Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Jamie Redknapp spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Jamie Redknapp, best known to football fans as a technically gifted Liverpool and England midfielder and now a fixture on the Sky Sports punditry panel, was recently spotted wearing what is arguably one of Audemars Piguet's most technically daring wristwatches — the Royal Oak Concept Carbon GMT Tourbillon, reference 26265FO. The sighting places Redknapp firmly in a very small group of collectors who wear serious high-complications daily rather than keeping them locked in a safe.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept ref. 26265FO is built around the hand-wound calibre 2954, a skeletonised movement featuring a flying tourbillon, a second time zone via an integrated GMT mechanism, and a substantial 10-day power reserve stored across twin barrels. The movement is displayed through an open-worked dial framed by AP's signature octagonal bezel, but here the case departs radically from the original Gerald Genta design — the 44mm case is crafted entirely from forged carbon, a material characterised by its randomised, matte-black fibre pattern and exceptional strength-to-weight ratio. Lug-to-lug dimensions and the integrated bracelet — itself a combination of forged carbon and titanium — keep the watch remarkably light despite the mechanical density beneath the dial.

Within the Royal Oak Concept family, the 26265FO occupies a collector-grade tier. The Concept line has historically served as AP's experimental laboratory, debuting technologies and aesthetics that occasionally filter down into the broader Royal Oak catalogue. Ref. 26265FO, however, is not a transitional experiment — it is a finished statement piece, produced in extremely limited numbers and rarely available through authorised dealers without prior purchase history.

Redknapp's watch collection is well documented among enthusiasts and has consistently leaned toward statement pieces from AP and other high-complication houses. Wearing the 26265FO on a broadcast or public engagement is not unusual for him — he treats serious watches as everyday accessories rather than collector trophies, which is arguably the correct approach to ownership.

At a UK list price of £230,000 — approximately $290,000 USD — the Royal Oak Concept Carbon GMT Tourbillon ref. 26265FO is not readily available at retail. On the secondary market, confirmed sales have tracked close to or slightly above list given scarcity and the sustained global demand for AP complications in the Concept family.