Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Lazza spotted wearing Audemars Piguet

Italian rap heavyweight Lazza was recently spotted wearing the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 50th Anniversary on his right wrist — a detail that underscores both his unconventional style and his taste for serious horology. The choice of wrist alone signals confidence; the choice of reference signals knowledge.

The watch in question is the Royal Oak Chronograph reference 26240OR.OO.1320OR.02, a 41 mm case and integrated bracelet crafted entirely in 18-carat pink gold. Its black Grande Tapisserie dial — the iconic hand-guilloché pattern that Gerald Genta designed in 1972 — is rendered with exceptional depth against the warm rose-gold surroundings, with white gold applied hour markers and the signature AP blue-tinted steel hands contrasting sharply against the dark surface. Chronograph counters sit at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock in true flyback configuration.

Beneath the sapphire caseback lives the genuine story of this piece: calibre 4401, Audemars Piguet's first fully in-house integrated chronograph movement. Developed over years to replace the long-serving Jaeger-LeCoultre 2385 ebauche, the 4401 features a column wheel, vertical clutch, and flyback function within a 40-hour power reserve architecture. The commemorative oscillating weight engraved with '50 years' marks this as a genuine anniversary edition, not a cosmetic exercise. Case thickness comes in at 10.9 mm — remarkably slim for a mechanical chronograph of this complexity.

Lazza — born Jacopo Lazzarini — has become one of Italy's most commercially dominant rappers, consistently charting platinum records and building a public profile that extends well into luxury lifestyle territory. His choice of the Royal Oak Chronograph 50th Anniversary in pink gold reflects an increasingly sophisticated approach to watch collecting within the Italian hip-hop scene, where AP's octagonal bezel has become a legitimate cultural touchstone alongside its collector cachet.

On the market, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26240OR commands serious attention. With grey-market values hovering around $200,000, this pink gold anniversary reference trades at a substantial premium over its already elevated list price, reflecting both scarcity and the historical weight of the calibre 4401's debut. For collectors, this is not merely a statement piece — it is a horological milestone.