Stoking up the fires of envy, Matthew Williams, the founder of 1017 ALYX 9SM, went to Instagram to show off photos of his new custom watch—a project brought to life by Mad Paris and Audemars Piguet.
The watch started out as an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak but was sent to customizer Mad Paris for some updating, giving the watch a “street meets luxury” appeal. The normal face for the watch was removed and replaced with a brushed metal face that has no time identifiers on it. There is a date window at the 3 o’clock position, but other than that, the only other markings are the 1017 ALYX 9SM logo on the bottom half and the Audemars Piguet mark on the top. Mad Paris also removed the traditional Piguet clasp and replaced it with a Cobra Belt inspired clasp, which is done in two-tone silver and gold-toned stainless steel.
For Williams, getting the watch has been a long time coming. His godfather first introduced Williams to watch collecting when he was just a kid. In his 20s, Williams met Kanye West, who was wearing a Royal Oak at the time. “The rose-gold one…it was 2006 or 2007, and he was the first person to have one that I ever saw,” recalls Williams. Inspired by the watch, Williams started saving up. After nearly a decade, Williams purchased a vintage Royal Oak for himself. A few years later he commissioned Mad Paris to make blacked-out versions for his friends and family. Now he’s working with the customizer to make the new version available to the public. The watch will go for $47,995 and only 40 will be made. But Williams isn’t worried about a rush on the timepieces. “They’re not gonna all sell tomorrow,” he says. “They’re probably gonna sell over the next few years.”
