“A great watch dial feels like a picture window — you look into it, not at it. In the case of this QP, it’s like looking up at a moonless sky.”
That’s what John Mayer, one of America’s top musicians, had to say about his latest collaboration with Audemars Piguet: a limited-edition Royal Oak QP watch.
Considering Mayer’s well-known career as a watch collector, this partnership wasn’t strictly out of the blue. What we didn’t expect was an instantly legendary QP timepiece to come out of the collaboration.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Limited Edition “John Mayer” QP watch.
John Mayer and Audemars Piguet
John Mayer has a long history with Audemars Piguet. In fact, you may have seen a rose gold, blue dial version of the AP Royal Oak on his wrist in 2016. That was the ref. 26574OR.
That was the moment that Mayer’s love for AP truly clicked. He got his hands on one of the first hundred pieces from a boutique in New York just like anybody else.
But that wasn’t the first time he experimented with AP. He also wore a 15202 in a 2014 interview, “Watch I Wore The Most.” Once he had tried one on, there was no going back.
By 2015, he considered the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon as his new most-worn pick. He also wore it on stage with Dead and Co., but only fans with an eye for luxury watches were able to catch the AP cameo.
In 2017, Audemars Piguet released a black ceramic Royal Oak QP. That’s when John realized AP was in their golden era – reaching their peak once again. It was classic AP, doing something completely out of the box as if they’d done it a hundred times before.
Mayer was also spotted wearing the Royal Oak Supersonnerie – a fitting wearer for the musical watch. Of course, the list of the times John Mayer rocked an Audemars Piguet could go on and on. It wasn’t until recent years that Mayer’s title was no longer just a friend of the brand; he became an ambassador.
Soon enough, he was promoted to “Creative Conduit,” a role where he bridges the gap between collectors and the brand. It makes sense; as a musician, he has his foot in both worlds. He still maintains his status as a loyal client while inside the AP machine.
It’s the perfect way for him to relay the story of the watches he’s been so passionate about and informed about for years. He’s giving it back to the collector community as a client but gathering their feedback as an employee.
Throughout his journey as Creative Conduit, the time had to eventually come for John to design his own AP timepiece.
The Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” AP Royal Oak Limited Edition
Audemars Piguet and John Mayer collaborated to design the latest model of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar limited edition watch. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
The Process
Audemars Piguet has released its fair share of “celebrity” watches: the one-of-a-kind Ed Sheeran piece, Travis Scott’s hip-hop inspired one, Jay-Z’s 10-year anniversary edition, and so on. They’re all great watches, but also known for being intense.
No celebrity, until John Mayer, had decided to create a gentle or low-key watch with AP. Mayer’s creation is not bold or brash – it was meant to offer a soft feel that it was always meant to be part of the collection.
Even though it doesn’t feature the singer’s name anywhere, it’s still distinctively his watch. You’ll know it when you see it.
He was the one to propose this unique watch to François-Henry Bennahmias, the then-CEO of Audemars Piguet. The CEO had something else in mind: why not make this a limited edition piece instead? This was perfect in so many ways.
The Audemars Piguet–John Mayer collab was still the watch that John most wanted to work on – a perpetual calendar Royal Oak piece with a cosmic-themed dial that played with light. The only difference was that it would live and be enjoyed differently.
The Watch
At its core, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “John Mayer” Edition isn’t too different from the other recent Royal Oak QPs. Its 18k white gold case is around 41 x 9.5 mm and water-resistant for up to 20 meters. It also features a display case-back.
Other than that, it has all the QP features you know and love, but some you may not need, such as the week indicator. The Caliber 5134 movement only has a 40-hour power reserve, but you’ll need to keep it on a watch winder anyway.
The piece is also numbered on the make – they’ve only made 200 of these. However, none of those features will seem important enough once you look at the creativity of the dial.
At first glance, you’ll instantly see the inspiration from AP’s Tuscan dials of the past. “Tuscan” refers to the hand-hammered dials in rare Royal Oaks, almost always QPs.
Mayer worked closely with AP teams to design this picturesque dial, each detail mesmerising enough to stare at for hours. There’s something so vast about John Mayer’s vision of a crystal sky in this dial. The embossed motif is packed with irregularly shaped crystals, their sharp angles playing with light under the crystal glass.
What’s truly impressive is the craftsmanship behind the John Mayer Audemars Piguet QP. You can thank electroforming for its complexity – a metal deposition process where the stamping die is created atom by atom.
