 39 00
Fax : + 41 21 642 34 02
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LANG & HEYNE – Moritz Triple Calendar No. 53 Anniversary for The Lavish Attic

LANG & HEYNE – Moritz Triple Calendar No. 53 – Anniversary Watch for 11th anniversary of The Lavish Attic Edition - Unique Piece for Auction Phillips 2024

 Hong Kong Auction 23 - 24 November 2024

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is pleased to unveil highlights from the Hong Kong Watch Auction XIX. Comprised of over 200 lots, the sale will showcase a wide range of important timepieces from leading brands and independent makers, reflecting the rich history of watchmaking and its spirit of innovation. This season, Phillips is proud to collaborate with The Lavish Attic, one of the leading retailers in Asia of international independent watch brands, to present unique pieces created by talented watchmakers for this auction. 

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Before the auction, a selection of sale highlights will go on an international tour, starting in Singapore (17-20 October) before visiting Taipei (2-3 November) and Geneva (6-10 November). The preview will then open in Hong Kong on 16 November, leading up to the live auction on 23 and 24 November at the company’s Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Before The Hong Kong Watch Auction XIX, TOKI: Watch Auction, a thematic sale dedicated to the Japanese watch collecting world, will take place on 22 November.

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Lot 897. Lang & Heyne — A unique, “like-new” and extremely attractive pink gold triple calendar wristwatch with enamel earth disc, small seconds, moon phases, additional special made salmon dial and set of purple hands, certificate and presentation box, made for the 11th Anniversary of The Lavish Attic.

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Headquartered in Dresden, Germany, the independent brand Lang & Heyne was founded in 2001 by talented watchmakers Marco Lang and Mirko Heyne. After Heyne departed in the early years, Marco Lang continued to lead the brand until 2019, and the manufacture remains renowned today for its exceptional craftsmanship and distinctive designs. The Moritz was first created in 2005, Numbered 53, the present Moritz made in 2015, was produced under Marco Lang’s leadership and comes with his personally signed certificate and the 2015 hang tags. This piece transcends the typical calendar watch, standing as a remarkable creation in its own right.

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At first glance, the colorful enameled sub-dial captures the eye, illustrating a view of Earth from the perspective of Europe and Africa. The watch features a unique complication that reflects the Earth’s relationship with the sun. While the Earth rotates around the sun once per year, it also spins 365 times on its own axis. Due to the Earth’s axial tilt of 23 degrees, the sun’s rays strike at varying angles throughout the year. During the Spring and Fall equinoxes on March 21 and September 21, the Earth’s equatorial line aligns precisely with the center mark of the scale. As we approach the Summer solstice in June, the disc tilts to its extreme left position, aligning the equator with the 23-degree mark, indicating the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, in December, the disc inclines to the right, reflecting the Southern Hemisphere receiving the sun’s most direct energy.

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This intricate mechanism is powered by the manually wound Caliber III, which incorporates unique features and exquisite finishing techniques, based on a movement construction similar to Caliber I. The hand-engraved signature, beautifully crafted balance cock, snailing on the ratchet wheel, and diamond endstone are truly captivating. 

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The watch also includes a stopseconds function, allowing for precise time setting, while turning the crown in the second position enables forward or backward adjustments of the date, with the Earth’s disc tilting accordingly. The design is exceptionally legible, featuring elegant moon phases at 6 o’clock, while the day aperture is user-friendly, facilitating easy date reading.

Accessories

Accompanied by Lang & Heyne Certificate dated 12th September 2024, numbered certificate, additional dial and set of hands, instruction manual, product literature, hang tags, fitted presentation box and outer packaging.

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Adding to its uniqueness, this watch having been originally created with a silvered dial, boasts a special salmon dial and purple hands, designed for this project celebrating the 11th anniversary of The Lavish Attic. This marks the first time a salmon dial has been produced in the Moritz collection, allowing the owner to switch dials at their pleasure. This presents a unique opportunity to own an exclusive piece from the Marco Lang era, and we are delighted to showcase this monumental collection for the first time in the history of Phillips.

