Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon at Christie's

From August 24th to September 7th, Christie's Hong Kong will host an online auction on the theme "Watches Online: The Legend of Black Panther". The auction will feature an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon (Lot 46), the first "superhero" watch to be released by Audemars Piguet in collaboration with Marvel, in a limited edition of only 250 pieces.

About Audemars Piguet

The Audemars Piguet logo, AP, is composed of the first letters of the last names of the founders, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, "A" and "P". The founders of Audemars Piguet have always been fascinated by the art of watchmaking, specializing in the development of ultra-thin mechanical parts and creating sophisticated mechanical watches that have won numerous awards. Audemars Piguet's brand philosophy has always been to "harness the conventional to forge innovation". The two men have maintained this philosophy, creating a unique vision for the brand and leaving a legacy of classic and timeless creations. To this day, the Audemars Piguet family business remains in the hands of its descendants, with inspiration in the blood and a passion for watchmaking that remains undiminished.

The independent spirit of Audemars Piguet, which does not follow the crowd, was even more exquisitely demonstrated in 1972. The Royal Oak collection was launched in 1972, breaking away from the conventions of the watchmaking industry and, like Rolex and Baume & Mercier, breaking away from the norms of the time.

Audemars Piguet's tradition of creating exquisite creations by "expert hand-crafting" is timeless. Audemars Piguet engraves the name of the maker on the back of each timepiece as a guarantee of responsibility. Even when a part has been out of production for twenty years, Audemars Piguet can still repair it for its customers by consulting the manufacturing data preserved, thus guaranteeing quality for generations.

Black Panther Flying Tourbillon

Released in April 2021, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon was created thanks to the longstanding friendship between François-Henry Bennahmias, the brand's global CEO, and Don Cheadle, the role-player in both The Avengers and Gears of War and takes its name and design from the Prince of Wakanda, the Black Panther, in the Marvel comics.

The watch features a 42mm titanium case with a laser-cut white gold Panther dial and black ceramic bezel, a hand-wound in-house caliber 2965 movement with a one-minute flying tourbillon, and a purple rubber strap. The purple and black color scheme is inspired by "vibranium", a fictional metal native to Wakanda with a natural purple glow. The watch comes with an Audemars Piguet original guarantee card, product documentation, original box, and outer packaging, and is estimated at HKD3-5 million before the auction.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Panther Flying Tourbillon was reportedly issued at 150,000 Swiss francs after Audemars Piguet had auctioned one for $5.2 million to benefit charity.

Alexandre Bigler, Christie's Vice President and Head of Watches, Asia Pacific, said, "Following a strong first half of the year, we are delighted to open the second half of the year with a tandem online auction featuring the prestigious Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon. This is lot 46 of the sale and the first Panther watch to be sold at auction, no doubt a great opportunity that many collectors have been waiting for."

 

Alexandre Bigler added: "Audemars Piguet previously sold an orphaned version of the same model for $5.2 million to raise funds for two charities, First Book and Ashoka, the most expensive brand timepiece ever sold. The previous sale of the orphaned model inevitably boosted the appeal of the Panther, after all, Audemars Piguet produced just 250 of them and they all sold out."