Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Mohammed Salah spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

At the 2019 TIME 100 Awards in New York — an evening that recognized Mohamed Salah among the world's most influential people — the Egyptian forward arrived wearing one of Audemars Piguet's most technically uncompromising references: the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT, ref. 26589IO. The choice was anything but accidental.

The 26589IO sits at the apex of the Royal Oak Concept lineage, a sub-family that Audemars Piguet launched in 2002 specifically to push avant-garde construction beyond what the classic Royal Oak octagon allows. The reference is built around a 44mm case that combines grade 5 titanium with a forged carbon composite — a material that produces a distinctive, almost organic grain pattern unique to each watch. The dial is fully skeletonized, exposing the calibre 2954 manufacture movement in its entirety. That movement delivers two complications in concert: a flying tourbillon — meaning no upper bridge obscures the spinning cage — and a GMT function that displays a second time zone via a 24-hour indicator. Power reserve stands at approximately 65 hours.

From a collector standpoint, the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT occupies genuinely rarified territory. Production volumes are extremely limited, and the forged carbon aesthetic makes each example visually unique. The combination of a flying tourbillon with a useful travel complication in a single skeletonized architecture represents serious watchmaking credibility, not merely decorative complexity. Among AP collectors, Concept references consistently command attention on the secondary market and rarely surface without a premium.

Salah's presence at the TIME 100 gala was itself a statement: he was honored alongside heads of state, scientists, and cultural figures at the height of his post-Champions League-final fame. The 26589IO complemented that moment precisely — understated in color palette, radical in engineering, and worn on the wrist rather than displayed under glass.

At a UK list price of £204,000, the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT ref. 26589IO is priced firmly within ultra-high-complication territory. On the grey market, demand for forged carbon AP Concept references keeps values close to or above retail, reflecting both scarcity and sustained collector appetite for the model.