Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Tinnie Tempah spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Tinie Tempah has been photographed wearing the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in 18K rose gold, reference 15407OR — a piece that announces itself through absence as much as presence, its dial entirely removed to reveal one of the manufacture's most complex manually decorated movements.

The 15407OR houses Calibre 3132, a manually wound skeletonised movement featuring the brand's signature double balance wheel system. Two balance wheels, linked by a differential gear, work in tandem to average out positional errors caused by gravity and motion, improving chronometric precision without resorting to a tourbillon. The movement runs at 21,600 vph with a 40-hour power reserve and comprises 296 components, every one of them chamfered, anglaged, and decorated to Geneva standards — all visible through the open dial and sapphire caseback. The 41mm rose gold case retains the Gérald Genta-designed octagonal bezel with integrated bracelet that has defined the Royal Oak since 1972.

AP launched the Double Balance Wheel Openworked in 2012 to commemorate four decades of the Royal Oak, positioning it as a technical and aesthetic centrepiece of the collection. The rose gold 15407OR sits above the stainless steel variant in both prestige and price, and its warm metal plays visually against the intricate grey-finished bridges and plates in a way that steel cannot replicate. Collectors regard it as a genuine manufacture statement — skeletonisation executed with restraint rather than excess.

Tinie Tempah has cultivated one of the more considered watch wardrobes in British music, gravitating toward technically significant pieces rather than purely trophy timepieces. The 15407OR suits that sensibility: it reads as luxury but rewards closer inspection with genuine mechanical substance.

At a UK list price of approximately £60,000 — translating to roughly $75,000 at current rates — the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15407OR occupies serious territory. On the grey market, demand for rose gold Royal Oak openworked references has remained firm, with prices tracking closely to retail or modest premiums depending on condition and provenance. For collectors watching celebrity wrists, this sighting reinforces the 15407OR's standing as a reference that resonates well beyond the watch community.