In the past, we've also featured a Porsche 911 Carrera S in the company of a Richard Mille RM015 Le Mans Classic here. This time, we bring you what we think is one of the best matches between a car and a watch, what we like to call a 'match made in heaven'. The Porsche 911 Carrera S a.k.a. 991 is one of those cars that exudes power whichever way you look at it and what better match to it than a discontinued Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rubber Clad ref. 25940OK.OO.D002CA.02.
Posts tagged #Royal Oak Offshore
Experience: AP Royal Oak Offshore Diver in the Cayman Islands. Nothing Beats a Watch in its Element.
A week in the Cayman Islands is always wonderful, specially when you stay at the Ritz-Carlton located in the heart of Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. During our stay we enjoyed lenty of water activities including interacting with stingrays, smoking a handful of Habanos —Montecristo #4— and simply enjoying the good life. Summers spent by the beach in the company of a good timepiece is always something we really appreciate to the fullest.
Insider: Pricing Guide for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721ST 'The Beast'. Commanding Higher Prices, After Emmanuel Gueit's Sold for CHF 102,500 Swiss Francs.
n the past month, we've been contacted by several collectors trying to get more information regarding the first series of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore a.k.a. 'The Beast' ref. 25721ST.OO.1000ST.01. with its iconic queen blue dial —more about this particular hue of blue here. Also, recently we've found more activity in places like Timezone, ThePurists and TRF, regarding this iconic watch.
SIHH 2018: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph QEII Cup 2018 ref. 26474TI. Live Pictures & Pricing.
Referred to by Audemars Piguet as a thoroughbred to celebrate one of the world’s great horse races. This year’s new Royal Oak Offshore QEII Cup 2018 sports a full titanium construction with a winning blue and grey color combination. Slightly inspired by the first Titanium Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721TI comes the new Royal Oak Offshore QEII Cup 2018.
Insider: Explaining the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore reference 25721ST 'The Beast'. A Comprehensive Guide to these D-Series and E-Series Royal Oak Offshores. (Updated)
n the past month, we've been contacted by several collectors trying to get more information regarding the first series of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore a.k.a. 'The Beast' ref. 25721ST.OO.1000ST.01. with its iconic queen blue dial —more about this particular hue of blue here. Also, recently we've found more activity in places like Timezone, ThePurists and TRF, regarding this iconic watch.
Experience: Porsche 911 Carrera S with an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rubber Clad ref. 25940OK. A Match Made in Heaven.
In the past, we've also featured a Porsche 911 Carrera S in the company of a Richard Mille RM015 Le Mans Classic here. This time, we bring you what we think is one of the best matches between a car and a watch, what we like to call a 'match made in heaven'. The Porsche 911 Carrera S a.k.a. 991 is a one of those cars that exudes power whichever way you look at it and what better match to it than a discontinued Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rubber Clad ref. 25940OK.OO.D002CA.02.
Experience: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver in the Cayman Islands. A Perfect Companion.
We just returned from the Cayman Islands after a wonderful week at the Ritz-Carlton. We did plenty of water activities including interacting with stingrays, smoking a handful of Habanos —Montecristo #4— and trying on several Audemars Piguet watches at Grand Cayman's authorized dealer Magnum Jewelers. At Magnum, we perused the new Royal Oak Offshore line in 44mm, the Offshore Legacy, a Jumbo ref. 15202 and a ref. 15400, amongst others. Great friendly service by the way.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Ginza 7 Limited Edition. Sans Tapisserie.
The Royal Oak Offshore Ginza 7 Limited edition is one of the very few Offshores with a smooth dial that lacks the traditional 'Clous du Paris' traditional tapisserie that we typically find on almost all Royal Oaks and Offshores. We can only think of a handful of references that are missing the tapisserie like the discontinued rose gold and tantalum Royal Oaks, the Leo Messi Limited Edition and the Ginza 7.
The watch lifestyler behind this superb watch is an avid Audemars Piguet and Rolex collector that acquired this watch after falling in love with it while reading a magazine on his way to Japan. After thorough research and frequent travel to Asia, he finally experienced one at the Audemars Piguet boutique in Tokyo and he knew he had to have one, especially, due to his Japanese heritage and the noble cause behind the watch. As you can appreciate on the pictures, he decided to switch the crocodile strap that originally came with this watch for the rubber strap that comes with the Offshore Rubberclad. He wanted a sportier look and the ability to wear the watch everywhere. Nothing wrong with that.
