Audemars Piguet Releases Their Third Collaboration with Carolina Bucci

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet has teamed up with famed Italian Jewelry designer Carolina Bucci to release one of the most unique and unexpected Royal Oak models to date. The Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Carolina Bucci Limited Edition has a much more tactical aesthetic than the previous collaborations between the two with a subtle, but quite striking rainbow dial effect.

THE BASICS:

Brand: Audemars Piguet

Model: Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Carolina Bucci Limited Edition (77350CE.OO.1266CE.02.A)

Case Material: Black Ceramic with Titanium Caseback

Case Size: 34mm x 8.8mm

Water Resistance: 50m

Crystal: Sapphire Crystal

Movement:  AP Calibre 5800

Movement Specs: Automatic, 19,800 VpH, 50H Power Reserve

Strap Options: Ceramic Bracelet with Folding Clasp

THE JUICE:

Rainbow watches are real hot right now. Everything from indices to bezels, even gradient-style dials have gotten the blingy rainbow treatment on many major brands. So I’m not surprised we are seeing a(nother) rainbow treatment to a Royal Oak. What I will say is, it’s striking and surprising to see it done I’m such a way. What’s so much fun about the watch, is it’s still quintessentially a Royal Oak, both in footprint and in aesthetic, with the rainbow being more of a reflection.

this is done by fastening a sapphire plate over a brass dial plate. This gives the rainbow sheen seen on the dial. And paired with the pink gold indices and hands, the watch has amazing contrast considering the busy “finishing” required to achieve the rainbow look.

“I wanted to place a rainbow in the most unexpected of places, a little like when you see oil floating on a puddle in a city street. So here you have every color of the spectrum on a canvas that is completely black, which is itself the absence of colour.”

-Carolina Bucci

And in that regard, it has succeeded. When I first saw the press images, it reminded me of something specific but I couldn’t put my finger on it, and it’s just that - oil on water.

The case and bracelet are made out of AP’s signature black ceramic, and measure in at a “genderless” 34mm x 8.8mm - making the watch wearable on any wrist. If you’ve followed me any amount of time, I’m a big proponent of removing Men’s and Women’s labels from watches and just letting them be watches - so I’m excited to see Ms. Bucci bring AP into that school of thought with this limited edition.

Overall, slam dunk and standing ovation from us at Wrist Enthusiast. This watch is a stellar collaboration and Carolina Bucci absolutely killed it with this one. It’s subtle, but somehow still bold and quintessentially Audemars Piguet.

How much is the Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm Carolina Bucci Limited Edition?

The watch will be limited to 300 pieces and come with a price tag of $54,200 USD.

Read more about the watch on the brand’s website.