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Please note that a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the present watch will be given by the Consignor to Albert Hausammann Foundation. The foundation provides financial support to eligible students from regions in Asia for the purpose of training or advancing their skills in the art of watchmaking.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model:   Lang & Heyne Moritz No. 53 – Anniversary Watch for The Lavish Attic

Lots № 897  ☎️

Case
    Material: 18K pink gold
    Diameter: 44 mm
    Thickness: 12.50 mm
    2 countersunk pusher at the side
    Sapphire glass on top and bottom
    Water-resistant to 30 metres
Dial and hands
    Salmon dial
    Purple hands
Movement
    Caliber III
    Manual winding movement
    Diameter: 16¼ lignes, 36.6 mm
    Height: 7.10 mm
    Frequency: 18'000 vph (2.5 Hz)
    Number of jewels: 19
    Power reserve of 46hours   

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Functions 
Eccentric second at 6 o'clock, date-days of the week at 3 o'clock, moon phase at 6 o'clock,
month at 9 o'clock, day-/night indication at 4 o'clock, declination angle at 12 o'clock
Indications
    Hour and minute indication
    Eccentric second
    Moon phase
    Complete calendar
    Declination
    Second hand stop
Strap and buckle
    Alligator strap
    18K pink gold Lang & Heyne pin buckle

Accessories:
Accompanied by Lang & Heyne Certificate dated 12th September 2024, numbered certificate, additional dial and set of hands, instruction manual, product literature, hang tags, fitted presentation box and outer packaging.

🔰Limited edition Lots № 897  -  Unique piece

🔴Price: Estimate: HKD 250'000 / USD 30'000💰

For more information, visit www.phillips.com👉 and www.timeforart.ch

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Press release - 2024
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PHOTOS:  Lang & Heyne GmbH, 

For questions or images, please contact:
Ms. Dominique Jahn
E-Mail: d.jahn@langheyne.de
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Uhrenmanufaktur Lang & Heyne GmbH
Weißenberger Straße 10
01324 Dresden
GERMANY
Phone: 0049-351-8023440
Fax: 0049-351-8023441
E-Mail: manufaktur@lang-und-heyne.de
E-Mail: info@lang-und-heyne.de
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Ulysse Nardin – FREAK X Enamel Seddiqi Exclusive Edition

Ulysse Nardin – FREAK X Enamel Seddiqi “Yas Blue” Grey Titanium Exclusive Edition - 2024

WORLDS COLLIDE

The 30-piece limited-edition Freak X Enamel Seddiqi marries métiers d’art techniques with state-of-the-art watchmaking, and celebrates the partnership between elite Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the Middle East ’s leading luxury watch retailer.

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Ulysse Nardin, the independent Swiss watch maison that has been disrupting haute horlogerie since 1846, is delighted to introduce the new Freak X Enamel Seddiqi, a watch that celebrates shared cultures, traditions and artistic passions that span continents.

The Freak X Enamel Seddiqi is based on the design and movement properties of a 21st century watchmaking icon, Ulysse Nardin’s Freak, which rewrote the horological rulebook when it was introduced in 2001 by pioneering the use of silicon technology in watchmaking.

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The exclusive new watch builds on the timeless story of the Freak’s ‘no hands and no dial’ movement architecture, and tells it afresh with an exquisite guilloché and enamelled hour disc that highlights Ulysse Nardin’s mastery of métiers d’art.

Coloured in “Yas Blue” enamel to echo the piercing electric blue of the evening sky as the sun sets over the waters of the Gulf of Arabia, the Freak X Enamel Seddiqi’s hour disc is the work of very skilled artisans at Ulysse Nardin’s Donzé Cadrans Manufacture in Le Locle and the result of a complex, painstaking process.

Coloured in “Yas Blue” enamel to echo the piercing electric blue of the evening sky as the sun sets over the waters of the Gulf of Arabia, the Freak X Enamel Seddiqi’s hour disc is the work of very skilled artisans at Ulysse Nardin’s Donzé Cadrans Manufacture in Le Locle and the result of a complex, painstaking

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First, the gold guilloché hour disc has a texture that gives the watch an additional visual dimension, resulting in a geometric pattern that gives it a balanced, modern feel. Then Ulysse Nardin’s enamellers add four layers of water-based enamel to it. The enamel begins as a solid, which is then broken down with a pestle and mortar into a fine powder, before it is transformed into a paste with water. Between each layer, the disc is fi red at temperatures of 800 degrees Celsius and then cooled. Cooling takes just one minute. A final, crucial layer of translucent “fondant” enamel gives the disc surface a glossy finish that will be immediately recognisable to métiers d’art connoisseurs.

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For the enamellers, there’s jeopardy in every layer. The disc will be fi red at least fi ve times and the kiln is merciless: each time, the risk is that the enamel will bubble and spoil, at which point, the process must start again. This tension is one of the reasons skilled enamellers are such a rare breed, and why only the very fi nest watches carry enamel decorations.

