Rapper Cardi B spotted wearing a Audemars Piguet

Cardi B was recently photographed stepping out in a cropped Dior monogram jacket and sheer tights, her left wrist loaded with what is unquestionably one of the most technically demanding — and financially staggering — sport-luxe watches in production: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 41mm in 18ct white gold, comprehensively set with baguette-cut diamonds across every surface the eye can reach.

The reference in question, 26402BC.ZZ.1230BC.01, is built around AP's in-house Calibre 3126/3840, a self-winding movement with a 50-hour power reserve beating at 21,600 vph. The octagonal bezel — the DNA signature Gerald Genta penned for the original Royal Oak in 1972 — here loses its brushed-steel industrial character entirely, replaced by a continuous mosaic of emerald-cut and baguette diamonds. The tapisserie dial, normally AP's geometric hallmark in guilloché brass, is itself replaced by a diamond-paved surface where baguette stones are laid in an interlocking grid that mimics the original pattern only in concept. Case diameter sits at 41mm with a lug-to-lug of approximately 54mm — the Offshore's deliberately oversized proportions relative to the classic Royal Oak making it an ideal canvas for this level of stone coverage.

From a gem-setting standpoint, a piece like this requires hundreds of hours of bench time at AP's Le Brassus atelier. Baguette setting — as opposed to pavé or brilliant-cut setting — demands absolute precision: each rectangular stone must align flush with its neighbour, tolerances measured in fractions of a millimetre. A single misaligned stone reads immediately to the trained eye, which is why fully baguette-set cases remain the exclusive territory of a handful of Geneva and Vallée de Joux manufactures.

For collectors, the full-set Offshore occupies a curious position: too ostentatious for the understated purist crowd, yet undeniably masterful as a high-jewellery object. It trades almost exclusively through AP boutiques and selected jewellers, rarely appearing on the grey market, which keeps pricing closer to retail than most AP steel references where demand far outstrips supply.

Cardi B's relationship with Audemars Piguet is well-documented — she has worn multiple AP references publicly and has been vocal about her passion for luxury timepieces. Pairing this $250,000 white gold baguette Offshore with a Dior street look rather than a gown underscores a deliberate aesthetic choice: treating ultra-high-jewellery watchmaking as everyday armour.