Watch Paparazzi

Singer Ed Sheeran spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Ed Sheeran was recently spotted on the wrist with one of Audemars Piguet's most technically accomplished and visually striking references — the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in black ceramic, ref. 26579CE. The sighting confirms the British singer-songwriter's continued loyalty to AP and his taste for complications over simple time-only dressing watches.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ref. 26579CE measures 41mm in black ceramic — a material that demands extraordinary machining time given its hardness and brittleness. The case houses calibre 5134, a self-winding movement with a perpetual calendar mechanism that accounts for months of different lengths and leap years, requiring no manual date correction until 2100. The slate-grey tapisserie dial carries the full suite of perpetual calendar displays: date, day, month, leap year, and moon phase, all arranged with the precision geometry that Gerald Genta's original 1972 Royal Oak design demanded. The integrated ceramic bracelet reinforces the monolithic, all-black presentation.

From a collector standpoint, the 26579CE occupies serious ground. Black ceramic Royal Oaks in any configuration carry a premium in the secondary market due to the material's manufacturing complexity — AP produces far fewer ceramic units than stainless steel equivalents. Adding a perpetual calendar complication to that equation makes the reference genuinely rare. Collectors who track AP's ceramic output consider this reference a benchmark piece, sitting above the entry-level Royal Oak yet below the more esoteric grand complications in terms of approachability.

Ed Sheeran has built a substantive watch collection over the years, with Audemars Piguet featuring prominently. His choices tend toward statement pieces that have genuine technical substance — the 26579CE fits that profile precisely. It reads as a bold, monochromatic aesthetic choice while quietly containing one of independent watchmaking's most respected calendar mechanisms.

At a UK list price of approximately £75,000, the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar ref. 26579CE sits firmly in the upper tier of AP's standard catalogue. On the grey market, ceramic Royal Oak complications consistently trade above retail, reflecting constrained supply and sustained collector demand. Expect current secondary prices to run meaningfully higher than list.