Footballer Virgil Van Dijk spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

At the 2019 Best FIFA Football Awards portrait sessions in Milan, Liverpool FC defender Virgil van Dijk was photographed wearing what is arguably one of Audemars Piguet's most mechanically compelling references: the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in stainless steel with pink gold applied hour-markers, reference 15407ST.OO.1220ST.01. The sighting placed van Dijk firmly in the upper tier of footballer-collectors who go beyond entry-level luxury.

The Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked was first unveiled at SIHH 2014, built around the in-house Calibre 2953 — a manually wound skeletonised movement comprising 296 components and running at 3Hz (21,600 vph). The defining technical feature is its twin balance wheel system: two oscillators linked by a differential gear average out positional errors, delivering improved rate consistency without the complexity of a tourbillon. Power reserve stands at 72 hours, and the movement is finished to AP's exacting standards with bevelled bridges, blued screws, and Côtes de Genève striping visible through the fully open dial.

The 41mm stainless steel case retains Gerald Genta's original 1972 octagonal bezel architecture with its signature eight exposed hexagonal screws. The integrated bracelet on this reference is the brushed and polished stainless steel 1220ST, complementing the grey-toned skeleton dial accented by pink gold applied indices and rose gold-toned hands — a warm contrast that elevates the industrial transparency of the movement.

For collectors, the Double Balance Wheel Openworked occupies a sweet spot: it delivers genuine movement complexity and visual drama at a price point below AP's tourbillon references, while outclassing purely aesthetic skeleton watches. The reference 15407ST has maintained strong secondary market demand precisely because the technical story — two balance wheels, not one — is easy to communicate and genuinely meaningful.

Van Dijk's choice reflects a collector's eye rather than a brand ambassador's brief. At the time of this sighting he had just completed a season in which he was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year and PFA Players' Player of the Year. Pairing that level of professional recognition with a mechanically serious AP reference says something deliberate. On the grey market the 15407ST.OO.1220ST.01 trades around $90,000, a notable premium over its retail list price.