Meet #YourTakeOnTheRoyalOak Winner: Michael Elko Weaver
A multi-talented photographer by profession, Weaver went to a film school in Los Angeles and has worked in production houses and also acted in theater and films. Sketching watches has been his guilty pleasure for a few years now
A self-proclaimed space nerd, Michael Elko Weaver recaptured his favorite celestial sight – a deep blue starry sky with a gorgeous moon in gold – for his version of the Royal Oak. He has never had any professional training in design but sketching watches has been his guilty pleasure for a few years now.
“It’s something I didn’t share with anyone until this contest. It all started with altering designs of some of my favorite watch models in photoshop late at night when I couldn’t sleep. I had actually finished designing the one I submitted but then I woke up in the middle of the night thinking “there’s something missing!” It was the gold accent! There’s a precise moment when something you’ve made clicks and that was it for me. 4am on a Tuesday,” says Weaver, who was quite sure about having the ‘moon’ as the centerpiece in his version of the Royal Oak. “For me, the Harvest Moon is the most beautiful of all celestial phenomena. An aventurine dial always reminds me of the nights spent lying down and looking up at the sky, falling in love with our beautiful spot in the universe. To look at a watch and be reminded of those memories is something that makes me smile. Hopefully I can make that happen for others,” he says.
A multi-talented photographer by profession, Weaver went to a film school in Los Angeles and has designed movie posters, worked in production houses and also acted in theater and films. Although he has not had a direct link with the watch industry in recent years, the love for horology runs in his family. “My grandfather was a jeweler his whole life and he often sold luxury watches. At one point, he decided to flex his skills and started making 18k gold watches in his workshop. He bought Omega models of the day, took out the automatic movements and placed them in his creations, which were deliciously 1970s – fitted with solid gold Mexican peso coins on dials and casebacks. A few years ago, I mentioned how I was getting interested in watchmaking and my grandfather gifted me a prototype he had created out of sterling silver. He admits the piece wasn’t not perfect enough to sell but I’ll cherish it forever.”
A big admirer of the Royal Oak Jumbo 16202, Wearer believes AP has introduced absolutely brilliant calibers in the last few years. “This year when AP announced the new caliber 7121, I was floored. The design and proportions of the Jumbo were already perfect—and now the engine too is thoroughly modern and impressively robust (and still so thin!) Like all watch fanatics there are MANY timepieces I would love to own but the Jumbo is cemented at the top of my list. If I had one, I’d never take it off,” he says.
The Wristcheck x Audemars Piguet design competition has made Wearer more confident of his designing skills. Given a chance, he’d love to work as a designer or an advertising photographer with a luxury watch brand in the near future. “When I first got the email saying I had been selected as one of the winners, I genuinely thought it was fake! It took a few re-reads for it to sink in. My only goal was to design something I’d love to wear out for special occasions, and that would potentially fit into AP’s standard model range. Limited editions are of course awesome but I was hoping to make something that could be available for years. The other four winners seriously impressed me. They are truly awesome designs. I’m very lucky to be in their company!”
Watch the video to get to know more about Michael:
