Serena Williams Made Her Own Royal Oak

One of Audemars Piguet’s most visible and loyal ambassadors, Serena Williams scarcely steps out of the house without a killer Royal Oak on her wrist. Finally, after over a decade of partnership, she’s collaborated with the brand on her very own version of the iconic Royal Oak.The new Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph "Serena Williams" Limited Edition combines one of AP’s most beloved models with feminine design codes that resonate with the tennis legend. “I’ve always believed that strength and feminine energy can exist side by side,” Williams said. “People often see strength, determination and competition, but there’s also creativity, intuition and joy.” Hence the 38mm reference’s white ceramic case and pink mother-of-pearl dial, both of which help to soften some of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph’s typically masculine energy.Williams has been tinkering with Royal Oaks long before this collaboration, though. She long wore a custom Royal Oak Offshore during matches that had the crown flipped to the opposite side of the case to prevent it from digging into her hand. With this new edition, though, the athlete gets to express her full vision for the legendary watch. Most captivating about this piece is that it doesn’t pander to the movement of genderless pieces that have come into the watch world, but is purposefully and unabashedly feminine. It doesn’t try to cater to men—although we think it would look great on a confident dude’s wrist—but asserts that watches made for women can be just as serious, technical, and worth considering as masculine pieces.There have been white ceramic ROs before: the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, a 41mm model from 2019; a Royal Oak Selfwinding 34mm from 2023; the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked from 2024; and the Royal Oak Grande Complication from 2023. But AP doesn’t make many watches in white ceramic, and they’re often larger timepieces with busier dials. Williams touch gives this AP a totally different feel: the watch is slimmed down, measures in at 38mm, and features a pink mother-of-pearl dial.Ceramic construction throughout the case, bezel, and integrated bracelet offers both hardness and lightness on the wrist, with alternating satin-brushing and chamfering to give a sense of dynamism to the design. The pink mother-of-pearl dial, meanwhile, is the standout feature, with white gold hands and applied indices. Screw-down pushers and a screw-down caseback ensure that the 11.1mm case achieves 50m of water resistance. (Or sweat resistance, if you happen to actually be winning a Grand Slam in your Royal Oak.)This is also a horologically exciting watch: powering it is the Calibre 6401, a recently launched automatic movement that replaces the Calibre 2385. An in-house design, it features a column wheel and vertical clutch for smooth chronograph activation; a fresh layout with a 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 3 o’clock, and running seconds at 6 o’clock; and a date window between 4 and 5 o’clock.The Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph was first released in 38mm in 2019 and has become a collector favorite ever since. With the “Serena Williams” Limited Edition, the collection expands its offerings with a distinctive LE whose 500-piece production run will no doubt sell out quickly…even at a nearly $100,000 retail price (70,000 Swiss francs to be exact). Don’t be surprised to see a few in the stands at the Open next year—and maybe on the court, as well.