Audemars Piguet Teams Up With 1017 ALYX 9SM On Royal Oak Capsule Collection

Swiss powerhouse Audemars Piguet recently debuted two new Royal Oaks and two new Offshores that offered a surprisingly fresh take on the established, iconic designs. Gone are the tapisserie dials, even the hour markers, in favor of a unified, minimalist aesthetic, courtesy of streetwear brand 1017 ALYX 9SM.

The name 1017 ALYX 9SM may not roll off the tongue, but founder and creative director Matthew Williams is an influential designer and creative director who made a name for himself as Lady Gaga's creative director. Other top-tier collaborators include Kanye West, Heron Preston and Virgil Abloh. 1017 ALYX 9SM was founded in 2015 (under the simpler name Alyx), and is defined by its hard-edged streetwear aesthetic. Chest rigs, technical buckles and utility wear are defining designs within the brand, which has collaborated with Dior and Nike and has found high-profile fans in Drake, Travis Scott and others.

So it should come as no surprise that Williams and his influential brand have caught the attention of Audemars Piguet, a brand with its finger firmly on the pulse of street culture cool. This Audemars Piguet x 1017 ALYX 9SM partnership reveals a take on the Royal Oak that strips the emblematic designs of any extraneous design details, cutting the Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore right back to their essential identity.

So, let's take a look at the watches themselves. First, the pair of regular Royal Oak models. There's a 37mm time-only model, in 18-karat yellow gold, with a matching bracelet. Next up there's a Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph, 41mm across and in yellow gold, just like the 37mm version. Moving up to the heftier Royal Oak Offshore models, we get a pair of 42mm chronographs in white or yellow gold. No matter which reference piques your curiosity, the overall stylistic approach is the same. There's no date, no dial makers, no dial pattern. All that has been removed in favor of a solid gold dial, matching the case material. These dials have been given a vertical brushed pattern, with only the hands (also in matching gold) and the dial text to interrupt the otherwise uniform flow of heavy metal.

This pared-back look is most striking on the chronographs. This complication is traditionally framed in reference to precision — the accurate measurement of passing seconds. By removing the subdials, or in fact, any meaningful timescale, the chronographs are transformed from timekeeping instruments into more symbolic objects. Even the dial text, the brand logo at 12, the 1017 ALYX 9SM text at six, and the legally required 'Swiss Made' text fits into this streamlined aesthetic. The Audemars Piguet Logo is applied, the rest transfer printed. It's surprising how much this dial text stands out once you remove every other element of dial design, and these stark lines of text serve as a powerful indicator of collaboration.

Powering this series of watches are three different — and quite current — calibres. The 37mm three-hander is running the Calibre 5909, a slender 4mm movement first introduced in 2022. The Royal Oak chronograph uses the brand's latest automatic chronograph, the Calibre 4409, a thoroughly modern 4 Hz movement with 70 hours of power reserve. Meanwhile, the Offshores are running integrated flyback chronographs, Calibre 4404s, thicker than the 4409, but perfectly workable given the proportions of the Offshore case.

While the movements may be different in each different watch, they're united by an open caseback and a special rotor, engraved with the 1017 ALYX 9SM name and an indication of Newton's millimeter and rotor weight, a nod to the technical references often found on Matthew Williams designs.

Of course, Audemars Piguet has worked with external designers and artisans before, but what makes this 1017 ALYX 9SM partnership intriguing is that it is the first time that we've seen a new design like this simultaneously roll out across several collections, lending the air of an ongoing capsule collection rather than a one-off.

More than this, 1017 ALYX 9SM's designs provide us with a defining case study as to what the Royal Oak is. Even when you take everything away except the bezel and the bracelet, the Royal Oak and its big brother, the Offshore, are instantly recognizable and iconic. Not only does this demonstrate how the 1017 ALYX 9SM series has captured the heart of Genta's famous design, and brought it into the world of hype-culture streetwear, it shows how truly versatile the design of the Royal Oak is.

Specifications

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding

Reference Number: 15550BA.OO.1356BA.02
Movement: Calibre 5909
Mechanism: Selfwinding
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
Functions: Hours, minutes and centre seconds
Power reserve: 60 hours
Case: 37mm 18-karat yellow gold
Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
Bracelet: 18-karat yellow gold bracelet with AP folding clasp
Price: 65,700 CHF
Limited to 194 pieces

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph

Reference Number: 26240BA.OO.1320BA.01
Movement: Calibre 4409
Mechanism: Selfwinding
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
Functions: Flyback chronograph, hours, minutes and small seconds
Power reserve: 70 hours
Case: 41mm 18-karat yellow gold
Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
Bracelet: 18-karat yellow gold bracelet with AP folding clasp
Price: 80,800 CHF
Limited to 202 pieces

For more details, visit Audemars Piguet.