Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak is a giant in the temple of watch design icons and continues to steal hearts 50 years after it was designed by Gerald Genta in 1972. A big bash is surely in order, and to make things even more exciting, Hongkong-based watch marketplace Wristcheck and Audemars Piguet are celebrating 50 years of this octagonal icon by running a “YOUR TAKE ON THE ROYAL OAK” design contest. There is no cause for a heart attack here; the aim is not to re-design a design icon that most surely doesn’t need it, but to extend the line by “customizing colors, materials and complications.”

There will be three winning designs for the contest, to be judged by François-Henry Bennahmias, CEO of Audemars Piguet, and Austen Chu, founder & CEO of Wristcheck. Winners and their plus-one will be whisked off to Le Brassus, Switzerland (in Business Class) for a complete Audemars Piguet Le Brassus Experience. It’s an all-inclusive two-day stay at the Hotel Des Horlogers, with visits to the Audemars Piguet Manufacture and Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet. Moreover, if feasible, Audemars Piguet could even decide to produce the watch.

To get started, head to the competition website, download the template, and get to work. The site is set to go live from October 6th 2022, 11:00 GMT; with the submission deadline at the same site is a month later, on November 6th, 23:59 GMT. Participants can submit as many entries as they wish before the deadline, and winners will be announced by François-Henry Bennahmias and Austen Chu on Wristcheck’s Instagram page and Youtube channel on November 15th, 2022.

With the heat for luxury sports watches with integrated bracelets not cooling down, the 50th anniversary of the most iconic watch in this space is a fine time to canvas for fresh looks.