Audemars Piguet: Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer”

From collector to friend of brand to designer… Seven-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist John Mayercollaborated with Audemars Piguet to design the latest version of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar equipped with the self-winding Caliber 5134.

In the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” Limited Edition each detail comes together to give the timepiece a sense of infinity. The brass “Crystal Sky” dial plate is finished with a new scintillating pattern developed by Audemars Piguet’s artisans to give life to John Mayer’s vision. The embossed motif is composed of irregular shapes resembling crystals, whose sharp angles and facets add relief and brilliance to the piece. To achieve this level of detail and complexity, the stamping die was created atom by atom, through a metal deposition process known as electroforming. 

“My favourite watches have dials that you can stare endlessly at. 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. There is a true sense of nature in it. And when you couple that sense of depth and vastness with the complication of a perpetual calendar, it is a very powerful combination of technical prowess and aesthetic design.”

For this limited edition, the new motif has been created in a deep blue shade using Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD), a technique that preserves and enhances the depth of the pattern, while maximising the play of light. The textured dial is complemented by subdials in a matching blue PVD colour that display the day at 9 o’clock, the month and leap year at 12 o’clock and the date at 3 o’clock. To provide visual contrast, the calendar indications are printed in white on the blue outer zones of the subdials, while the weeks appear in white on the dial’s blue outer ring. Similarly, the 18-carat white gold hour-markers and hands stand out against the blue background, their luminescent material making them even more visible in dim light. 

To enhance legibility, John Mayer has brought subtle modifications to the perpetual calendar display that only become apparent on closer inspection. While the number “31” of the date subdial is usually red on modern Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar models, it is now printed in white. Also, the two numerals of the “31” are now smaller in size and slightly stepped to distinguish them from the adjacent “1”. In addition, John Mayer chose a light blue colour for the week indicator that “could fall back into the dial when simply reading the time but easily be found when looking to read the week complication,” as he explains. 

The laser-microstructured moon phase indicator at 6 o’clock, which is set against an aventurine background, completes the dial’s overall design. For the first time, the “Swiss Made” inscription is printed in white at the bottom of the moon phase subdial rather than on the dial’s outer edge at 6 o’clock – another subtle visual distinction only noticeable on closer look. 

The dial is framed in 18-carat white gold, a precious material prized by collectors. The case and bracelet are both finished with the Manufacture’s alternation of satin brushing and polished chamfers. The polished bevels on the bezel and bracelet links enhance the play of light created by the Royal Oak’s multifaceted architecture. Lastly, the white gold frame of the sapphire caseback is engraved with “Royal Oak Quantieme Perpetuel” and “Limited Edition of 200 Pieces.”