Launching right in the middle of a buzzy, media-frenzied Paris Fashion Week, Audemars Piguet has unveiled its debut Royal Oak Joaillerie collection. Watch enthusiasts will instantly clock the name of Audemars Piguet’s signature timepiece, the Swiss watchmaker’s famed 1970s luxury sports watch. Yet, in a surprising twist, the 18-piece suite of jewels does not feature a single watch, presenting instead an exquisite array of necklaces, earrings, cuffs, and chokers.
The new high jewelry collection—expertly set with precious and non-precious stones in gold and titanium—marks Audemars Piguet’s bold foray into luxury’s brightest and most promising sector. Anchoring the collection, as the name suggests, are the timeless design codes of the Royal Oak. Fans will immediately recognize the signature interlocking links of the Royal Oak watch bracelet, which famously plays with light through a meticulous mix of polished and brushed finishes.
Rather than simply shrinking or pasting watch components onto jewelry, the creations riff directly off elements from the watchmaker’s home in the Vallée de Joux, ranging from the region’s frozen winter lakes to its native local flora. Among the standout pieces is the statement-making Dream of Joux tie-style necklace, crafted from white gold and anodized blue titanium. This striking creation is trimmed with 42 pear-shaped diamonds totaling around 63 carats, alongside a staggering 1,670 blue sapphires weighing over five carats. A matching set of earrings completes the ensemble, topped with eight pear-shaped diamonds ranging between 1.5 and 3 carats each, paired harmoniously with 196 blue sapphires.
Further head-turning gemstones arrive courtesy of the Risoud Eclipse necklace and cuff, named after a local forest in the Swiss region. Cool and edgy, the blackened titanium and white gold design sparkles with noteworthy emeralds. The necklace features five sugarloaf stones totaling around 16.5 carats, while the cuff incorporates three emeralds of approximately 12 carats, with both pieces delicately sprinkled with diamonds to catch the light from every angle.
The collection also introduces six bejeweled cuffs that pay poetic tribute to local nature. The Sunburst Royal Oak cuff presents a joyful, vibrant spray of orange and yellow sapphires alongside spessartites. Meanwhile, the Blueberries Royal Oak cuff feels significantly more literal in its shimmering depiction of a blueberry bush branch. This intricate piece is meticulously crafted with 506 leaf-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds, 19 amethyst cabochons, and 16 black spinel cabochons.
Finally, the collection offers a selection of fine jewelry-style chokers and cuffs designed to be more wearable for everyday life. These pieces are likely to pair effortlessly with a client’s existing Royal Oak watch. They are rendered in Audemars Piguet’s signature Frosted Gold finish—the subtle, shimmering hammered gold look that the watchmaker famously pioneered with the Florentine jewelry designer Carolina Bucci in 2016, and which remains a deeply coveted finish among collectors today.
While a pure jewelry collection might seem daring and slightly unexpected for a historic watchmaker, it is not entirely out of left field for Audemars Piguet. Since the 19th century, the manufacturer has frequently created stylish pendant and ring watches in tandem with renowned jewelers like Tiffany, Cartier, and Bulgari. In the 1980s, the house established its own dedicated jewelry workshop, later creating jaw-dropping pieces like the Baroque cuff watch for the maison’s 125th anniversary, which was lavishly set with diamonds, yellow sapphires, and pink sapphires. More recently, collectors will vividly remember the punk-style Diamond Trilogy secret watch collection introduced between 2015 and 2017.
Jewelry right now represents a strong commercial bet and a notably bright spot in an otherwise muted luxury landscape. In May, Morgan Stanley reduced its overall growth estimate for the luxury sector to 2.5 percent for 2026, as macroeconomic uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East continue to dampen market outlooks. Amid these headwinds, customers are increasingly forgoing apparel and seasonal fashion in favor of fine jewelry, viewing the sector as a secure investment and embracing a "flight to quality" mode, while strong gold prices further entice luxury purchases. It is little wonder that jewelry acts as the driving engine at major luxury conglomerates like Richemont, whose dedicated jewelry maisons posted a stellar 24 percent growth in their third quarter ending June 30, while traditional watchmakers performed comparatively at 8 percent.
Within Audemars Piguet itself, the company has long tried to diversify beyond its singular Royal Oak icon, expanding, for example, its round-style Code 11.59 watch collection with new dial variations and complications over the years. A dedicated Royal Oak jewelry collection is now another strategic attempt at placing eggs in different baskets, and it could prove significantly more promising. Setting their high jewelry pieces with noteworthy emeralds and sapphires speaks directly to a booming global trend for colored stones in fine jewelry. At the same time, AP is clearly tapping into the immense purchasing potential of women who are increasingly buying high jewelry for themselves.
Indeed, the primary inspiration for the Royal Oak Joaillerie collection stemmed directly from the house’s existing clients—specifically observing the soaring popularity of its compact 23 mm Royal Oak Mini.
"We saw clients stacking and wearing them almost as jewelry, which showed us that there was a very contemporary way of living with the Royal Oak beyond the watch itself," says Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta.
One senses that this debut is merely the beginning, with industry observers expecting the house to expand upon the Royal Oak Joaillerie concept with gusto, much like it did with the foundational Royal Oak watch over the decades.
"We wanted to explore that design language in a new form," Resta adds. "Rather than reproducing familiar Royal Oak codes, we looked at the bracelet almost as an object in its own right and asked how its geometry, rhythm, and movement could translate into jewelry. That opens up a different creative space for us."
Hype-led, rule-breaking ideas have long been the quintessential Audemars Piguet modus operandi, and high jewelry is now set to serve as an exciting new creative canvas for the historic Swiss brand.