The Royal Oak Offshore Ginza 7 Limited Edition is exclusively distributed for purchase at the Audemars Piguet boutique in Tokyo and is core part of the Audemars Piguet 'Support Japan' Project. This watch produced in a limited edition of only 200 pieces pledges 10% of its sales to the project. Launched in July of 2011, you rarely come across one of this beautiful watches in the wild. With its smooth dial you can appreciate the care and attention to details put forth by Audemars Piguet. The delicate thin rose gold surroundings on the chrono registers, the diamond encrusted '7' that from the distance almost looks metallic, the black calendar wheel with white font that ads a striking contrast and the Arabic numbers in charcoal gray that tend to almost disappear over the smooth black dial.
This watch offers great versatility as you can wear it with a casual attire or a formal one. To be honest, the Royal Oak Offshore Ginza 7 looks superb with almost anything. One great attribute of this watch is that is very stealthy and it’s definitely not the type of watch that screams for attention. On this watch like on any other Audemars Piguet watch, is hard to find design flaws, however, a very small downside is the lack of contrast on the running seconds hand at 12 o'clock making it hard to read when hacking the movement for time setting. Lastly, we would like to point out that this fantastic reference is fitted with a display case back for those of you that enjoy staring at the movement for hours. We also do, as it is extremely mesmerizing.
Rare Bird: An Unmarked Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721ST.OO.1000ST.01 a.k.a 'The Beast'. One Amazing Grail of Only 100 Pieces Without the Offshore Engraving.
Last year almost around this time, we received an email from a friend and watchlifestyler that lives in London asking for our advice on whether he should purchase or not an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721ST.OO.1000ST.01 fitted with the very same blue dial just as the very first original Royal Oak Offshore ever launched.
The seller, a very reputable store in Germany. The watch, in like new condition with box and papers but with no 'Offshore', 'AP' nor 'Automatic' markings on the case back —the last digits on the serials have been blurred for security reasons. Additionally, the No. engraving is missing the underline on the superscript o.
Once we received the pictures of the watch and checked the serial numbers against our early Royal Oak Offshore example—under the 200 serial range—we knew the watch was legit. The D-serial sequence on both watches had the right chronological order. Our watch pictured below —we have also blurred the last digits on the the serial numbers— was the one used for comparison purposes and to authenticate this situation.
However, we will admit that the lack of the 'Offshore', 'AP' and 'Automatic' engravings as well as the difference in the way the No. engraving is presented on the case back were somewhat confusing. Nevertheless, we've heard that the first 50 Offshores ever made, were missing these engravings. Were we looking at one of those collector's pieces? Could this one be one of them?
Based on the pictures we received, we followed our watch collector's instinct and our gut feeling and told our friend and watchlifestyler to move forward with the deal. We are so glad he followed our advice and purchased this rare example.
A few weeks after purchasing the watch, our friend and watchlifestyler reached out to Audemars Piguet, who has confirmed the authenticity of this piece. Additionally, he also reached out directly to Emmanuel Gueit —the creator of the Royal Oak Offshore—in order to confirm the situation regarding the lack of engravings. Based on all accounts previously mentioned, we can now confirm that this is one of the first 100 pieces ever made of the iconic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore.
Seems that the reason why the first 100 pieces of this reference don't bear the 'Offshore' engraving on it, it's because Audemars Piguet wasn't sure at the time whether this reference should've been called 'Offshore' or not. Interesting enough, the other early example of the Offshore—the one we used for authentication purposes of this 'rare' example—is exactly 115 pieces apart from this 'rarity'. The D-serial and Royal Oak No. consecutive numbers can attest it.
When it comes to hunting down that one grail piece, sometimes going with your gut feeling is the best way to go. You don't want to end up regretting not getting that one grail you've always wanted.
For more info on Audemars Piguet click here.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix. Only 1750 Out There.
The Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix Limited Edition ref. 26290 is a serious collector's grail. This Forged Carbon beauty is definitely one that will make a statement anywhere you wear it. Dressed up or dressed down, those who know will recognize it immediately.
Audemars Piguet has always been in the forefront when it comes to using materials that are rarely used by other watchmaking companies. Audemars Piguet started using these type of materials long before any other watchmaking company would do so back in the 1980's with the introduction of Tantalum and Rose Gold watches. Today, Audemars Piguet makes a statement with Forged Carbon and Ceramic.
The Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix embodies the powerful ties between watchmaking and automobiles. The same passion for design and the same incessant quest for mechanical performance. The sub-dials evoke dashboard instruments, the crown a gear, and the bezel a ventilated brake disc. Issued in limited edition series featuring meticulously executed details & cutting-edge materials. Whether viewed from the front, the side, or through the sapphire crystal back, all angles provide the same clear-cut impression of dynamic, aggressive, taut and complex shapes that are undeniably reminiscent of gleaming automobile bodywork.
This watch is so light that sometimes one can forget it is on the wrist. The attention to detail and craftsmanship is just at another level. This watch shows very clearly why Audemars Piguet is considered one of the three companies that conform the 'Holy Trinity of Watchmaking'. It is also well known by collectors and watch enthusiasts that forged carbon cases never look the same. All Forged Carbon pieces have their own unique character and finish, typical of handmade goods. The Grand Prix Limited Edition is available in Rose Gold and Forged Carbon in limited quantities of 650 and 1750 respectively.
This watch comes with a case made out of forged carbon fibers and a bezel made of forged carbon and black ceramic with eight titanium hex-head screws fastening the bezel to the case as well as the case back. The Grand Prix houses an Audemars Piguet Caliber 3126/3840, composed of 365 parts and a power reserve of 60 hours.
The strap on the Grand Prix is one of the most unique looking Audemars Piguet straps out there. Black calfskin and red alcantara, hand-sewn with red alcantara inserts and edges. Comfortable and beautiful at the same time. This strap exudes class.
The crown is made of blackened titanium with the AP logo in red, the chronograph pushers are made of titanium and black ceramic and comes with a sapphire crystal display case back. The plots that connect the case to the strap are made of titanium just like the tang buckle on the strap. The dial evokes different parts of auto super machines. The bronze flange is reminiscent of the magnesium alloy wheels on a race car. Running seconds at 12 o 'clock, 30-minute register at 9 o'clock and 12-hour register at 12 o'clock.
All in all, this is a wonderful reference suited for every day wear and one that will make a statement wherever you go.
Sticker Price $45,000 USD. For more info click here.
Experience: Partagas No.4 Serie D. Two Divers Over Cigars.
Two watchlifestylers decided to meet up for drinks and cigars in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The location, the exclusive Grand Velas resort in Riviera Maya. One of the collectors, a longtime fellow Montecristo cigar aficionado, the other one, a Cohiba and Partagas lover. Talking about watches while enjoying an 'Habano' is very common in our watch collecting lifestyle, coming to terms on which of the two watches —or cigars— is better is definitely a challenging thing.
Having the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver and the two-tone Rolex Submariner Date side-by-side helped us understand how these two watches are magnificent with their own individual pros and cons. Watch collecting and watch talk is not about proving who is wearing a better watch. It is about enjoying life and making friends —sometimes even overseas— with people that enjoy our lifestyle.
Watch collecting, just like smoking a fine cigar or sipping a glass of your favorite port, is really about the enjoyment you get out of that particular timepiece sitting on your wrist and the memories you build while wearing it.
Partagas No.4 is a strong, rich cigar with leather and cocoa notes. Intense, yet smooth at the same time. Strong in smell but soft to the palate.
I once heard that the best wine in the world is not necessarily a Petrus or a Château Lafite Rothschild, but the one that you enjoy the most.
Same goes to watches, don't you think?
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver ref. 15703. A Real Diver's Watch.
This time, we will be talking about the 'hottest' watch of 2012 and hard to find piece as every time authorized dealers get one is sells immediately . The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver. This watch ref. 15703ST is fitted with the same in-house caliber 3120 as the ref. 15300. Some Audemars Piguet enthusiasts refer to this movement as "one of the greatest automatic movements ever made". In our humble opinion, it is indeed one of the greatest and also very accurate. Power reserve up to 60 hours.
