Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Sebastien Buemi: Formula for Success

Juan Pablo Montoya, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher… Sebastien Buemi. One of these names is not like the other; only Seb Buemi is Swiss.

As a boy from the Canon of Vaud, born and bred, this hometown hero inspired the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Sebastien Buemi limited edition of 250 pieces.

To be sure, Buemi isn’t an F1 star on the order of the first three names. But as the reigning World Endurance Championship title holder as driver of the 1,000hp Toyota TS040 LeMans Racer, a winner in F3, Formula E, and still only 26 years old, Buemi remains a standout in modern motorsports.

For the 2011 model year, Audemars Piguet decided to honor the rising local legend with a signature Royal Oak Offshore. As a neighbor of the Audemars Piguet manufacture, a brand ambassador since 2008, and a long-time connoisseur of luxury watches, Buemi was better equipped than your average F1 pilot to offer aesthetic design input.

Buemi insisted upon three core requirements; yellow accents (to match his helmet), materials evocative of motorsports (ceramic and titanium), and a tasteful balance of style that could stand on its own terms absent any explicit references to Formula One.

Audemars Piguet delivered on each count. The Royal Oak Offshore Sebastien Buemi is remarkably cohesive, tasteful, and versatile for an oversized sports watch designed to suit a then-21 year-old professional race car driver. Yellow accents are complementary, not dominant; the sandblasted titanium case and black ceramic bezel hint at their high-octane inspiration without exclaiming it; the union of subdued tones and minimal high-polish permits the Sebastien Buemi to accompany virtually any attire short of a Tuxedo.
The only overt reference to this Royal Oak Offshore’s eponymous inspiration is the personal logo of Sebastien Buemi on the sapphire caseback.

While 26 year-old Sebastien Buemi has yet to write the definitive chapter in his motorsports career, the Royal Oak Offshore limited edition bearing his name already occupies a place of honor within the ranks of Audemars Piguet‘s best design efforts.

See this outstanding example of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Sebastien Buemi limited edition in high-resolution imagery on www.watchuwant.com