Watch Paparazzi

Actor Sanjay Dutt spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Sanjay Dutt, one of Hindi cinema's most bankable and culturally iconic actors, was recently photographed wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Black Diamond' Chronograph — a watch that sits at the absolute intersection of haute horlogerie and high-end jewellery watchmaking. The sighting reinforces Dutt's long-established reputation as one of Bollywood's most serious watch collectors.

The Royal Oak Offshore 'Black Diamond' is built on the AP reference 26176IO.BB.D101CR.01 platform, housing the in-house Calibre 3126/3840 automatic chronograph movement. This movement delivers a 50-hour power reserve and beats at 21,600 vph, offering the robust, reliable performance AP expects from its Offshore line. The case measures 44mm in black DLC-treated titanium — the same construction that gives the watch its matte, ink-dark presence on the wrist. The bezel is set with 36 white brilliant-cut diamonds, while the integrated bracelet features irradiated black diamonds embedded throughout its links, creating the stark tonal contrast visible in this sighting.

The irradiation process that converts white diamonds to black is a point of genuine collector debate. Treated black diamonds, while visually dramatic, do not hold the same resale premium as naturally black carbonado diamonds. AP was transparent about this treatment, which is documented in the watch's specification sheet. For a piece designed as much for visual impact as for mechanical credibility, however, the treatment aligns perfectly with the Offshore's DNA as a watch built to be seen.

Sanjay Dutt's watch collection is well-documented among Indian watch enthusiasts — he has been spotted wearing everything across multiple luxury maisons, but his recurring affinity for AP Offshore pieces reflects a collector sensibility that gravitates toward bold, large-cased sports-luxury watches. The 'Black Diamond' variant is particularly coherent with his personal aesthetic.

On the secondary market, this reference trades at a significant premium to its original $64,550 retail price, with grey market valuations sitting comfortably above $80,000 depending on condition and box/papers status. Full-set examples with original AP certification command the strongest premiums. As diamond-set AP Offshore references become increasingly scarce at retail, collector demand continues to firm.