Kaws collaborates with Audemars Piguet and Squid Game

It’s now official for a few weeks, the famous contemporary street artist KAWS has collaborated with Audemars Piguet to create a new limited edition 43 mm Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon watch, which explores new creative territories. The pop art artist also announced a few days ago a collaboration with Netflix to create a character inspired by Young-He, the famous doll from the game 1,2,3 soleil from the Squid Game series. Entirely crafted in titanium, the new Audemars Piguet watch is imbued with the creative and aesthetic universe of New York artist KAWS, as it integrates a miniature COMPANION at its heart. KAWS thus transforms the watch into a three-dimensional work of art. The famous character is strategically positioned under the glass, giving the impression of “looking” through it or even wanting to come out!

Its distinctive features, typical of the COMPANION character, namely a skull-shaped head and X-shaped eyes, as well as bone-shaped gloves and ears, make it a unique element. The tourbillon visible through the character’s chest blurs the boundaries between mechanical movement and artistic expression. The 8 screws that seal the bezel to the case are cross-slotted according to the artist’s design and more particularly that of the eyes of his COMPANION character.

The new Royal OAK model with a Companion character integrated inside

“This collaboration allowed us to push our limits in terms of watchmaking technology. By positioning the character at the center of the watch, we created a spectacular scenography and completely redesigned the hour and minute display on the periphery of the movement,” says Lucas RAGGI, Director of Research and Development at Audemars Piguet.

The 43-millimeter-diameter titanium case combines several finishing techniques. Its alternating sandblasting, satin-finishing and polishing are visible. The hand-wound movement, Caliber 2979, has remarkable features. First, there is a tourbillon at 6 o’clock that compensates for the effects of gravity, with a rotating cage that performs one revolution per minute. It also delivers a very comfortable 72-hour power reserve. Last but not least, the model introduces a unique hour display. Leaving the COMPANION an optimal space within the case, the designers and engineers at Audemars Piguet have chosen to make the… hands of the watch disappear.

Ci-dessus le street artiste KAWS au travail, avec sur son poignet le nouveau modèle de Royal Oak Audemars Piguet

The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” incorporates KAWS’s aesthetic on both sides of the watch. In a nod to the artist’s iconic Dissected series of characters and sculptures, the COMPANION’s torso reveals the watch’s tourbillon at its beating heart. The 3D miniature character, made entirely of titanium, is mounted on the dial plate, also made of titanium and decorated with a sunburst pattern. Its satin and sandblasted finishes give it texture and depth, while accentuating its rounded silhouette. In order to ensure a clear view of the miniature COMPANION on the dial side, the time has been set aside thanks to a peripheral display. The hour and minute hands rotate on the side thanks to two superimposed gears, driven by pinions and guided by rollers.

Offered in a limited edition of just 250 numbered pieces, this Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon COMPANION features an engraved KAWS signature, interchangeable calfskin straps and finishes that subtly play on textures and lights. It is offered at a price of over €200,000.

Comme on le voit dans la vidéo ci-dessus, à l’occasion de ce lancement de produit et de cette nouvelle collaboration, le street artiste New Yorkais a installé une nouvelle sculpture géante directement sur le toit du siège de Audemars Piguet, en Suisse, à la manufacture du Brassus. Elle se prénome Kaws Holiday Le Brassus. Il s’agit en fait d’un ballon gonflable, identique à ceux qui ont rendu le sculpteur célèbre et qui reprenaient ses principaux personnages ou figurines (BFF, COMPANION, CHUM etc). Chaque installation est l’occasion d’une exposition et d’un lancement d’une nouvelle figurine commercialisée à 500 exemplaires. Beaucoup sont vendues chez Class Art Biarritz (The promise, holiday Shanghai, Holiday UK etc). Voir sur ce lien les œuvres de Kaws proposées par la galerie.

Ci-dessus en photo, le companion Kaws Holiday Le Brassus, qui est également déclinée sous forme d’une figurine en bois signée et numérotée, Kaws Time Together.

KAWS has created a limited edition walnut sculpture of COMPANION. Standing 45 cm tall, it overlooks the iconic Audemars Piguet headquarters. A symbol of the artist and the Manufacture’s commitment to meticulous craftsmanship. The sculpture is called Time Together and is being produced in a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered copies. It is being sold on the artist’s website for $16,000.

Ci-dessus la nouvelle figurine de Kaws, en bois, signée et numérotée, Time Together.

The famous watch brand has multiplied its collaborations with contemporary artists and creators from pop art culture, constantly questioning and reinventing the perception of Haute Horlogerie.

Here are two examples for the record. Partnership with Marvel (2021 and 2023): this is a series of watches inspired by superheroes, including a Black Panther edition and a Spider-Man edition, which integrated graphic elements of the character into the design of the watch. Collaboration with Cactus Jack by Travis Scott (2023): this is an edition of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar that reflects the rapper's artistic and musical universe, with personalized details.

For his part, the artist Kaws, as for him, is chaining new projects since he has just announced a collaboration with Netflix, to create a character in homage to Young-hee, the famous doll who referees the game 1,2,3 Soleil in the equally famous series Squid Game. As we see in the photo below, the Kaws figurine takes the brown hair and the orange outfit of the doll, adding the skeleton ears, and the cross eyes of his own character COMPANION.

Ci-dessus en photo, Kaws Young He, éditée et commercialisée en collaboration avec DDT Store et All Rights Reserved. Ses bras sont articulés afin qu’elle puisse se cacher les yeux pendant les parties de jeu, comme dans la série Squid Game.

The Squid Game series tells the story of a group of people, heavily in debt, and even ruined, who risk their lives in a mysterious survival game with a huge sum of money at stake for the winner. The most iconic game is 1,2,3 suns, in a version where the losers are all killed by the doll.

This is the artist's first collaboration for a television series, even if he has already created companions in the image of Start Wars characters, such as Darth Vader, Boba Fett, or the Stormtroopers. These have become some of the artist's most highly rated and sought-after figurines.