Sitting on top of this mesmerising hour disc is Caliber UN-230 Manufacture, an automatic with a 72-hour power reserve. The Freak’s signature carousel flying tourbillon features an oversize oscillator and a silicon escapement, and doubles as the watch’s minutes hand, making a full tour of the dial every 60 minutes. A pointer on the hour disc shows the hour against fl oating baton hour markers.

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The watch is cased in 43 mm of grey titanium and comes on a black rubber “ballistic” strap with white stitching and a titanium folding buckle. Due to the technical and artisanal complexity of this beautiful horological object, only 30 pieces will be made, and they will only be available through Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the United Arab Emirates’ largest and most pioneering luxury watch and jewellery retailer.

BACKSTORY



In the spring of 2001, Ulysse Nardin changed the course of watchmaking history forever with the introduction of the revolutionary Freak. To look at, the first Freak posed lots of questions. It had no dial, no hands and no crown, and yet it was unmistakably a mechanical watch. How was this possible? Did it really work? And how did it work? No one had ever seen anything like it. Because there had never been anything like it before.

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But that was only the start of the story. Because beyond its unique appearance and function, it was powered by a gamechanging movement that contained a high-tech new watchmaking material: silicon.

Silicon was watchmaking wonderstuff. Conspicuous in its silvery blue, it brought myriad benefits to a mechanical watch. It was lightweight, elastic, almost completely frictionless, and highly resistant to magnetism, shocks and changes in temperature. On top of this, it could also be produced in unusual shapes and to fine tolerances. It was the perfect material for creating high-tech, ultra-modern mechanical watch components.

Indeed, mechanical watches with silicon parts, it was quickly established, would be more precise, more accurate and more reliable. This made the Freak a line-in-the-sand watch. And it meant a new chapter in watchmaking had begun, almost three centuries after the last.

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The Freak took its name from the maverick, disruptive, rulebreaking spirit that spawned it and quickly became known for its daring aesthetic, unconventional functionality and wild technical innovation. In time, it would become a flagship for Ulysse Nardin, and a new icon for Swiss watchmaking, recognised all over the world and revered by collectors. There’s still nothing quite like the Freak.

Its influence would spread far and wide. Seeing the advanced properties of silicon platformed by the Freak, countless others would explore its potential so that almost a quarter of a century later, it has become a familiar watchmaking material. But the Freak was first.

Meanwhile, Ulysse Nardin continued to pioneer the use of silicon, and the Freak design. Today, the Freak catalogue is ripe with challenging expressions of the original concept, each new model release acting as a punctuation mark in the story of mechanical watchmaking. Such has been its impact that The New York Times pronounced that the Freak had “changed the face of contemporary watchmaking”.

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The Freak One leads the contemporary line, winning the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève’s Iconic Watch Prize in 2023👆. The Freak S continues to inspire awe and wonder with a threedimensional movement that rests under the glass like a spaceship preparing for intergalactic adventures. And the Freak X, with the gently ironic addition of a crown, has become the so-called “daily Freak”.

But no matter how much time passes and no matter what form it takes, the Freak remains a radical. An iconoclast. The watch that changed watchmaking forever.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model:  Ulysse Nardin FREAK [X ENAMEL SEDDIQI]

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• Reference: 2303-270LE-3AE-SED/3A («ballistic» rubber strap)

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Case
Material: Grey titanium with satin finish
    Grey titaniumbezel
    Diameter: 43 mm thickness: 13.78 mm
    Case-back: Grey titanium with open sapphire
Water-resistant to 50 metres
Movement
    Calibre UN-230 Manufacture
Automatic movement
Flying carrousel movement rotating around its own axis
Balance wheel and escapement in silicon
Oversized oscillator
“Yas Blue” enamel on a guilloché hour disc (bottom of the movement)
Index and bridges with white Super-LumiNova®
    Number of parts: 206
    Number of jewels: 21
    Frequency: 21’600 vph (3 Hz)
    Power reserve of 72 hours
Functions/Indications
Hours, minutes
Flying carrousel movement rotating around its own axis
Strap and buckle
Black rubber «ballistic» textured strap with white stitches
Titanium folding buckle

 

🔰Edition ✅ Only ❱❱❱ 30 pieces

🔴Price: (incl. Swiss VAT) CHF 38,500 / 154,000 AED 💰

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Ulysse Nardin SA
Marketing Department
Rue du Jardin 3
2400 Le Locle
Switzerland T :+4132 930 74 00
F :+4132 930 74 21
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