These MAD Paris x Browns Audemars Piguets are grail watches on steroids
It's a well-documented truth that almost all of the massive watch marques don't actually like their timepieces being messed with as soon as they've been purchased.
Get the factor seen to by an unverified watchmaker reasonably than going by way of the in-house servicing division and also you'll lose your guarantee at finest, end up smote by the horological gods at worst. Have your watch customised by an exterior celebration, then again, and you may count on full excommunication from the model in query and, maybe, Switzerland itself (maybe).
The reality is, nevertheless, that high-level watch customisation is turning into more and more commonplace amongst rich collectors and connoisseurs trying to make a completely distinctive on-wrist influence.
Drake, as an illustration, has greater than as soon as been noticed sporting an “invaluable” baguette emerald-encrusted Patek Philippe Nautilus, which was designed for him by his pal Virgil Abloh, whereas Abloh himself is thought to be in possession of an all-black ref 5726, with each items rumoured to have been created by customized jeweller MAD Paris.
Now, the customisation practice appears to be handing over a considerably much less clandestine course, particularly within the form of a brand new collaboration between MAD and storied London division retailer Browns Trend.
For the primary time, the 2 establishments have teamed as much as produce a small capsule assortment of customised Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks – created in collaboration with two of essentially the most celebrated modern menswear designers working as we speak, Matthew Williams of 1017 Alyx 9SM and Givenchy and Charaf Tajer of Casablanca – and the entire thing couldn't look extra straight-A legit if it tried.
Consisting of 4 timepieces restricted to 5 items every, the unique watches had been sourced by MAD from trusted preowned sellers and every has been given a one-of-a-kind makeover by the hands of the designer in query.
Within the case of Williams, as an illustration, the American artistic – who is thought for his pared-back but edgy collections at each Givenchy and Alyx – has taken the commercial overtones of Gérald Genta's authentic octagonal creation as his aesthetic cue.
Certainly, reasonably than including any new components to his allotted assortment of ten watches, Williams selected as an alternative to strip them again fully, eradicating all extraneous design particulars and ending every with an ultra-minimal brushed impact. Each the 41mm rose-gold choice and the 39mm yellow-gold model are available at £125,000 apiece they usually're in the stores from Browns as of as we speak.
“Creating the customized 1017 Alyx 9SM Mad Paris AP timepieces was actually all about making a watch I wish to put on,” explains Williams, “translating the world of Alyx in a customized timepiece with the brushed metallic, no time identifier and, in fact, the signature Alyx buckle reworked as a clasp.”
Tajer, who’s well-known for his sensible silk shirts and employee fits, with a Miami-meets-Marrakech aesthetic all their very own, took a extra vibrant strategy. The designer labored with MAD to utilise brightly colored diamond-like coatings (a primary for the watch trade) to create a pair of daring, summery timepieces, that are each bit Casablanca confections. Each the 36mm blue, yellow and pink choice and the 36mm multicoloured pastel piece are available at £100,000. The watches might be obtainable from November onwards.
“Working with MAD has been an actual pleasure. Making a bespoke timepiece has been a want of mine,” explains Tajer. “This watch represents to me a chic however playful luxurious piece, that mixes my love of the Memphis artwork motion and my love of color. I all the time need folks to get pleasure from our items and I really feel it’s a continuation of the positivity in Casablanca.”
This new undertaking has been spearheaded from the outset by Browns, which has undergone a serious picture overhaul lately. The boutique, which was initially opened in 1970, unveiled a brand new Mayfair premises on Brook Road again in April and a slick new shopping for division has finished a lot to each elevate and focus its providing in an more and more saturated market.
The MAD partnership is a key step within the plan, permitting Browns to enter the infamously ring-fenced watch area in a trough fully distinctive to them – and it's a undertaking for which purchaser Thom Scherdel, who oversaw proceedings from begin to end, has excessive hopes sooner or later.
“The wonderful watch area is notoriously very classical and we wished to try it by way of a contemporary pair of eyes. Every designer has their very own aesthetic and to see the place we now have ended up with every mannequin is testomony to the scope of the creativity that may be achieved,” says Scherdel. “The thrilling half was not figuring out the place we’d finally find yourself. We achieved a feel and appear that’s completely pioneering within the trade and developed brand-new strategies by way of the execution. It’s a particular undertaking.”
The MAD Paris Designer Collection is offered from as we speak through Browns Brook Road in addition to on-line at brownsfashion.com
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