The case diameter is 42mm like on most Royal Oak Offshores, however, the ref. 15703 has a slightly flatter bezel that makes it appear much larger than 42mm. Actually the dial is 1mm wider than on other Royal Oak Offshores such as the ref. 25721. The thickness of the case is massive at 13.8mm, yet very comfortable. The usual matte finish and polished bevels/chamfers are just perfection! The movement is encased in a anti-magnetic casing that needs to be unscrewed after removing the case back. The case back is almost twice as thick as the case back in other Royal Oak Offshores to guarantee that the watch can withstand the pressure at 300m deep. Total weight of the watch 169grs.
This watch is fitted with a beautiful rubber strap with a thick rubber grain very different to other Offshore straps (i.e. Rubberclad ones) and comes with a tang buckle in stainless steel. The buckle is very solid with matte finish on the front but polished at the very end of the edge between the back and the front. The back of the clasp and pin are sand blasted featuring AP and ACIER INOX engravings.
The dial in this watch is a "Méga Tapisserie" (big waffle pattern) in black with white gold applied hour-markers and hands with luminescent coating and a inner rotating flange with diving scale that is also luminous. AP gave a glossy effect to this dial to make it appear as if it was wet. Just unbelievable nice and quite hard to appreciate in pictures. This dial comes with the classic double-baton hour marker at 12 o'clock like on the 5402ST or the 15202ST.
The
luminova is not the most powerful, but with enough brightness and
several hours of night life. If you are a crazy 'luminova lover' you
will be disappointed. When it comes to brightness of the super-luminova at night we can only think of IWC, Blancpain and Omega.
The calendar wheel is black with white fonts and the date aperture is square shaped instead of round as in most Offshores. The date aperture comes with a built-in loupe that appears to be glareproofed. If you notice on some of the pics, the date window appears to have a very slight blueish tint around the corners. The numbers on the calendar use the newer AP font with serifs opposed to the old school font in the 5402 and the 15202. The pictures make the font on the calendar wheel appear quite thick and solid white, but in real life they don't look that solid to us, especially the double-digit dates.
The watch is fitted with very sturdy over-sized Rubberclad—opposed to Therban as in most Offshore screw-down crowns. These crowns are used for setting the time and rotating the inner flange diving scale. In order to rotate the inner flange diving scale, you need to unscrew the crown at the 10 o'clock position and then rotate clockwise. The crown needs to be screwed back in before immersion in the water. The flange only rotates in one direction and the clicks are perfectly aligned with the minute markers on the dial. The main crown comes with a large AP engraving while the flange rotating crown comes with a circle around the perimeter.
The watch is fitted with a anti-reflective one-side coated sapphire crystal. The coating has only been applied to the interior of the crystal and not to the outside. The crystal is quite thick and sturdy. It sits into the bezel flatter than on other Royal Oak Offshores where you can see the edge of the crystal protuding even more.
After wearing the watch for one full day, all we can say is WOW! The watch wears very comfortably, it matches all types of outfits —dressed down or suited up— and the understated look of it is unparalleled.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721ST.OO.1000ST.01. The Very First One a.k.a 'The Beast' and the Most Beautiful in our Opinion.
In my opinion the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25721ST.00.1000ST.01 is the most beautiful sports watch ever made by Audemars Piguet. This timepiece is sporty yet very elegant and classy at the same time. A watch that goes great with a suit or with jeans and a t-shirt. My love for this particular watch dates back to the late 90's when after owning several Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks Jumbos ref. 5402 —three Stainless Steel Jumbos to be precise and several Two-Tones—, I spotted in person what would become one of my true grails and a watch that was an unattainable back then —at least for where I was in my career at 26 years of age. I still remember that very first encounter as if it was today. Back in 1998 during a high level meeting with the CEO of Grupo Televisa —the largest media conglomerate in Latin America— I noticed him wearing what I thought was the nicest AP I had ever seen. I had never seen one in person until then. My 'dream watch' —at the time— was born during that encounter. It was the first Royal Oak Offshore launched back in 1993. That Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore with the blue/grayish unmistakable dial that is now a discontinued model.
