Rapper Gims spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Maître Gims, the Congolese-French rapper and songwriter behind some of the most-streamed French-language tracks of the past decade, has been spotted on the wrist with one of Audemars Piguet's most unattainable references — the Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Ref. 26533OR.OO.1220OR.01, a watch produced in a strict edition of ten pieces. For a collector community already accustomed to scarcity, this is a different tier entirely.

Debuted in 2021, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 26533OR presents the manufacture's Calibre 2954 inside a 41mm case crafted entirely in 18k rose gold. The movement beats at 21,600 vph and delivers a power reserve of approximately 65 hours. Its defining technical feature is the flying tourbillon — a regulator that floats without an upper bridge, cantilevered from below — positioned at 6 o'clock and visible through the dial's open architecture. The tourbillon cage completes one full rotation every 60 seconds, performing in full view against the extraordinary 'Evolutive Tapisserie' decoration, a radiating variation of AP's classic hobnail motif that expands concentrically outward from the tourbillon aperture, creating a sense of perpetual motion even when the watch is static.

The significance of the 26533OR in collector circles cannot be overstated. Ten examples represent one of the smallest production runs Audemars Piguet has ever assigned to a Royal Oak variant. This places it well outside the reach of even dedicated AP collectors and firmly in the territory of bespoke and institutional allocations. The combination of a flying tourbillon, an all-rose-gold Royal Oak case, and a dial concept designed specifically around the complication makes this reference a genuine horological art object rather than a standard limited edition.

Gims, who has long demonstrated an appetite for high-complication and high-jewellery horology, wears the piece in keeping with his public profile as one of France's most commercially dominant recording artists. His sighting reinforces a broader trend of top-tier hip-hop and Francophone pop figures acquiring watches that operate beyond the typical celebrity grail tier.

On the market, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Ref. 26533OR carries a price in the region of $500,000 USD. With only ten examples in existence, grey-market transactions are essentially private and negotiated, meaning any figure quoted is a floor rather than a ceiling. Provenance, condition, and access are everything.