Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Anthony Davis spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

At a recent Haute Living event in Los Angeles, Anthony Davis arrived wearing one of Audemars Piguet's most technically demanding and visually arresting references: the Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin in 18K rose gold with 32 baguette-cut rubies lining the iconic octagonal bezel, reference 26521OR. For a player known for combining physical dominance with a quietly refined personal style, the choice signals a collector who has moved well past entry-level luxury.

The 26521OR is built around the calibre 2924, a hand-wound flying tourbillon movement developed entirely in-house at Le Brassus. At just 3.95mm thick, the movement allows the full case to measure a mere 6.8mm in height — an extraordinary engineering achievement for a complication of this complexity. The 41mm rose gold case retains the Gerald Genta-designed architecture introduced in 1972, with its integrated bracelet and eight-screw bezel, but the addition of those 32 precision-set ruby baguettes transforms the dressy sports aesthetic into something closer to high jewellery.

Baguette setting is among the most labour-intensive stone-setting techniques in watchmaking. Each rectangular ruby must be individually calibrated and set so that no metal is visible between stones — a process that demands as much skill from the setter as the movement assembly demands from the watchmaker. AP reserves this treatment for its most prestigious Royal Oak expressions, making the 26521OR a genuine dual-discipline piece.

Davis has assembled a serious watch collection over his NBA career, with documented sightings spanning Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, and multiple AP references. Choosing the Royal Oak Tourbillon ruby bezel rather than a diamond-set equivalent shows a collector with a specific aesthetic point of view — rubies remain rarer than diamonds in high-end watchmaking and carry stronger horological connotation given their historical use in movement jewels.

The 26521OR carries a UK list price of approximately £150,000, placing it firmly in six-figure AP territory. On the grey market, demand for tourbillon Royal Oaks with precious stone bezels remains strong, with actual transaction prices frequently exceeding retail given extremely limited production allocations. This is not a reference you acquire without an established relationship with an AP boutique — which itself signals something about Davis as a collector.