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Footballer Ian Wright spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Ian Wright, the Arsenal and England striker turned broadcaster, was recently spotted wearing one of the most technically complex and visually arresting timepieces Audemars Piguet has ever produced — the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer 'Michael Schumacher', reference 26221FT.OO.D002CA.01. The sighting underlines Wright's reputation as one of football's most serious watch collectors, a man who clearly looks beyond the obvious choices.

The Royal Oak Concept Laptimer ref. 26221FT was developed in close collaboration with Michael Schumacher and launched in 2012 as a tribute to the seven-time Formula One World Champion. Its defining feature is the Calibre 2912, a hand-wound movement that performs a mechanical lap-timing function without any electronic assistance. Two separate chronograph mechanisms work in concert via a mechanical differential, allowing the wearer to capture successive lap times while the elapsed-time counter continues running uninterrupted. It is, in the truest sense, a split-seconds concept taken to its logical extreme — and executed entirely in gears, levers, and springs.

The case construction is as bold as the movement. The 44mm case pairs a forged carbon bezel and caseback with a grade 5 titanium mid-case, giving the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Laptimer a distinct industrial character that sits far from the polished restraint of the original Royal Oak. The dial opens up to expose the movement architecture through a skeletonised layout in red and black — colours chosen deliberately to evoke Schumacher's Ferrari years. Production was limited to exactly 221 pieces, a self-referential nod to the reference number that has since become a collector talking point in itself.

For collectors, the 26221FT occupies a unique position. It is not merely a celebrity-edition novelty — the complications inside represent genuine engineering achievement. Audemars Piguet used the Concept line to push boundaries outside the core Royal Oak commercial range, and the Laptimer is arguably the most resolved expression of that ambition. Secondary market interest remains strong among both AP devotees and motorsport crossover collectors.

With a UK list price of £175,000 and a production run of just 221, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Laptimer Michael Schumacher ref. 26221FT rarely surfaces on the grey market. When it does, expect significant premiums. Ian Wright wearing one publicly only adds to its cultural visibility.