François-Henry Bennahmias’ adieu to Audemars Piguet is a Travis Scott Royal Oak
By Bryle B. Suralta
For about three decades, François-Henry Bennahmias transformed Audemars Piguet into one of the most dynamic names in high watchmaking. He brought the AP House to life, and would successfully bridge athletics, street culture and the tradition of Le Brassus craftsmanship together. Even as he leaves the brand, Bennahmias isn’t done forging daring alliances just yet.
His final project with Audemars Piguet is a collaboration with American hip-hop artist Travis Scott’s brand and label Cactus Jack, yielding a new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” limited edition. Aptly called “The Chocolate AP,” the timepiece reflects the artist’s flair and persona, from the brown ceramic and caseback down to the typography.
“Watchmaking, to me, is the ultimate combo of engineering, fashion, tech and design—a harmony of precision, craftsmanship and perfect timing,” Scott says of the concept behind the timepiece. “I approached this collaboration similar to sampling or starting a beat, taking inspiration from classics while introducing innovation to push them into the future.”
The watchmaker debuts the first Royal Oak in brown ceramic, complemented by a sapphire caseback. Brown is a colour that has become synonymous with Cactus Jack and serves as an introduction to Scott’s artistic vision. The 41mm self-winding watch’s “Chocolate AP” nickname, too, is a reference to a song in Scott’s recent album, Utopia. Its open-worked 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight is engraved with the double “Audemars Piguet” and “Cactus Jack” signatures.
The sapphire dial with luminescent coating glows in blue or green to honour Cactus Jack’s aesthetic codes. This guides the eyes to the intricate open-worked self-winding perpetual calendar movement, Calibre 5135, which won’t require manual adjustment until 2100. Look more closely into the architecture of the movement and rhodium-toned components with pink-gold-toned hues create an interesting effect in the day, month and date sub-dials.
Interestingly, the typography of the calendar and week indications are based on Travis Scott’s hand-drawn model. This carries over to the sub-dial, where the Cactus Jack logo appears more vividly. Of course, of all features, Scott’s imprints are most visible in the design of the moon phase at 6 o’clock. The Audemars Piguet is swapped in for the Cactus Jack’s trademark smiley face with its mouth sewn shut.
The timepiece’s caseback reveals even more details of the collaboration. It’s engraved with “Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar,” “Limited Edition of 200 Pieces” and “Utopia is a state of mind,” all references to Scott’s latest ouvre. This is printed on one of the strap’s mobile loops, as well. And seamlessly tying all these elements together is a new textured calfskin leather strap and the pink gold folding clasp with the “Audemars Piguet” and “Travis Scott” signatures.
“The Cholocate AP” follows a string of extraordinary collaborations for Audemars Piguet, including ones with musician and producer Mark Ronson and fashion designer Matthew Williams. But something as precious as Bennahmias’ swan song with Scott is surely in a class of its own.
Visit Audemars Piguet for more information.
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