Tennis player Gaël Monfils spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Gaël Monfils, one of tennis's most athletically gifted and stylistically expressive players, has been spotted wearing a stunning Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel — a watch that sits comfortably at the intersection of haute horlogerie and iconic sports-luxury design.

The watch in question is almost certainly the Reference 26574ST.OO.1220ST.02, introduced in 2019 as part of AP's broader effort to bring the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar into a more contemporary 41mm format. The deep blue "Grande Tapisserie" dial is one of the model's most compelling features, offering a rich, layered texture that shifts under light. Three silver-toned subsidiary dials display the day, month, and date, while the moonphase aperture at six o'clock — rendered in AP's signature deep blue enamel — adds a genuinely poetic touch to an otherwise architecturally precise dial.

Powering the piece is the Calibre 5134, an ultra-thin self-winding perpetual calendar movement measuring just 4.31mm in height. It delivers instantaneous jumping displays for all calendar indications and is certified to require no date correction until 2100, accounting for leap years with mechanical precision. The 59-jewel movement operates at 19,800 vph and offers approximately 40 hours of power reserve — modest by modern standards but a reasonable trade-off for the movement's extraordinary thinness.

For collectors, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar occupies a singular position in the AP universe. It is simultaneously one of the most technically complex and aesthetically coherent watches the manufacture produces — Gerald Genta's octagonal bezel with eight hexagonal screws remains as visually compelling today as it was in 1972, and the perpetual calendar complications integrate seamlessly without crowding the dial. Stainless steel references consistently outperform gold variants on the secondary market in terms of demand.

Monfils, married to fellow tennis professional Elina Svitolina, has cultivated a reputation for refined off-court taste. This Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar sighting reflects a collector who values mechanical depth over flash — a watch that rewards those who look closely. On the grey market, this reference currently commands a meaningful premium above its already substantial retail price.