Carolina Bucci has been bringing her unique Florentine style to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak collection since 2016. To mark this year’s celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak collection, she has imagined a brand-new interpretation of this iconic model in black ceramic with multi-coloured reflections on the dial. This new limited edition timepiece attests – once again – to her incredible talent at making unique versions of the Royal Oak.
Carolina Bucci’s Audemars Piguet story is a great one to tell. It all started on the streets of New York when she spotted a lady wearing a beautiful yellow wristwatch. Captivated by this woman and her watch, she followed her into a department store to see if she could get a peek at the name on the dial. Mission accomplished, she relayed this information back to her husband (as it was nearing her birthday), only to find out the watch was no longer produced. Not deterred by such details, her husband tracked a vintage model down, much to her delight and the watch became a permanent fixture on her wrist.
The story could have ended here, but being the high profile jeweller that she is, pictures of her wearing the watch were often seen in the press, catching the eye of Audemars Piguet’s CEO, François-Henry Bennahmias. When the two finally met, he couldn’t help but ask her why she was wearing an old man’s watch and not something from the brand’s women’s collection – to which she replied that the women’s watches just didn’t do it for her! Intrigued by her confidence and sense of style, Bennahmias challenged her to design a Royal Oak for women, a challenge that she eagerly accepted.
The resulting watch – The Royal Oak Frosted Gold Carolina Bucci – was launched to mark the 40th anniversary of the first women’s Royal Oak designed by Jaqueline Dimier in 1976. It was an instant success with its Florentine hammering technique on the case and bracelet that looked like diamond dust. Two models were initially released in a choice of 37 mm and 33 mm in white or pink gold. These were followed, in 2018, by a limited edition of 300 pieces in yellow gold with a mirrored dial.
This third and latest watch collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Carolina Bucci comes in a 34 mm all-black ceramic case with a Tapisserie dial that reflects the whole spectrum of colours in the light. At first glance, the piece appears to be black, but when it moves in the light, a multitude of colours start to appear. This iridescent effect is achieved with a sapphire plate that is adorned with micro-structured squares that is then placed on top of a brass dial plate to recreate this magical play of light. A golden metallization, specially developed for the occasion, is also applied onto the back of the sapphire plate to create a mirror effect and shine light onto the dial.
“I wanted to place a rainbow in the most unexpected of places, a little like when you see oil floating on a puddle in a city street,” she explains. “So here you have every colour of the spectrum on a canvas that is completely black, which is itself the absence of colour,” she notes.
Not only is each dial unique with different reflections of colours, but the timepiece has other contrasts of hues too, with rose gold hexagonal screws standing out against the black satin-finished ceramic bezel. The pink gold colour of the screws is also repeated on the hour markers, hands, and 22-carat oscillating weight. The bracelet has been slightly revised to hide the pins connecting the links to the studs, the AP monogram on the dial has been replaced with a long-from signature that has been engraved onto the sapphire crystal and filled with white lacquer, and the caseback features the inscription “Limited Edition Carolina Bucci”.
This new Carolina Bucci limited edition is a sight to behold with its optical rainbow effect that brings a whole new play of light to the Royal Oak Collection. To get a glimpse of this unique new timepiece, you can see it exclusively in Audemars Piguet boutiques and AP Houses. It is definitely worth the detour.
