Entrepreneur Zhang Jindong spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Zhang Jindong, the Chinese retail and e-commerce magnate behind Suning.com and controlling shareholder of FC Internazionale Milano, was recently spotted wearing a stainless steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin — a watch that sits at the very apex of what the Le Brassus manufacture is capable of producing within its most celebrated collection.

The reference 26510ST is powered by Calibre 2924, a manually wound flying tourbillon movement measuring a remarkably slender 4.46mm in height. The total case thickness comes in at just 8.8mm — extraordinary for a tourbillon of any pedigree. The 41mm octagonal case retains all the hallmarks of Gerald Genta's 1972 design: the integrated bracelet, the eight-hexagonal-screw bezel, and the iconic Grande Tapisserie dial, here rendered in a deep, lustrous blue. Power reserve stands at 70 hours.

The Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin traces a direct lineage to AP's horological milestone of 1986, when the manufacture unveiled the world's first automatic tourbillon wristwatch. The extra-thin interpretation pushes that legacy further, prioritising architectural elegance without sacrificing the mechanical drama of an open-worked tourbillon cage visible at the dial's lower half. In stainless steel — rather than precious metal — the 26510ST occupies a particularly coveted position: it delivers one of watchmaking's most complex complications in the Royal Oak's original sporting material.

For collectors, a stainless steel grand complication from Audemars Piguet carries weight that gold or platinum equivalents sometimes cannot match. Steel Royal Oaks have historically driven some of the most aggressive price appreciation in the secondary market, and attaching a genuine manufacture tourbillon to that equation amplifies desirability considerably. Allocation is essentially non-existent at retail for pieces like this.

Zhang Jindong's choice signals a collector sensibility that goes well beyond status dressing. As a billionaire whose business empire spans retail, real estate, and European football, he operates comfortably in rooms where serious watches are noticed and understood. The Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra-Thin ref. 26510ST is not a watch that shouts — it rewards those who look closely.