A limited premiere where luxury meets street culture.

Brian Donnelly's biography is a classic example of our time — a street artist and their work getting transformed into a serious brand that collaborates with big names from different spheres.

The artist and designer's resume includes work as a background painter for Disney's 101 Dalmatians, but Donnelly is better known by his moniker KAWS. He has taken the characters from his imagination to the streets and teamed up with MTV, Comme des Garçons, Uniqlo and Nike.

In 2024, Audemars Piguet also got swept up in the wave of collaborations with KAWS. Thanks to the watch company's expansion by former CEO François-Henry Bennahmias, AP isn't afraid to venture into the realm of pop culture.

Only this time, the dial of the new 43 mm Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon "COMPANION" hasn't been reserved for a comic-book hero — it's dominated by a KAWS character called Companion. KAWS' most famous character, born back in 1999, is dubbed the dark Mickey Mouse and has a skull-shaped head with X's for eyes.

Now Companion has found a new home on a dial with a peripheral time display. Its titanium hands and markings glow blue in the dark thanks to lume. The peripheral time display is controlled by the new hand-wound Caliber 2979.

The Companion figure with his hands pressed up against the crystal is central, so the watch hands have moved over, but the 60-second tourbillon is still in its traditional spot at 6 o'clock. The movement's components also remind us of the partnership with KAWS: the artist's style is expressed in the shape of black PVD-coated titanium bridges and the signature "X" motif on the rachet wheel.

The movement provides a 72-hour power reserve. The limited edition of 250 pieces are presented in the familiar sandblasted titanium case with a black ceramic crown. They come with two interchangeable calfskin straps in different shades of gray, both embossed with a textile pattern.