A Tale of Two Timepieces: ALYX &

Collaborations within the fashion and luxury sectors are consistently innovating and particularly interesting when they bring together brands from different industries to forge something entirely unique. Recently, the watch world was introduced a new selection of timepieces from Audemars Piguet. You might wonder, "Audemars Piguet is a watch brand, so why are these five new pieces noteworthy enough for Oz to dedicate a blog article to them?" The answer lies in a thrilling partnership: Audemars Piguet has teamed up with ALYX to create what can only be described as an incredible collection.

But here's what adds an interesting layer to this collaboration: MAD Paris, a company specializing in watch customization (which I covered just last week), had already partnered with ALYX in the past. Furthermore, both collaborations featured adaptations of the AP Royal Oak model. While there's no concrete evidence to suggest that Audemars Piguet approached ALYX with prior knowledge of the MAD Paris-ALYX collaboration, the striking similarities in design elements and material choices can't be ignored. This raises compelling questions: Are these resemblances intentional, or are they merely serendipitous?

In this article, we'll dive into these similarities and try to answer whether they can be attributed to inspiration, influence, or simple coincidence.

Audemars Piguet X ALYX

The Audemars Piguet x ALYX collaboration is a result of two luxury brands coming together to create something genuinely remarkable. The collaboration features 5 distinct pieces: a Yellow Gold Royal Oak (limited to 194 pieces, a Yellow Gold Royal Oak Chronograph (limited to 202 pieces), a Yellow Gold Royal Oak Offshore (limited to 76 pieces), a White Gold Royal Oak Offshore (limited to 76 pieces), and a Two-Tone Royal Oak (limited to 1 piece). The AP x ALYX collaboration has the Royal Oak's signature octagonal bezel design, with subtle differences between each piece. The one thing all pieces have in common is the absence of indices and the trademark ALYX look with vertical satin finish to the dial. The unique and innovative take on the Royal Oak's design is what makes this collaboration truly exceptional.

The craftsmanship and design elements of this collaboration are top-notch. I think the collaboration added a new dimension to a true masterpiece. Also, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak design and shape works as a great canvas for artists to work on and new collaborations to come to life. I personally would have preferred more texture, adding just a bit more of that AP DNA to the collaboration, but the way they’ve been created are a masterclass in watchmaking and design.

MAD Paris x ALYX

Now let’s talk bit about the MAD Paris x ALYX collaboration, made for Browns. This collaboration took place in 2021 and when it came out no one really talked about it. However, the collaboration resulted in three watches: MAD x ALYX Steel Royal Oak (limited to 40 pieces), a MAD x ALYX Rose Gold Royal Oak (limited to 10 pieces), and a MAD x ALYX Yellow Gold (limited to 5 pieces). Before you go back and re-read the article, let me clarify something: Yes, you read that correctly. MAD x ALYX collaboration used an AP Royal Oak as its base-but more on that later. These pieces all feature the essence of ALYX, with the absence of indices, the signature “Rollercoaster” buckle, and hand-brushed circular pattern to finish off the dial. However, MAD Paris, as we’ve talked about it earlier, found a way to add the design of ALYX without altering canonical look of the Royal Oak. Yes, it is not the same watch with a factory Royal Oak, but MAD used the lines of the original watch to create a contrast between their customization and the original piece which adds character.

Elephant in the Room: Did AP copy MAD?

Well, everything I wrote this far about both of the ALYX collaboration has been fair, I think, but there is one issue that we should address. Why are the two watches look the same? The similarities between these two collaborations are striking. Especially the yellow god MAD Paris and Yellow Gold Audemars Piguet look very similar to one another. I’ll highlight the main differences for you.

The biggest difference is the base watch. AP preferred a regular yellow gold Royal Oak, while MAD went for a Royal Oak Jumbo extra thin. The second difference is that MAD displays the date while AP doesn’t. Third difference is that, and this is a big one (!), AP version has “Audemars Piguet” written on the dial while MAD has “AP.” That is about it. These two pieces are nearly identical.

Now since we established that the similarities between these two collaborations are undeniable, lets consider how they came to be. It's worth noting that Audemars Piguet x ALYX collaboration came out relatively new while MAD Paris x ALYX design has been around since 2021, and there's no evidence that AP was aware of MAD’s project. Therefore, it's more likely that the similarities are coincidental, or I think we can call it the ALYX effect rather than intentional.

That being said, hypothetically if AP designers saw the collaboration between MAD Paris and ALYX, and said ‘Wait. That is a Royal Oak. We make Royal Oaks. Let's call ALYX and do this in our factory” could we judge them? Probably not. Personally I think both collaborations and designs look great. However, if I had to choose one, I would probably get the piece from AP, just because I enjoy chronographs.

Nevertheless, I really wish AP used different pieces as its base. Just imagine for a second if they went for a Code 11.59 instead of the Yellow Gold Royal Oak or used an Offshore Diver instead of one of the Offshores. That would have been it for me. That would be so interesting and fun to see how they would have incorporated the design of ALYX to a Code. Just my own idea.

I think these collaborations are signals that other collaborations between luxury brands and designers will continue to create innovative and beautiful designs for watch enthusiasts worldwide. While there may be similarities between these collaborations, it's not right to assume that one copied the other. When there is art and innovation, it is impossible for different parties to not get influenced from one another. What's important is that we appreciate these collaborations' unique designs and craftsmanship, regardless of how they came to be.

As collaborations between luxury watch producers and artists increase in popularity, I can almost guarantee that we will have similar situations like this. As watch enthusiast, we should not have strict ideas for such collaborations either between artists and watch producers or artists and companies like MAD Paris. I think we can learn to appreciate the differences between each design and enjoy each piece in its own unique way.