Royal Oak Chronograph ‘Serena Williams’ in White Ceramic, 38 mm

Audemars Piguet releases a 500-piece Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph 'Serena Williams' in white ceramic with pink mother-of-pearl dial and Calibre 6401.

Notes From the Release

• Reference 26450CB.OO.1356CB.02 limits production to 500 pieces, each powered by Calibre 6401, the manufacture’s new integrated chronograph movement that replaces the Calibre 2385 after nearly thirty years of service.
• The 38 mm case, bezel, crown and integrated bracelet are produced entirely in white ceramic, a material demanding exceptional precision at every finishing stage.
• A polished pink-tinted mother-of-pearl dial carries 18-carat white gold hands and rhodium-toned 18-carat pink gold hour-markers, with a pink date window positioned between 4 and 5 o’clock.
• Every piece ships with two wearing options: the ceramic integrated bracelet and a pink rubber strap with white ceramic studs and a titanium AP folding clasp.
• Announced from Le Brassus on 15 September 2026, the edition marks over a decade of collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Serena Williams.

Origins of the Collaboration

Audemars Piguet confirmed the partnership’s origins span more than a decade, grounded, in the brand’s own words, in a shared understanding that time is crafted rather than simply measured. That framing shapes the entire brief for this watch: a chronograph whose materials and finishing were chosen to reflect both Serena Williams’s athletic discipline and her evolution beyond professional sport into entrepreneurship and media production.

The Royal Oak Chronograph carries a relevant lineage here. The collection’s first chronograph, reference 25860, arrived in 1997 for the Royal Oak’s 25th anniversary, housing the Calibre 2385 at just 5.5 mm thick. Subsequent athlete collaborations, from the 2008 Sachin Tendulkar edition to the Leo Messi trio of 2012, established a pattern: the chronograph complication, with its direct relationship to measured performance, as the natural format for sporting partnerships.

Construction and Materials

White ceramic demands greater manufacturing precision than steel or titanium: its hardness requires consistency at every stage from forming to hand-finishing. On this piece, every exterior surface receives alternating satin-brushing and chamfering to preserve the Royal Oak’s characteristic architecture across the case middle, bezel and integrated bracelet.

Calibre 6401 measures 27 mm in diameter and 5.7 mm in thickness, comprising 350 parts across 44 jewels, with a minimum power reserve of 55 hours. Its column-wheel mechanism uses a patented vertical-clutch system (Patent EP4202577) with a reduced part count for smoother chronograph activation. Minute and hour counters sit at 9 and 3 o’clock respectively. A 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight, finished with Côtes de Genève and circular graining, is visible through the sapphire caseback, whose titanium frame carries the “Limited Edition” engraving.

Serena Williams described the material pairing directly: “The white ceramic feels strong and resilient, while the pink mother-of-pearl dial brings warmth and softness. Every detail was intentional.”

On the Wrist

At 38 mm with an 11.1 mm case thickness, the proportions sit between a dedicated sports watch and a dress chronograph, practical for daily wear without the bulk of the larger Royal Oak Offshore. Ceramic’s hardness provides strong scratch resistance across the bracelet and case, a relevant consideration for active wearers. The 50 m water resistance adds a further margin of practicality.

The included pink rubber strap with white ceramic studs offers a second wearing option, lighter on the wrist and suited to warmer climates. For collectors across the Gulf, the ability to alternate between two distinct configurations without additional purchase adds genuine versatility to the edition.

Specifications

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