Audemars Piguet Taps Watch Connoisseur John Mayer To Design A New Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar

“My favorite 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,” notes John Mayer on his new creation with Audemars Piguet. As I was poking through the release of the new timepiece, one thing remained clear to me: Mayer’s deep connection to timepieces and their intricacies almost mirrors his deep connection to the lyrics in his [many] acclaimed songs. Mayer’s passions run deep, and it couldn’t be more clear in his collaboration design of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar equipped with the AP selfwinding Caliber 5134. 

As a long-time friend of AP, watch enthusiast, and now ‘Creative Conduit’ for the brand, Mayer has combined his knack and fascination for timepieces with the esteemed heritage of AP to partner on the new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” Limited Edition, limited to just 200 pieces. 

At the surface, the watch is simply stunning with a dynamic dial that echoes Mayer’s sentiment on the dial becoming a ‘picture window,’ combining 18-kara white cold with a new “Crystal Sky” dial in a range of blue hues. Mayer closely collaborated with the AP design teams to craft  the “Crystal Sky” dial, infusing depth into an iconic Audemars Piguet complication. Every element synergizes to evoke a feeling of boundlessness, accentuating the timepiece’s infinity. The brass dial boasts a new, dazzling motif inspired by Mayer’s vision, featuring crystal-like irregular shapes for added brilliance. Through meticulous craftsmanship, the intricate pattern was formed atom by atom via electroforming. In this exclusive edition, the motif is presented in a rich blue hue using Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD), enhancing its depth and luminosity, while subdials and calendar indications offer functional elegance against the textured backdrop.

To better the overall legibility, May also introduced subtle modifications to the perpetual calendar display like the “31” of the date subdial is usually red on modern Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar models 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.” He also selected a lighter blue shade 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. And 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. 

Inside, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar “John Mayer” Limited Edition will be the last limited edition equipped with the selfwinding perpetual calendar movement, Caliber 5134, marking an end to a legendary history that began over 45 years ago. 

A brief historical digression: during the quartz crisis, AP defied expectations with the release of the thinnest self-winding perpetual calendar wristwatch of its time, powered by the Caliber 2120/2800. Developed covertly by three dedicated watchmakers, this revolutionary movement achieved its remarkable thinness of 3.95 mm by building upon the ultra-thin Caliber 2120 as its foundation, first introduced in 1967. Over the following 18 years, more than 7,000 movements were meticulously crafted, cased, and sold, marking a significant turning point for Audemars Piguet and sparking a resurgence of traditional complications. In 1984, the Caliber 2120 powered the inaugural Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, followed by subsequent iterations, including the 2015 adaptation with the Caliber 5134 in a larger 41 mm case. This new movement not only retained its slender profile at 4.3 mm but also rejuvenated interest in the perpetual calendar complication, leading to iconic releases such as the 2017 Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26579CE in black ceramic. Today, Caliber 5134 ensures accurate date tracking, accommodating leap years and requiring manual correction only once in 2100, while boasting a frequency of 2.75 Hz and a 40-hour power reserve. The caliber is shown through the sapphire caseback, revealing intricate decorations such as Côtes de Genève and a rhodium-toned 22-carat pink gold openworked oscillating weight adorned with Audemars Piguet’s signature Tapisserie motif.

For Mayer, there is no higher complication: “The perpetual calendar is for me the ultimate complication, the benchmark for high horology, and though there are complications that are more complex, the historical footing of the QP in the history of watchmaking is what makes it stand out. Caliber 5134 will go down in history as one that defined an era of watch collecting – and public enthusiasm at large — for a complication that had not enjoyed that kind of attention and desire before,” he notes.

From the surface design to the insanely complicated interior workings, Mayer and Audemars Piguet have released a horological novelty like no other — and while we are in awe of the timepiece, we can’t say we are that surprised as these two timepiece giants were bound to create something remarkable.