Entrepreneur Philipp Plein spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Philipp Plein was recently photographed wearing one of Audemars Piguet's most extravagant high-jewellery sports watches: the Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in 18k white gold, reference 26473BC.ZZ.8043BC.01, priced at $1,350,000 USD. For a designer whose aesthetic vocabulary runs toward skulls, crystals, and baroque excess, the choice is entirely coherent.

The Royal Oak Offshore Ref. 26473BC measures 42mm in 18k white gold and runs on AP's Calibre 2385, a self-winding column-wheel chronograph movement with a 50-hour power reserve, oscillating at 21,600 vph. What sets this reference apart is the stone-setting work: 632 baguette-cut diamonds cover the case, octagonal bezel, pushers, crown, integrated bracelet, and dial in a continuous pavé that eliminates virtually every unset surface. Baguette setting is among the most demanding disciplines in gem-setting — each rectangular stone must be individually fitted and secured with microscopic claws — making this watch as much a feat of jewellery craft as horology.

The Royal Oak Offshore line was launched in 1993, designed by Emmanuel Gueit as a larger, more aggressive interpretation of Gerald Genta's 1972 Royal Oak. The Offshore quickly found a following in hip-hop culture and high-profile sport, and its fully gem-set variants became the apex expression of that crossover between fine watchmaking and luxury lifestyle. The 26473BC sits at the very top of the Offshore jewellery pyramid, a reference that AP produces in extremely limited numbers and allocates selectively.

Philipp Plein founded the Philipp Plein International Group, which operates the Philipp Plein, Plein Sport, and Billionaire fashion labels — a portfolio built on high-visibility branding and an unapologetically loud design language. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Ref. 26473BC is, in that context, a natural extension of brand identity rather than a departure from it.

On the grey market, fully set Royal Oak Offshore pieces in white gold trade at or above retail given their scarcity and the sustained demand for gem-set AP references among collectors in the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas. The Ref. 26473BC.ZZ.8043BC.01 is one of those references where secondary market premiums are real and persistent, cementing its status as both wearable jewellery and a serious store of value.