John Mayer Just Hit the Stage in an Unreleased Audemars Piguet Watch

On Saturday night, Zach Bryan’s show in Ann Arbor, Michigan, set a record as the biggest ticketed concert in US history for a single‑headlining act, with more than 112,000 alt-country fans turning up to sing along to “I Remember Everything.” For the watch enthusiasts in the crowd, however, the real star of the night might have been the unreleased Audemars Piguet Royal Oak spotted on John Mayer’s wrist during his special appearance at the show.

Most people know Mayer as the Grammy-winning guitar god behind such hits as “Waiting on the World to Change” and “No Such Thing.” To horology stans, however, he’s best known as one of the world’s foremost timepiece enthusiasts, with a god-tier collection of grails from the world’s most coveted brands and (no big deal) a vintage Rolex Daytona nicknamed in his honor. Such is Mayer’s status in the highest echelons of celebrity watch collectors that in 2024, the revered Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet officially named him its “creative conduit,” a role that sees him serves as a kind of liaison between the brand and the collecting community. That same year, he debuted his very own spin on AP’s iconic Royal Oak—a limited-edition white gold Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar with a dial painstakingly crafted to look like a twinkling night sky.

Daniel Prakopcyk

Judging by the photos from Saturday night’s show in Michigan, Mayer now appears to be in possession of yet another new Royal Oak with some serious business on the dial. Are those symbols? Numerals? The lyrics to “Friend of the Devil”? Or is it something else entirely? What we can say for certain is that if it meets with Mayer’s stamp of approval, it’s probably going to be a certified banger (and will likely cost as much as a medical degree). In the meantime, we’ll have to wait and see what the folks in Le Brassus have been cooking up in their mountaintop atelier.