Watchmakers have long looked beyond the dial to translate familiar design cues into everyday luxury accessories, yet the industry’s latest offerings demonstrate two wildly contrasting approaches to the genre. In the lead-up to the lucrative holiday season, Audemars Piguet and independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin have introduced new lifestyle lines that draw heavily on their respective manufacturing specialties. However, they arrive at vastly different price points and target entirely separate audiences.
While Audemars Piguet’s expansive new Royal Oak Joaillerie collection recasts the iconic sports watch as an extensive suite of high jewelry, Konstantin Chaykin has gone in a decidedly mechanical direction with the Master of Days cufflinks, incorporating a miniature movement complete with a functional day-of-the-week display.
These divergent releases arrive as more high-end watch brands formalize their presence in the accessories market. Major houses and independent artisans alike recognize that accessories offer a unique commercial outlet. They utilize existing manufacturing tools, maximize excess capacity, and provide an enticing up-sell opportunity at the retail counter without placing additional strain on after-sales service networks. Furthermore, owning matching accessories can deepen an enthusiast’s connection to their favorite timepieces, creating a symbiotic relationship between a watch and its accompanying adornments.
Initial Thoughts on the Luxury Accessory Market
The corporate pursuit of luxury accessories is hardly a novel concept, though recent years have seen a surge in formal offerings from major players. Among the most prominent examples is Rolex, which captured widespread industry attention late last year when it formally launched a dedicated line of cufflinks alongside a desk clock styled after its legendary Submariner diving watch.
Similarly, Patek Philippe boasts a storied history of crafting jewelry and accessories. Today, the Geneva-based titan offers cufflinks meticulously designed to match the aesthetic profiles of the Golden Ellipse, Nautilus, and Cubitus collections, alongside jewelry lines that echo the design language of the Aquanaut and the Twenty-4.
Independent watchmakers have also recognized the intrinsic value of this category. F.P. Journe provides a curated set of cufflinks available in platinum or 18k pink gold to seamlessly match its haute horlogerie timepieces, a strategy mirrored by brand founder Jean-Claude Biver’s eponymous label, Biver. Going even further into lifestyle territory, Franck Muller offers a comprehensive collection of necklaces and rings inspired by the whimsical, non-linear numerals of its iconic Crazy Hours watches.
For retailers and brands alike, these items serve a dual purpose. On the sales floor, they act as natural add-on purchases for clients celebrating a watch acquisition. For the manufacturers, they provide a valuable stream of auxiliary revenue that leverages precision machining and finishing capabilities without threatening the delicate capacity of watchmaking service departments.
The Timeless Royal Oak Expansion
Against this backdrop, Audemars Piguet’s deep dive into high jewelry comes as a calculated strategic move. Under the leadership of CEO Ilaria Resta, who has publicly stated an ambitious goal to increase the brand’s female customer base from 20% in 2025 to an estimated 45% by 2030, the brand is actively broadening its appeal.
While a significant portion of female collectors remains deeply engaged with the mechanical complexity of traditional watchmaking, the new jewelry collection offers a brilliant pathway to capture a broader audience of luxury buyers who may not yet be immersed in horology. At the same time, it provides existing female clientele with sophisticated new avenues to engage more deeply with the Le Brassus manufactory.
True to form, Audemars Piguet has approached the Royal Oak jewelry collection with uncompromising attention to detail, applying a watchmaker’s meticulous eye for finishing even to surfaces that remain hidden from plain view. For instance, the diamond settings on the new collection of earrings are subtly fashioned after the unmistakable octagonal geometry of the Royal Oak bezel—a hidden nuance that remains fully perceptible only to the wearer.
This philosophy extends across the broader lineup, which includes remarkable pieces like a zipper-inspired necklace featuring a Royal Oak bracelet design on one half juxtaposed against a cascading string of pear-shaped diamonds. Divided into distinct thematic sub-collections—including the Risoud Eclipse, Dream of Joux, and Frosted Gold lines—the expansive range comprises cuff bracelets, chokers, necklaces, and drop earrings. Utilizing 18k white, pink, or yellow gold, as well as blue-coated titanium, the pieces are lavishly adorned with gemstones ranging from sugarloaf emeralds and diamonds to sapphires, tsavorites, topazes, tourmalines, amethysts, tanzanites, spessartites, and black spinels. All pieces are available through official AP boutiques and AP Houses upon request.
A Mechanized Approach to Cufflinks
While luxury houses often treat cufflinks as stationary metal ornaments, independent horological savant Konstantin Chaykin has injected true mechanical ingenuity into the format with the Master of Days cufflinks. Designed for aficionados of French-cuff shirts, these accessories bridge the gap between traditional haberdashery and micro-engineering.
Each 18 mm cufflink is precision-machined from lightweight titanium and finished with the same rigorous level of craftsmanship found on Chaykin’s eccentric wristwatches. The components feature a sophisticated interplay of brushed and polished surfaces, crisp engraved text, and an intuitive corrector discreetly integrated into a pivoting whaleback fastener.
Tucked inside each cufflink is a miniature mechanical jumper system that powers a day-of-the-week indicator. Remarkably, the mechanism is updated dynamically by the simple act of fastening the cufflink to the shirt cuff, an action that causes the day disc to advance forward by a single step. Powered by a diminutive two-jewel mechanical caliber designated the A.01-1, the inner workings are fully visible beneath a protective sapphire crystal window, revealing an attractively sandblasted mainplate alongside a blued day pointer.
In a charming bit of horological irony, these functional mechanical cufflinks measure several times thicker than Chaykin’s record-breaking ThinKing Mystery wristwatch—though the two would undoubtedly make a striking pairing for the dedicated collector.
The Konstantin Chaykin Master of Days cufflinks measure 18 mm in diameter with a height of 5.7 mm and are crafted entirely from titanium with a sapphire crystal. They are available directly from the independent watchmaker, priced at CHF 4,500 excluding taxes. Additional details regarding the extensive Audemars Piguet Royal Oak jewelry collections and Konstantin Chaykin’s mechanical accessories can be found directly through the respective brands’ official channels.
