Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Watches: A Women’s World

But even as the dial’s color spectrum is in constant flux, a pattern from under the glass, metallized into the crystal, becomes apparent on close examination. And that is how the iconic Tapisserie is now transformed into a series of geometric forms. But the message is still the same. Each square represents the achievement of one brilliant human being to ensure the everlasting longevity of this beloved icon. As such, the last golden square belongs metaphorically to Carolina Bucci.

In many ways, Bucci is the perfect representative of the Royal Oak woman — independent, innovative and fearless. She was born into the jewelry craft. Her great-grandfather Ferdinando opened a workshop in Florence that specialized in the repair of pocket watches. He soon became an expert in the creation of gold chains used to accessorize these timepieces. Her grandfather and father transformed the family business into one of Florence’s most successful jewelers. But it was her inventiveness with pieces such as “Woven” — shimmering objects that used a centuries-old Florentine textile looming technique to weave precious metal — that brought her family global acclaim. The most recent version of her Woven jewelry is called Color Field and allows customers the opportunity to personalize a gem-set tapestry in diamonds and colored sapphires. Bucci, in other words, is something of a master of nuance and detail.

Audemars Piguet’s collaboration with Carolina Bucci came about like many of the brand’s most successful partnerships — and that is, by an encounter. She recalls being seated next to Audemars Piguet’s CEO Bennahmias during a lunch when he noticed she was wearing a mid-size Royal Oak from the 1980s. He asked why she wasn’t wearing a more modern version, and she replied that she hadn’t found a modern Royal Oak that “spoke to her.” With his typical aplomb, he immediately suggested that she should then design a watch that would indeed resonate with her. His exact words were, “I dare you to come up with your own design.”