KAWS adds miniature companion at the heart of audemars piguet’s royal oak titanium watch

Audemars piguet and KAWS’ royal oak concept tourbillon watch

Audemars Piguet reveals its KAWS-designed Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon watch, entirely made from titanium. The collaboration has the Brooklyn-based artist embedding his iconic X-eyed cartoon COMPANION at the center of the timepiece. Its hands are spread out, and its face is close to the sapphire glass; both are squeezed to make it look as if it were trying to escape from the watch. The miniature 3D character is clearly visible because of its contrasting shades of light and dark gray. It is also mounted on the titanium dial plate decorated with a sunburst motif.

The Swiss watchmaker alternates the use of satin-brushing and sandblasting to achieve a texturized look for the X-eyed cartoon, all the while underlining its rounded silhouette. Even its titanium eyes are cut, which are later filled with a thin layer of gray lacquer. Audemars Piguet treats the titanium watch as a form of homage to KAWS; thus, the watchmaker carves the chest of the COMPANION to reveal its beating heart. Here, the watch’s tourbillon lies, a direct reference to the graffiti artist’s dissected series.

all images courtesy of Audemars Piguet

Unobstructed view of X-eyed cartoon in titanium watch

Audemars Piguet wants an unobstructed view for KAWS’ COMPANION cartoon, so the wearer can fully see it when they look at their titanium watch. To make this happen, the watchmaker pushes the numberless hours and minutes to the side and uses a peripheral or symbol-based display to tell the time. The watch hands, still made from titanium, rotate around the periphery of the movement and dial – marked by the two visible, superimposed gear wheels driven by pinions and guided by rollers – so nothing’s hindering the X-eyed cartoon in the middle.

Users can still read the time in the dark because these watch hands are filled with luminescent material that turns blue in the dark. To distinguish which one is the minute hand, the watchmaker sculpts an ‘openworked’ design for it. The tourbillon of the KAWS titanium watch is found at the six o’clock position. There’s also a balance wheel and escapement, or the parts that help regulate the time, and they’re housed in a rotating cage that spins every minute to make sure that gravity doesn’t affect the accuracy of the movement. 

Audemars Piguet reveals its KAWS-designed Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon watch

Visible components and gears made from titanium

Audemars Piguet opens the caseback of the KAWS titanium watch, allowing the wearer to see what’s happening inside the timepiece. Even here, the gears and components are made from titanium with a black finish. The watchmaker engraves the words ‘Swiss,’ ‘39 jewels’, and its name onto the titanium watch’s components and fills it with white lacquer. In this way, the wearer knows what they’re wearing and can notice parts that shy away from the gray-spectrum palette. So far, there are only 250 units available for Audemars Piguet’s KAWS titanium watch.

the cartoon’s titanium eyes are cut, which are later filled with a thin layer of gray lacquer

KAWS embeds his iconic X-eyed cartoon COMPANION at the center of the timepiece

detailed view of the titanium watch with KAWS’ COMPANION in the dial

the wearer can see the inside of the watch through the ‘open’ caseback

the gears and components are also made from titanium with a black finish

the titanium watch uses a peripheral or symbol-based display to tell the time

portrait of KAWS, the artist name of Brian Donnelly

project info:

name: Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon

watchmaker: Audemars Piguet | @audemarspiguet

artist: KAWS | @kaws