Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Stormzy spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Stormzy attended an Audemars Piguet event wearing a reference that would stop any room: the Royal Oak Open-Worked in frosted 18K white gold, ref. 15412BC, factory-set with 32 rainbow-coloured baguette diamonds on the bezel. It is exactly the kind of appearance — a brand event, a watch that doubles as brand ambassador material — that underscores how seriously the Croydon rapper takes horology rather than treating it as casual accessory dressing.

The 15412BC is built on the Royal Oak's 41mm case architecture, here executed in white gold subjected to Audemars Piguet's Giulio Papi-developed frosted finishing. The hammered surface, introduced in collaboration with Florentine jeweller Carolina Bucci, scatters light across the case in a way that polished or brushed finishing simply cannot replicate. The open-worked dial removes all solid matter between the bridges, exposing the calibre 3132 — a manually wound skeletonised movement with a 60-hour power reserve — to direct view. Every component is chamfered, anglaged, and decorated to exhibition standard because there is no dial to hide behind.

The rainbow baguette bezel transforms the 15412BC from an already exceptional skeletonised sports watch into a high jewellery statement. Colour-grading and sequencing 32 baguette-cut stones so the chromatic graduation reads cleanly around the octagonal case shape requires gem-setting expertise well beyond standard pavé work. Each stone must be individually sourced to hit precise saturation and hue steps. The result is technically irreproducible at scale, which partly explains why this reference commands the premiums it does.

For Stormzy, the 15412BC is consistent with a collecting profile that has long favoured gem-set and complications-forward Audemars Piguet pieces. He has appeared publicly with Royal Oaks across multiple configurations, and his choice to wear this particular reference at an AP-hosted event suggests a relationship with the brand that goes beyond retail. The frosted white gold and rainbow bezel combination also photographs exceptionally — relevant currency for an artist whose visual identity is as carefully managed as his music.

At list, the Royal Oak Open-Worked Frosted ref. 15412BC is priced at approximately $115,000. On the secondary market, however, collector demand for jewellery-grade Royal Oaks with factory gem-setting has pushed valuations toward $400,000 — a premium of roughly 3.5x over retail. That spread reflects genuine scarcity, the non-replicable nature of the rainbow stone grading, and sustained appetite among a collector demographic that wants complication and jewellery in a single, architecturally coherent package.