Today, Audemars Piguet has announced the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in collaboration with John Mayer, an incredibly gorgeous watch in white gold with a stunning, groundbreaking ‘Crystal Sky’ faceted dial, powered by the Caliber 5134, made in 200 pieces for $180,700. John Mayer was also announced with a new ‘Creative Conduit’ title for Audemars Piguet.

Within the announcement, there were also a lot of other little pieces of news and things to talk about regarding design, the brand’s history, and John Mayer’s collecting path. One-on-one, Mayer and I spoke a bit about how the Royal Oak, or more specifically the RO QP, has become – I would argue – one of the most emblematic watches of his collection (or even persona). There are some insights to share, but no quotes. I figure that when Mayer wants to speak for himself, he will do so with the passion and knowledge we have come to expect from him. But if you’ll pardon me, I want to talk about music and divert from the topic at hand for a bit to set the stage.

A little over a week ago, I was driving back from a trip outside New York. As I tuned in to John Mayer’s new Sirius XM station, I got to the channel just in time to hear him talk about his favorite song, ‘Gentle On My Mind’ by John Hartford, made famous by Glen Campbell.

Hartford once described the song as a ‘word movie,’ describing a drifter and his lost love. Glen Campbell called it an ‘essay on life’ and said that he was ‘knocked out’ by the picture it paints. As Mayer explained on the radio, that beautiful turn of phrase – ‘gentle on my mind’ – describes a perfect kind of love. It’s a love, a yearning, but that doesn’t hurt when you can’t be together or don’t even have it anymore; it’s a love that’s a comfort knowing that it’s out there somewhere. It’s good just to know it exists.

To take something so eloquently stated about love between two people and prescribe it to watches feels a bit extreme, even for someone who obsesses over these things. Watch lovers are passionate people in our own (sometimes odd) way, so I have to admit, the song also rings more than a little true for how I’ve felt about the Royal Oak perpetual calendars, both vintage and modern.