Audemars Piguet Turns the Royal Oak Into High Jewelry—Exclusively Selling Them in Private

For 54 years, the Royal Oak has been sold as a watch. Now Audemars Piguet is selling the bracelet on its own. Royal Oak Joaillerie, unveiled in Paris on October 2, 2026, turns the Royal Oak’s integrated bracelet into 19 necklaces, chokers, cuffs and earrings that do not tell time — and it is the clearest statement yet of Audemars Piguet’s high jewelry ambitions.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

The push comes from the top. Chief executive Ilaria Resta, who joined in 2024 from the consumer goods world, notably beauty, has hired additional gemologists and engravers, according to The Business of Fashion. “It’s the first time we truly do a jewellery collection that is extremely laser focused, glorifying the Royal Oak,” Resta told the publication, noting that the brand’s past jewelry production had been intermittent and small in scale.

The idea started on her wrist. When Resta first saw prototypes of the Frosted Gold Royal Oak Mini, she slipped all three gold versions on at once, and a colleague remarked, “You’re wearing them like jewellery!” according to Audemars Piguet’s own heritage team. The Mini, launched in 2024 and thin enough to stack like bangles, became the precursor to the new collection.

It also fits a broader strategy. Resta is leading a push with female shoppers — the brand recently launched a white ceramic and pink Royal Oak with Serena Williams — and oversaw a sold-out pocket watch collaboration with Swatch priced under $500. BoF notes that watchmakers across the industry are widening their ranges to reach younger buyers, and jewelry lets Audemars Piguet do both without diluting the watch.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

The heritage argument is a strong one. Gérald Genta, who designed the Royal Oak in 1972, trained as a jeweler, and the watch’s alternating satin-brushed and polished surfaces were designed to create a play of light reminiscent of a diamond’s facets. “The truth is, Gérald Genta created an iconic watch,” Resta told Wallpaper. “But even more, he created an iconic statement bracelet.”

The collection launches in three lines, co-designed with Nathalie Barzilay: Dream of Joux, Risoud Eclipse and a Frosted Gold series, each inspired by the Vallée de Joux, where the company has been based since 1875. The showpiece is the Dream of Joux tie necklace, set with 42 pear-shaped diamonds totaling about 63 carats and 1,670 blue sapphires snow-set across blue titanium links.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet

How it sells is as telling as what it is. Before Paris, the pieces were shown to select clients at private events in Bangkok, Zurich and Saint-Tropez, and Wallpaper reports that the one-of-a-kind and customizable creations are destined for private trunk shows. Audemars Piguet has not published prices.

Audemars Piguet is not trying to become Cartier. It is betting that the Royal Oak is bigger than a watch — and for a brand whose clients already wear the bracelet as a status symbol, that is a shrewd bet.

For a piece-by-piece look at the collection, see Haute Time’s full Royal Oak Joaillerie breakdown, and for more of Haute Living’s jewelry coverage, see The Art of Adornment: How Gucci Interprets Heritage in High Jewelry.