Kevin Hart joined Audemars Piguet in Beverly Hills to pay tribute to the Royal Oak

Le Brassus, 14 October 2022

Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet and long-time friend of the brand Kevin Hart celebrated the Royal Oak’s 50^th anniversary and the launch of the dedicated book Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon, co-hosting an exclusive cocktail dinner and star-studded after-party in Beverly Hills, California. Written by award-winning journalist Bill Prince and published by cultural publishing house Assouline, the book retraces the history of this iconic timepiece from a broader cultural lens, while shedding light on new archival materials and exclusive testimonies from a host of Audemars Piguet’s close friends such as Hart. This event paid tribute to the Royal Oak’s deep connection to the world of pop culture and to the numerous people who have made it shine across generations.

A STRONG POP CULTURE INFLUENCE

Based on their long friendship, Audemars Piguet had at heart to celebrate the Royal Oak’s jubilee and place in today’s world with actor, entrepreneur, comedian and watch collector Kevin Hart.  Guests joined the acclaimed actor, Ginny Wright, Audemars Piguet’s Chief Executive Officer for the Americas, Olivia Crouan, Audemars Piguet’s Chief Brand Officer and Bill Prince, cultural journalist and author of Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon at a private home in Beverly Hills for an exclusive cocktail dinner and after-party. The event was attended by an array of additional friends, including Adele, Rich Paul, Eniko Hart, Zach Braff, Heron Preston, 24KGoldn, Zedd, Pete Wentz, Marcus Stroman, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Ivica Zubac, Ugo Mozie, Mena Massoud, Kenya Barris, James Blake, Selah Marley, Cole Walliser, and more.

This continued celebration furthers the brand’s long-lasting connection to pop culture and the entertainment industry. Over the years, the Manufacture has developed unique encounters and cross-disciplinary collaborations with various celebrities and athletes, including Jay-Z, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Schumacher, Quincy Jones, Serena Williams and LeBron James to name but a few. These partnerships have not only acted as inspirational fuel, propelling the creation of innovative designs and feats of micro-mechanical precision in Audemars Piguet’s timepieces. They have also provided the brand with distinctive and enriching ways of sharing its core values through the universal language of emotions.

A REPRESENTATIVE OF “GENERATION ROYAL OAK”

Kevin Hart’s collaboration with the brand on this event continues his involvement in the year-long Royal Oak celebrations that debuted in April 2022. Hart notably contributed an exclusive testimony to the brand’s new book Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon, sharing his vision and expertise on this iconic timepiece. For author Bill Prince, the American actor, entrepreneur and comedian is part of what he has dubbed “Generation Royal Oak,” a group of watch connoisseurs, whose achievements reflect the global, cultural movement that inspired the iconic timepiece, including the likes of Bjarke Ingels, Elle Macpherson, Mark Ronson, Serena Williams and Ning Zetao, to name but a few.

“The Royal Oak is a clean-cut definition of who I am – especially when you get into the openworked concept. I’ve always tried to be as transparent as possible, and when you get into the skeletons – you look at the way in which the craftsmanship has been put on display – that’s

Audemars Piguet saying ‘This is who we are, this is what makes us special.’ And that is aligned with who I am.”

Kevin Hart.. Actor, entrepreneur, comedian and watch collector

This true watch lover who holds an impressive collection of high-end timepieces – each one of which represents a major step in his career – was brought into the world of Audemars Piguet through the pop culture phenomenon debuted by Jay-Z in the early 2000s. His passion for Haute Horlogerie craftsmanship, uncompromising dedication to excellence and free-spirited attitude have led him over the years to collaborate with the brand on various events. He notably co-hosted the auction of the unique Royal Oak Concept “Black Panther” Flying Tourbillon in 2021, whose proceeds benefitted the brand’s educational programme with non-profit organisations First Book and Ashoka to coincide with the launch of the brand’s partnership with Marvel Entertainment. And this is just the beginning. Kevin Hart’s enduring relationship with Audemars Piguet announces many more surprises in the years to come.

ROYAL OAK: FROM ICONOCLAST TO ICON

A NOVEL CULTURAL TAKE ON THE ROYAL OAK’S HERITAGE

Conceived by Audemars Piguet and Assouline as both a cultural reference book and a timeless object of design, Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon reflects the two brands’ uncompromising blend of heritage and innovation as well as their passionate dedication to craftsmanship, precision and excellence.

Author Bill Prince presents the Royal Oak’s history from a broader cultural perspective, including new archival materials uncovered by Audemars Piguet’s Heritage department as well as testimonies of enduring friends of the brand. He retraceshow the Royal Oak created a stir upon its release in 1972, with its armour of hand-finished stainless steel encasing the thinnest selfwinding mechanical movement of its era, and shone around the world in the decades that followed. Inspired by the profound cultural, artistic and industrial changes of the 1960s and early 1970s, this forward-looking timepiece anticipated a more active yet casual lifestyle, while heralding the beginning of a new high-end watchmaking era combining sportiness and refinement. A canvas of innovation ever since, the Royal Oak gave way to many iterations and conversed with fields as diverse as art, music, architecture and sports. Today, it is a cultural artefact beyond watchmaking, embodying the creative freedom of those who have contributed to writing its story.

The lively narrative text is illustrated with imagery from six decades of groundbreaking art, architecture, fashion, music and cultural history, paralleling the evolution of this trailblazing timepiece loved by innovative tastemakers and influential celebrities around the globe.

Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon is now available through Assouline’s network worldwide.

“Born in Le Brassus, raised around the world.”

Info about the book

Title                                                     Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon

Dimension                                            12.25 x 15.25 in. – 31 x 39 cm

Number of pages                                 296

Number of illustrations                        400

Price                                                    $ 250 – € 250 – £ 195

Release date                                        September 8, 2022

ISBN                                                    9781649800596