Did Audemars Piguet & Travis Scott Just Drop The Hottest Watch Collab Of The Year?

Some exciting Thursday horological news: Audemars Piguet and the iconic brand and label Cactus Jack, founded by Travis Scott, a new and limited-edition timepiece has been unveiled. 

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” Limited Edition is a 41mm masterpiece crafted in brown ceramic, marking a significant first for Audemars Piguet. With a rather dynamic repertoire of collaborations, including sports, pop culture, art, and entertainment, Audemars Piguet has fostered partnerships with influential personalities like Jay-Z (2005) and LeBron James (2013) — ultimately solidifying its presence in pop culture and as a rap reference. Now, Audemars Piguet has joined forces with Cactus Jack to introduce the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” Limited Edition.

This collaboration introduces a breakthrough for Audemars Piguet — its first Royal Oak model crafted in brown ceramic, a color signature to Cactus Jack. Brown ceramic offers remarkable lightweight and scratch-resistant properties, and it can be seen adorning the watch’s 41mm case and bracelet studs. Achieving a consistent and rich chocolate color in the ceramic is a meticulous and crucial step in the manufacturing process. Each component undergoes pre-polishing and pre-satin brushing before meticulous hand finishing, resulting in Audemars Piguet’s signature alternation of satin-brushed surfaces and polished chamfers.

“The chocolate AP,” as affectionately referred to by Travis Scott in his latest album, features white gold hexagonal screws and a sapphire dial that reveals the intricate architecture of caliber 5135. This movement combines rhodium-toned components with pink-gold-toned accents that echo the thin circles surrounding the day, month, and date subdials at 9, 12, and 3 o’clock, respectively. The subdials incorporate transparency to provide glimpses of the movement beneath. Hands for hours, minutes, and counters, as well as hour-markers within the seconds scale, are crafted in gold and coated with brown PVD, filled with white luminescent material that glows blue in the dark. The red arrow-shaped hand indicating the week enhances legibility during daylight hours.

In a nod to Cactus Jack’s aesthetics, numerous design elements in the watch reference the brand’s graphics. The Audemars Piguet Design team even custom-designed typography for the calendar and week indications, based on Travis Scott’s hand-drawn model. The most striking reference is found in the moon phase indication at 6 o’clock, where the traditional depiction of the Earth’s natural satellite has been replaced by Cactus Jack’s emblematic smiley face with a sewn-shut mouth. This luminescent coating glows blue in the dark, while other calendar indications, except for the week indicator, emit a green glow at night, creating a unique luminous effect.

Inside, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked “Cactus Jack” Limited Edition is the self-winding caliber 5135, a movement that automatically accounts for varying month lengths and correctly displays the date, even in leap years. Assuming the watch remains fully wound, manual correction of the date will not be required until 2100 when it will need adjustment to align with the Gregorian calendar.

The brown ceramic case and sapphire caseback reveal the intricate decorations on the movement, featuring circular satin, satin brushing, sandblasting, sunray brushing, and polished chamfers. The openworked 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight is adorned with satin brushing and polished chamfers and bears the double signatures of “Audemars Piguet” and “Cactus Jack.” The Cactus Jack logo in the center of the oscillating weight adds the final touch to this collaboration that brings together diverse universes.

Adding to the overall aesthetics of the watch, a new textured calfskin leather strap makes its debut for this collaboration, complemented by a pink gold folding clasp engraved with both “Audemars Piguet” and “Travis Scott” signatures. The caseback bears the engravings “Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar,” “Limited Edition of 200 Pieces,” and “Utopia is a state of mind,” paying homage to Scott’s latest album. This mention also appears printed on one of the strap’s mobile loops, completing the watch’s design story.

For Scott, watchmaking is the pinnacle of craftsmanship. “Watchmaking, to me, is the ultimate combo of engineering, fashion, tech, and design — a harmony of precision, craftsmanship, and perfect timing. I approached this collaboration similar to sampling or starting a beat, taking inspiration from classics while introducing innovation to push them into the future,” he explains. “I’m beyond amped about the results, a first-ever for the iconic Royal Oak. For it to be my brother Francois’ final project as CEO of AP makes it even more epic.” An epic exit, indeed.