Watch Paparazzi

Singer Davido spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Davido — born David Adedeji Adeleke — was photographed wearing a heavily customised Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 41mm on his left wrist, flanked by diamond Cuban-link bracelets and baguette bangles that frame the watch like a museum vitrine. The sighting also reveals a fully iced Cartier Santos Skeleton on the opposite wrist, confirming that this is a collector who treats both round and square cases with equal reverence.

The base reference is the Royal Oak 15400OR, the 41mm three-hand date iteration in 18k rose gold that Audemars Piguet introduced as the successor to the original 39mm 15300. Factory, it ships with a Grande Tapisserie dial, in-house Calibre 3120 automatic movement (60-hour power reserve, 21,600 vph), and a satin-brushed/polished integrated bracelet. At retail, the rose gold reference already commands six figures before a single stone is set.

What Davido is wearing is a full aftermarket diamond transformation — every surface of the case, bezel, dial and bracelet has been set with VS1-clarity baguette-cut diamonds in a channel and pavé arrangement. Custom diamond houses in New York, Los Angeles and Dubai perform this work; the process is irreversible and voids any manufacturer warranty. The result eliminates the original Tapisserie texture entirely, replacing architectural geometry with a continuous mosaic of light. Purist collectors regard aftersets as controversial; in the hip-hop and Afrobeats worlds they represent the ultimate personalisation of an already elite object.

Davido is one of the most decorated artists in African music history, with multiple Grammy nominations and a discography spanning three continents. His public jewellery choices — documented extensively across social media — have made him a de facto tastemaker for luxury watch culture in West Africa and its diaspora. The AP Royal Oak sits alongside Richard Milles and Patek Philippe Nautiluses in his known collection.

On the secondary market, a factory rose gold Royal Oak 15400OR trades between $65,000 and $85,000 depending on condition and papers. A full baguette afterset version of this quality pushes the total outlay to the $180,000–$220,000 range, consistent with the $200,000 figure cited. Demand for diamond-set Royal Oaks in rose gold remains robust among buyers who want maximum visual impact without sacrificing the underlying horological pedigree.