Basketball player Kyle Lowry spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Kyle Lowry surfaced in front of the cameras following a high-stakes Game 6 post-match interview wearing one of the most coveted pieces in contemporary watchmaking — the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in blue ceramic, reference 26579CS. The setting was pressured and fast-moving, but the wrist told its own quieter story.

The 26579CS is built around Audemars Piguet's Calibre 5134, a 374-component self-winding movement running at 19,800 vph with a 40-hour power reserve. The perpetual calendar display is programmed to track all calendar anomalies — including leap years — without manual correction until March 1, 2100. The 41mm case and integrated bracelet are crafted entirely in grade 5 titanium-reinforced blue ceramic, a material Audemars Piguet spent years developing to achieve both scratch resistance and the deep, saturated blue that distinguishes this reference from the stainless steel and gold variants in the Royal Oak family.

Introduced as part of AP's broader push into high-complication ceramics, the 26579CS occupies a rare position in the Royal Oak lineup: it delivers Grand Complication-level functionality in a case that remains sportingly wearable. Production numbers are tightly controlled, and the combination of ceramic construction with a perpetual calendar movement keeps supply perpetually constrained. Among collectors, it is considered one of the benchmark pieces of the current AP catalogue.

Lowry has long been recognized as one of the more serious horological enthusiasts in professional basketball, regularly appearing at high-profile moments in significant timepieces. Choosing the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26579CS for a live televised interview — rather than a flashier diamond-set piece — reflects a collector's instinct rather than a stylist's call.

At a list price of $147,500, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar reference 26579CS is already a substantial investment. On the current grey market, however, authenticated examples are trading in the region of $620,000 — a premium of more than four times retail that underscores just how aggressively demand outpaces supply for this reference. For collectors unable to source one through an AP boutique relationship, Lowry's wrist may be the closest they get.