The Specs
Now, let’s look at some of the specs of this incredible watch,
- Model: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP 41mm John Mayer Limited Edition
- Price: Available on request, limited to only 200 pieces
- Ref: 26574BC.OO.1220BC.02
- Case Dimensions: 41mm diameter x 9.5mm thickness
- Case Material: 18k white gold
- Dial: Blue ‘crystal sky’ dial
- Water Resistance: 20m (2 bar)
- Movement: Audemars Piguet calibre 5134, automatic, 38 jewels
- Frequency: 19,800 vph (2.75 Hz)
- Power reserve: 40 hours
- Functions: Hours, minutes, and perpetual calendar
- Strap: 18k white gold bracelet with AP folding clasp
Other Pieces in the Collection
The John Mayer Audemars Piguet White Gold QP was released alongside ten other new pieces at the new AP House in Milan. Let’s look at some of them.
Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked
Two years ago, AP launched this model in stainless steel to honour the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak. It sold for about $200,000.
This time, they’ve introduced the model in Sand Gold, a unique shade that’s hard to pin down from pictures alone. Sometimesm it looks like white gold, other times more like rose gold. To get this unique sandy shade, they replaced silver from their gold formula with palladium.
Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin
The AP Research and Development team faces the challenging task of pushing the boundaries of watchmaking, but they’ve never failed. The third instalment in this quest (RD#3) merged the Ultra-Thin calibre with the flying tourbillon. It debuted in a ‘Jumbo’ 39 mm case at the start of 2022 and, later in the year, fitted into a smaller 37 mm case.
The 37 mm RD#3 reaches new heights with ref. 26660BC, with a striking smoked blue tapisserie dial and 12 baguette-cut diamonds. The bezel is also adorned with 32 more baguette-cut diamonds, bringing the total to 2.2 carats of diamonds!
Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillons
If you’re drawn to the elegance of a flying tourbillon but find open-worked or ultra-thin designs overwhelming, AP has the perfect alternative. We never thought we’d say this, but the brand has now included two “normal” flying tourbillons in its range.
In 2020, they revealed a titanium model of the Ref. 26730 featuring a sandblasted blue dial framed by a white minute track. Continuing in this vein, this year, they introduced a rose-gold variant with a light grey, sandblasted dial and an ivory minute track.
Lastly, they introduced a stainless-steel model with a deep red smoked dial, reminiscent of the design seen on last year’s 16202XT.
Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph
One of the most talked-about releases of 2022 was the 41 mm Ref. 26240 chronograph. It had a new movement and featured a flyback function. The addition of a yellow-gold version to this line marks it as the seventh type of material used for this model!
With options including steel, rose gold, black ceramic, white gold, both frosted and polished, and now yellow gold, this model is definitely the most diverse in the entire collection. You can also choose from various dial and strap choices available for each material type.
The new yellow-gold model also has a tapisserie dial borrowed from the 16202BA. To us, this dial design is among the brand’s best lately, and it complements the yellow gold perfectly.
Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin Openworked
Since its release in 2022, the 39 mm Ref.16204 has become a must-have for collectors. It’s the perfect combination of AP’s signature features: the slim Jumbo profile and the skeletonised movement. The latest iteration has a luxurious white-gold case and bracelet, moving away from the previous stainless-steel model.
Royal Oak Frosted Gold Self-winding
The 37 mm Ref. 15550 is, in simple words, the perfect uni-sex fit. Despite popular belief, this is not a beginner’s piece. With its case and bracelet made from frosted yellow gold, it’s hardly a piece for those on a budget.
Each case and bracelet is hammered by hand using a diamond-tipped tool to achieve that frosted finish. Plus, the sides of the case are brushed and the edges polished, creating an unique play of light. The dial also features a yellow-gold tapisserie with a smoked black gradient, much like its predecessors, 26240BA, and 16202BA.
Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding
Audemars Piguet launched the fresh Royal Oak Offshore for those who want a larger, sportier timepiece. The 43 mm stainless-steel case has a distinctive blue rubber bezel with a textured appearance, though it’s not actually frosted.
This isn’t exactly new for AP since a similar ‘Rubber Clad’ Offshore was introduced in 2002. The rubber bezel adds to the watch’s sporty look but may be prone to wear over time.
The new Offshore comes with a matching blue rubber strap and a smoked blue Méga Tapisserie dial.
Takeaway
Stunned by the recent John Mayer–AP collaboration? We were, too.
With only 200 pieces made, this limited-edition QP is hard to get your hands. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find your own one-of-a-kind masterpieces from AP either.
Visit Love Luxury to shop the best of Audemars Piguet today.
