John Mayer Knows What Makes the Royal Oak Truly Special

John Mayer made his very own Royal Oak with Audemars Piguet and released it last year. It’s a really good one, too. The watch boasts wonders both aesthetic, like its sparkly starry sky dial, and mechanical, with its perpetual calendar function. However, this week, not even Mayer could resist the charms of this discontinued Royal Oak.

A Royal Oak with perpetual calendar and openworked movement, the reference 25829ST is proof that AP has long been ahead of the game in terms of thought-provoking designs and compelling complications. Though Gérald Genta designed the Royal Oak as a simple three-hand model in the early 1970s, the prototypical luxury sports watch proved an excellent platform on which to build successively more complicated fare. Between 1996 and 2023, the maison produced this QP with openworked movement in a run of 371 steel pieces (plus several hundred others in precious metals and two-tone). We all know the ironic premium that stainless steel carries in the luxury sports watch world—which is why one of these hammered at Phillips for 302,400 Swiss francs (or roughly $317,000 ) in 2022.

The steel construction is what makes this the platonic ideal of a Royal Oak. What a man of Mayer’s taste and knowledge surely understands and appreciates is that while this watch is now churned out in ceramic, gold, and everything in between, it’s meant to be in steel. Original advertisements for the Royal Oak revel in the fact the watch was made out of the more humble material. “What makes steel more valuable than gold?” one ad asks. “In two words, Audemars Piguet.” Another spread brags, “You’re looking at the costliest stainless steel watch in the world.” So to see a steel version of the watch with the grande perpetual calendar complication makes this watch very special.

Measuring 39 mm in diameter, the ref. 25829ST features a vertically brushed case with a matching inetgrated bracelet and the Royal Oak’s classic octagonal, screwed bezel. Via a sapphire crystal, the wearer has a clear view of the skeletonized, automatic cal. 2120/2802 movement and the wide array of information it displays. In addition to central hours, minutes, and chronograph seconds, it features a combination month and leap year display at 12 o’clock, a date display at 3 o’clock, a moon phase display at 6 o’clock, and a day display at 9 o’clock. Blued steel hands on these small subdials aid in legibility, though the pairing of skeletonization and thin leaf handset means that this isn’t necessarily the most easily readable Royal Oak on the market.

Without an openworked steel perpetual calendar in the current collection, however, the ref. 25829ST still fills a hole. Handsome and relatively compact, it’s still a beautiful design over 20 years after its release.

Daniel Dae Kim’s A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual

Deep watch guy Daniel Dae Kim can always be counted on for a good horological sighting. He may have outdone himself, however, with his latest fit. At the Tony Awards Sunday, he rocked a perpetual calendar-quipped version of A. Lange & Söhne’s beloved Datograph. Housed in a white gold case with a handsome grey dial, this was the German marque’s first model combining a chronograph with a perpetual calendar in the mode of a Patek Philippe ref. 2499.

Dirk Nowitzki’s Patek Philippe Aquanaut

German-born ex-Maverick power forward Dirk Nowitzki appeared at Roland Garros looking dapper in a seersucker suit and a Patek Philippe Aquanaut. The timepiece looked positively petite on his 7’0”-tall frame despite its 42.2-mm diameter. Featuring a white gold case and the collection’s famed embossed dial in a blue-black gradient pattern, the ref. 5186G-001 is just 8.25 mm thick and features a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. Originally launched as a sportier, younger cousin to the flagship Royal Oak, the Aquanaut is one of the brand’s simplest, sportiest designs—and one of its best-looking modern watches.

Pharrell Williams’s Richard Mille RM 74-02

Noted Richard Mille evangelist Pharrell Williams was likewise in attendance at Roland Garros. Paired to his LV look and matched to an assortment of gold jewelry was the RM 74-02, a new automatic tourbillon reference housed in an eye-catching gold carbon TPT tonneau-shaped case. Outfitted with the skeletonized cal. CRMT5—whose bridges are likewise made of gold—it’s constructed of thin sheets of quartz fiber that are embedded with strands of 22K 5N rose gold. Available also in grey cermet (RM 74-01) as well as a black and gold version made with gold carbon TPT and gold quartz TPT, the RM 74-02 will set you back a cool $550,000.

Kai Cenat’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked

American streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat—who has over 15M Instagram followers, in case you’re keeping score—showed up to the NBA Finals with quite a piece of wristwear. Seated courtside, he wore an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked, a time-only version of the brand’s famed luxury sports watch boasting a second balance wheel for increased stability and chronometric precision. (You can get a glimpse at some of the magic going on within the openworked movement via the dial.) Housed in a 41 mm rose gold case with a matching integrated bracelet, it ain’t subtle—but it’s a ton of fun.