Watch Paparazzi

Musician David Guetta spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

David Guetta, the Paris-born DJ who has headlined virtually every major festival on the planet, was recently spotted with an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Reference 26579CE secured to his wrist — a piece that sits at the intersection of haute horlogerie complication and contemporary cool.

The Reference 26579CE is built around AP's Calibre 5134, a self-winding movement beating at 2.75 Hz with a 40-hour power reserve and a complication count that demands respect: perpetual calendar with day, date, month, moon phase, and leap year indicator, all displayed on a dial that in this configuration is executed entirely in black. The case measures 41mm in diameter, crafted from black ceramic — a material AP has refined over years of development to achieve both extreme hardness and a depth of colour that no PVD coating can replicate. The integrated bracelet follows suit in matched ceramic, giving the piece an uninterrupted monolithic quality.

The Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar occupies a specific and elevated position in the Royal Oak family. Gerald Genta's original 1972 octagonal bezel design was always destined for complication, but the perpetual calendar variant brings a horological seriousness that elevates it well beyond lifestyle accessory status. The black ceramic execution, introduced as AP pushed deeper into high-tech materials, has proven particularly desirable among collectors who want complexity without ostentation.

Guetta's taste in watches has long leaned toward statement pieces that reward closer inspection, and the 26579CE fits that profile precisely. The watch is technically demanding, visually coherent, and produced in numbers constrained enough to maintain genuine scarcity. For someone who operates at the intersection of global pop culture and considerable personal wealth, it is an entirely logical choice.

On the market, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Reference 26579CE carries a retail list price of approximately $83,500, but grey-market demand has pushed transaction prices to the region of $240,000 — nearly three times retail. That premium reflects both the broader Royal Oak supply situation and the specific appeal of ceramic perpetual calendar references, which remain among the most sought-after complicated sports watches available today.