Footballer Karim Benzema spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Karim Benzema surfaced on Instagram wearing a piece that stops even seasoned collectors mid-scroll — the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in stainless steel, reference 15407ST.OO.1220ST.01. The former Real Madrid striker and Ballon d'Or winner has long positioned himself at the serious end of watch collecting, and this choice reinforces that standing without ambiguity.

Debuted at SIHH 2016, the Royal Oak 15407ST represents Audemars Piguet's ambition to push the iconic Royal Oak silhouette into high-complication skeletonisation territory. The 41 mm stainless steel case, with its signature octagonal bezel and eight exposed hexagonal screws, frames a dial — or rather the absence of one — that lays bare the hand-wound Calibre 2954. That movement is the headline act: two balance wheels, each beating at 21,600 vph, are coupled via a differential gear that averages their respective rates, correcting positional errors more effectively than any single-regulator system. Power reserve stands at 72 hours, and finishing throughout alternates between straight-grained and circular côtes de Genève decoration, a considerable hand-finishing challenge on an open-worked architecture.

Within the Royal Oak collector universe, the 15407ST occupies a distinct niche. It is not a simple skeleton exercise — the double balance wheel complication elevates it technically above the standard openworked references — yet it retains full Royal Oak DNA rather than drifting into the Royal Oak Concept territory favoured by avant-garde buyers. That balance makes it a crossover piece appreciated equally by traditionalists and complication hunters.

Benzema's affinity for Audemars Piguet is well documented. He has been photographed with Royal Oaks and Royal Oak Offshores across multiple years, but the 15407ST signals a step toward more technically sophisticated territory — away from sport references and toward grand horological statements.

At an official retail price of approximately $90,000, the Royal Oak 15407ST in stainless steel already commands a premium that many gold watches never reach. On the secondary market, grey-market values have tracked closely to retail, occasionally exceeding it during periods of AP steel allocation pressure. For a watch that combines a genuine mechanical complication with one of the most recognisable case designs in history, the market logic holds.