The Audemars Piguet Leo Messi Limited Edition

     What comes to mind when you think about the style of superstar athletes? It almost always relates to exotic cars, vivid luxury clothes, and of course high end watches. This theme is so common that luxury watch brands have collaborated with these superstars for limited edition collections such the Hublot’s Classic Fusion Dwayne Wade (525.cs.0138.lr.dwd14), honoring one of the greatest Miami Heat players of all time or Hublot’s collaboration with Radamel Falcao (1004547), which is one of Columbia’s most notable soccer players. Fact of the matter is, you have to achieve tremendous athletic accomplishments for any luxury brand to team up with you. This brings is to the Audemars Piguet Leo Messi (263250l.00.d005cr.01)

     This stunning timepiece was created to honor one of the most talented soccer players of our era, possibly all time. Lionel Messi plays for FC Barcelona as well as the Argentinian National Team. Leo Messi holds multiple different records such as winning a record tying (with Cristiano Ronaldo) 5 Ballon d’Or awards, which is one of the most dignifying trophies awarded to any single soccer player, along with 5 European Golden Shoes. Some of the titles he helped his team earn are four UEFA Champions League titles, six Copas del Rey, and nine La Liga titles. Some of his personal achievements include the most goals in the top five European leagues and La Liga (416 goals), most goals in a calendar year (91 goals), and cumulatively 685 senior career goals for both his club team and Argentina.

     The Audemars Piguet Leo Messi (263250l.00.d005cr.01) carries the same elite prestige as does its inspiration. This is initially  seen with its $52,000 retail price along with the fact that the entire collection is limited to only 400 pieces. Aesthetically, its unique hues set it apart from any Audemars Piguet at first glance. The timepiece features an 18 karat rose gold case with a tantalum bezel. Some unique features of the tantalum bezel is its deep gray color that sets it apart from metals usually found on watches, along with the fact that tantalum has an ability to resist corrosion by acid and has the fourth highest meting point of any metallic element.

     At a closer look, the dial is a slightly different shade of gray than the tantalum bezel adding a tasteful contrast. The dial features stick hour indicators which are set in rose gold giving a matching look to the rose gold case along with a very thin luminescent line through the length of the stick indicators allowing visibility in a low-light environment. Some utility features of the watch are the chronograph function which include a 12 hour register at the 9 o’clock position, a 30 minute register at the 3 o’clock position, and a continuous sub-seconds dial at the 6 o’clock position. The date window is located between the 4 and 5 o’clock positions.

     The Audemars Piguet Leo Messi is set on a hand stitched “large square scale” gray alligator strap which also compliments the gray hues of the dial and bezel. The clasp is deployant style set in 18 karat rose gold tastefully matching the rose gold case. The case back of the watch is solid and bears the signifying “Royal Oak” inscription along with “Limited Edition Leo Messi”.

     The Audemars Piguet Leo Messi does not fall short of its inspiration in all terms of class, style, and performance. This limited edition watch is bound to only increase its sought after appeal as most Audemars Piguet’s do. The brand combined its world class with that of a world class athlete making the Audemars Piguet Leo Messi, one of the most unique limited editions of Audemars Piguet collections.