The future is here, and you can now wear it on your wrist. That is, thanks to the Swiss watchmaking maestros Audemars Piguet. Spotted the name on the wrist of your idols? Noticed an octagonal-shaped emblem on the arm of your favourite person to fan over? Then take note of the Manufacture’s novel launch, deserving of a spot on your future grail lists. And if such a list doesn’t exist just yet, it’s time to open up your Notes app and discover one of the hottest of haute horology watches out there.

But first, a brief history lesson. Let’s rewind to 2002: a time when MP3 players could hold a mammoth 500 songs, the Sugababes were something of a religion, Halle Berry made Oscars history, and the world’s first phone with a built-in camera had just dropped. Quite the time to be alive. While all of that was happening, Audemars Piguet was busy in Le Brassus, a pictorial haven of serenity in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, creating a collection that would showcase the future possibilities of what a watch could be.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Royal Oak — a model adored by Hollywood’s elite, from Travis Scott and Jay-Z to Serena Williams, Hailey Bieber, and Kylie Jenner — the Royal Oak Concept (originally designed to be a one-off piece) was formed to push the boundaries of watchmaking in both technology and aesthetics. Think of it as a space to challenge conventions, provoke thought, and explore what happens when we advance the evolution of possibility. What does this mean? Bold aesthetics, innovative materials, groundbreaking complications, and high-end movements that power your watch’s ticking.

Since 2002, the Royal Oak Concept has showcased dynamic iterations of conceptual propositions that divert convention. Confident sizes, gem-set cases, hybrid materials, and even renderings of your favourite Marvel characters constructed on the dial. If you’ve ever wanted to show the world just how much you love Peter Parker, know that you can.

But 22 years on, the Manufacture has a new offering for those of us who live, breathe, and obsess over these objects filled with character that we just can’t stop talking about. Meet the latest Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date. Larger by name, even more epic by nature, this timepiece adopts a fresh new look for the next chapter, making it one to remember for its daring aesthetic.

Allow me to geek out here. Thanks to Audemars Piguet’s Research and Development workshops, this new model boasts a CFT carbon middle case, which translates in non-watch folk talk to Chroma Forged Technology, a technique that makes it possible to modify the colour of the carbon fibres, rather than using resin, allowing the designers to arrange them as they see fit. It makes for a lower resin content compared to typical forged carbon and thus the material is less susceptible to scratches — you’ll be thrilled to know.

Over the past eight years, forged carbon has been absent throughout the collection, but in case you missed its lightweight feel on the wrist, you can now welcome its patented reprisal, resistant to shocks, heat, and humidity after five years of development.

At 43mm, this cutting-edge companion – with the perfect luminescence promising maximum fun for glow-in-the-dark fans – marries optimum ergonomics, simplicity of use, and a token of top-tier efforts in modern-day watchmaking. With a GMT function allowing you to monitor multiple time zones, you can put that phone down (!), and paired with a large date window that you can’t miss (more helpful than it sounds), you’ll be fluent in knowing the date in the most modish of manners. This latest feat defines Audemars Piguet’s bold contributions to watchmaking, and if you’re lucky enough to add one to your collection, you won’t just be wearing a watch – you’ll be holding a little bit of history in your fingertips. And there’s nothing more priceless than that.

Discover more at AudemarsPiguet.com.