Style’s 5 biggest luxury watch moments of August 2023, from Rolex acquiring Bucherer and Rolls-Royce adding Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin to dashboards, to Shawn Mendes’ Patek with trunks

Aug 30 , 2023

Lil Yachty sports a limited-edition Audemars Piguet collaboration piece; Rolls-Royce adds a Vacheron Constantin to its dashboards; Rolex buys Bucherer to expand its retail reach; and J.N. Shapiro releases a high horology piece built in the US. Photos: AP, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, J.N. Shapiro

‘King’ of watchmaking Rolex has expanded its retail reach by acquiring Bucherer AG while independent maisons like J.N. Shapiro and Ludovic Ballouard continue to push horology to new heights

Rapper Lil Yachty flaunted his limited-edition Audemars Piguet at Lollapalooza Music Festival while Canadian singer Shawn Mendes wore a Patek Philippe Aquanaut with matching swim trunks in Ibiza

With news from bigwigs like Rolex and independent watchmakers such as Ludovic Ballouard and California-based J.N. Shapiro, to a very special collaboration between automobile and watchmaking, high horology is still making waves even as summer winds down and many of us are dreading – or have already returned to – work and school. GMTs are apparently the flavour du jour made for travel while celebrities like rapper Lil Yachty and singer Shawn Mendes have been flaunting their bling watches.

Here’s a round-up of Style’s 5 biggest timepiece moments at the end of summer.

1. Rolex buys Bucherer and expands its retail reach

Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex made a big move in acquiring Bucherer AG. Photo: Rolex

In a stunning move last week, Rolex announced its acquisition of Bucherer AG – high horology retailer and long time partner – and its associated brands. The latter has a network of over 100 global stores that will continue to operate independently, which means they will still sell other brands.

Rolex’s recent acquisition includes watch brand Carl F. Bucherer, which is known for its peripheral rotor and other patented complications. Photo: Keystone

For high horology, Carl F. Bucherer is chief among the brands associated with Bucherer that Rolex now owns. It owns patents for unique takes on components such as the peripheral rotor and a “floating” tourbillon. It is unclear though how Rolex intends to leverage the brands that came with Bucherer AG in the acquisition.

Rolex has been hailed as the “king” of watchmaking. Photo: Shutterstock

However, what is immediately clear is that Rolex has just massively expanded its reach and control in the retail process. This, among other moves this year, can either alleviate the ludicrous wait-list size that Rolex is notorious for, or it may force other brands to move out and reconsolidate now that Rolex has just made such a huge step into the retail space. For now, expect to see a lot more of the “king” of watchmaking, everywhere in the world.

2. Lil Yachty and Shawn Mendes sport summer bling Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe

Lil Yachty performs at the Lollapalooza Music Festival at Grant Park in Chicago, US, on August 6. Photo: AP

Though awards ceremonies are fewer and farther between this month, that hasn’t stopped stars from showing off their cool pieces. Chief among these was Lil Yachty as he took the stage to perform on day four of Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago.

On stage, he sported a limited-edition Audemars Piguet, specifically an all-metal Royal Oak that came from a collaboration with designer Matthew Williams. Givenchy’s creative director Williams recently re-upped with the Swiss watchmaker to produce Royal Oak Chronograph and Offshore pieces.

Timepieces

Rolex

Luxury brands

Celebrity style

Retailing

Luxury cars

Luxury Spend It

Mergers & Acquisitions

Shawn Mendes

Josiah Ng

Josiah Ng is a content editor on the SCMP’s Specialist Publications team. He serves as the team's go-to expert on watches as the editor of XXIV, the Post’s annual prestige publication covering high horology. Additionally, he writes, edits and commissions pieces on restaurants, bars, culture, business, finance and more. Raised in Hong Kong, Josiah has previously covered music and finance at leading publications including Time Out Hong Kong and Debtwire respectively, and gained experience in the banking and consulting industries before joining SCMP in 2022.

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