An all-new Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon limited edition, co-designed by Tamara Ralph, was launched at Haute Couture Week.
Our eyes were peeled not only for Tamara Ralph’s gorgeous spring/summer 2024 collection during Haute Couture Week in Paris, but also for the gorgeous Audemars Piguet watch she sent on the runway along with them. The all-new Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon limited edition is inspired by Ralph’s aesthetic, a magical mix of feminine strength matched with timeless elegance.
When we last interviewed Ralph just after her inaugural show in July last year, she tells us clients love her work because of its femininity and its elegant and sophisticated details that don’t lose the modern touch. “I think that’s part of my ingrained design aesthetic that won’t change and will always be there,” she told us at the time.
And it’s this very DNA in her work that appealed to Audemars Piguet. Ralph collaborated with Audemars Piguet once before, in 2020, when she was still part of the duo behind the Ralph & Russo brand. The watchmaker brought along several of its watches to pair with their Spring/Summer 2021 ready-to-wear collection. It was a fun and natural partnership, and as AP’s former CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias conceded then, “We actually realised that our watches had already been paired with their exceptional designs many times by clients in real life who didn’t need to wait for this partnership to match our two brands.”
Coming together for a second partnership, this time with Ralph herself, was a no-brainer. Starting off the new year with a first collaborative women’s watch is perhaps symbolic in more ways than one. This month, Ilaria Resta also officially steps into her role as AP’s new CEO, making history as Audemars Piguet’s first female CEO.
Ralph’s limited edition watch is based on a version of the Royal Oak Concept Frosted Gold Flying Tourbillon that was released in 2020 that showcased a contemporary dial design of blue concentric circles lined in gold and graded to draw your eyes onto the diamond-encrusted flying tourbillon at the 6 o’clock position. Frosted gold was used on the two versions released at the time, one in white gold and one in rose gold, marking the first time the Florentine hammered gold technique was used on a Royal Oak Concept case. A ladies timepiece, the watch was sized at 38.5mm, with the hand-wound calibre 2964 beating inside at 3 Hz and a 72-hour power reserve.
The Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon “Tamara Ralph” limited edition, inspired by haute couture, is in 18K pink Frosted Gold and limited to 102 pieces only. The dial is rendered in a colour palette of bronze and gold, and plays with layers, textures and colours, and as with the previous versions, hour-markers are left out of the timepiece to retain the purity of the dial design. To match with the watch, the strap is bronze-toned with a pearly finish. A second watch strap, in brown alligator leather, is also provided.
Haute couture inspired the watch design, and vice versa, Tamara Ralph’s spring/summer 2024 collection was inspired by time. Red carpet gowns played with dimensions and different materials, and high jewellery elements were beautiful stand-outs in the collection. Watch the runway here, and if you look closely, you’ll spot the limited edition watch appearing on a few of the models.
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Stephanie Ip
Managing Editor
A print and multimedia journalist, Stephanie has written for several of Hong Kong's most prominent luxury lifestyle publications on topics spanning watches and jewellery, travel, beauty, and fashion. She lives an active lifestyle, is always curious about the next health trend, but will never turn down a drink, or two, or three.
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