Almost eleven years ago, Audemars Piguet released the Royal Oak Offshore Rubens Barrichello II in Istanbul, Turkey. Today, this magnificent watch still turns heads around when you run into it in the wild. While the AP Royal Oak Offshore Rubens Barrichello II in titanium we featured here is a huge favorite among watch collectors, the 18K rose gold version of it is even more special.
Posts filed under Audemars Piguet
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger The Legacy. The 1,500-piece Limited Edition that Marked the End of an Era.
When you see an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Arnold Schwarzenegger The Legacy reference 26378IO.OO.A001KE.01, the first thing that comes to mind is 'The Governor' Arnold Schwarzenegger screaming: "Get to da choppa" as he played Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer in the 1987 action film Predator. Originally released in 2011, the AP Legacy is the last watch made in honor of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Audemars Piguet.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin Tourbillon Platinum ref. 26510PT. Hands-on with a 309-gram Platinum Grail of All Grails.
Stunning, exceptional and very rare, are some of the words that come to mind when thinking about what we think is the perfect tourbillon for daily wear. The first Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon was released in 1992 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak and in 2012 the Royal Oak Extra-Thin Tourbillon was released to celebrate the Royal Oak's 40th birthday.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Platinum ref. 26470PT. Hands-on with a 50-piece Limited Edition that Weighs Almost a Pound.
Just launched a few months ago, the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ref. 26470PT.OO.1000PT.01 in platinum is one of the heaviest watches we've ever reviewed. With a total weight only 23 grams short of a full pound —total weight of this watch is 431.9 grams—, this is also one of the most special watches ever made by AP. Released in a 50-piece limited edition, this is the first Royal Oak Offshore watch in platinum that doesn't feature a blue dial which is the common 'tell tale' when it comes to limited edition platinum Royal Oak Offshores.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15400ST Grey Ruthenium Toned Dial. Hands-on with the Latest 41 mm Royal Oak.
The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15400ST.OO.1220ST.04 is the latest 41 mm Royal Oak released earlier this year with a fantastic grey ruthenium toned dial. This reference is a clear result of the continuous evolution of the Royal Oak and the manufacture's constant forward thinking. Since its launch in 1972, the Royal Oak has gone through several design modifications and the ref. 15400 with this new grey dial is simply perfect. With this new dial, the Royal Oak ref. 15400ST is now available in four different dial variants that include blue, silvered white, black and this new one.
Watch Goodies: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Table Clock. One of the Coolest AP Clocks Out There.
What watch collector doesn't love big swag from the watch brands? Well, since most of us do, here's one of those very special AP clocks to get you drooling and aspiring for one. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Table Clock is perhaps one of the most rare and least common clocks gifted by AP and one that you rarely see in the wild. This table clock, just like the Royal Oak Desk clock we featured here is also fitted with the 'Le Brassus' themed wooden stand and it was released in 2016.
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rodeo Drive Limited Edition ref. 26060ST. Harder to Find than Finding a Needle in a Haystack.
More challenging to find than finding a needle in a haystack, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rodeo Drive Limited Edition ref. 26060ST.OO.D017CR.01 was released on May 16, 2005 as a tribute to the opening of Westime's —AP authorized dealer in Los Angeles— second location on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. This watch, also marks the second limited edition ever created in honor of an AP authorized dealer. After the successful release in 2004 of ref. 26034TS to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sincer Watch in Singapore, the Rodeo Drive was released in a 50-piece limited edition that quickly sold out.
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Pride of Argentina' Titanium Limited Edition. A Stunning Blue Dial 100-Piece Edition.
If you like blue dials, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Pride of Argentina in titanium ref. 26365IS.OO.D305CR.01 features what to us is one of the most beautiful blue dials AP has ever made. Along with its sibling the Royal Oak Offshore 'Pride of Argentina' in 18K rose gold ref. 26365OR.OO.D801CR.01 —reviewed by us here— also sporting the same blue dial, this watch is not only extremely rare limited edition but a very understated one.
Experience: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Schiphol Airport Limited Edition. Perfectly Paired with the Blue dial on the AP Royal Oak Extra-Thin 15202OR.
Landing at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is always a treat if you like the finer things in life as much as we do. After a long-haul flight on KLM's World Business Class, the perfect way to start your day on the other side of the pond is by enjoying all that this airport has to offer. Schiphol is without a doubt, one of our favorite airports in the world and one that truly offers a great experience for watchlifestylers.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold ref. 15454 and 67653. Hands-on with the Perfect Valentine's Day Gift.
Just because it's Valentine's Day, we bring you a very special women's watch that could be the dream gift for that special lady in your life. The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold is available in two sizes —33 mm and 37 mm— and in 18K rose gold or 18K white gold. Officially presented at the SIHH 2017 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the ladies Royal Oak —Jacqueline Dimier transferred Genta's design to a ladies version—, this is a shining reinvention of an iconic design.
Insider: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked ref. 26347OR. Hands-on with an Impressive Openworked AP that Weighs Almost a Pound.
Only a handful of watch brands excel in the art of skeletonization and Audemars Piguet is one of them without a doubt. The new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked ref. 26347OR.OO.1205OR.01 just released at the SIHH 2017 is a perfect example of the caliber of work they do in this field and a watch worth talking about. While this watch didn't get much press coverage a few weeks ago since the AP Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in black ceramic —reviewed by us here— took the center stage in Geneva, we feel that is about time that we present you our hands-on review of it.
SIHH 2017: New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm ref. 26400IO, ref. 26405CE and ref. 26401RO. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
Three new additions to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm collection were just released at the SIHH 2017. The first, a completely new model that combines a titanium case with a black ceramic bezel, the second a new dial version for the all black ceramic —case and bezel— reference and third a new dial for the 18K rose gold and black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore 44 mm. All three new watches maintain the same case proportions at 44 mm in diameter and 14.4 mm in thickness, black ceramic bezels, pushers and screw-down crowns in black ceramic, titanium pusher guards and display case backs.
SIHH 2017: New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronographs ref. 26331ST and ref. 26331OR. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
Continuing with our coverage of the SIHH 2017, we now bring you the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronographs that were released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak Chronograph. For its third facelift since its launch in 1997, the reference number has changed 26320 to 26331. For these new Royal Oak Chronographs, Audemars Piguet has decided to enlarge the hour and minute chrono registers at 9 and 3 o'clock, reduce the size of the running seconds subdial at 6 o'clock, shorten and widen the hour-markers while adding more lume to them and update the typeface and transfers on the chronograph totalizers.
SIHH 2017: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Titanium and Platinum ref. 26331IP.OO.1220IP.01. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak Chronograph, Audemars Piguet just gave this reference its third facelift since its launch in 1997 and changed the reference number from 26320 to 26331. For these new Royal Oak Chronographs, Audemars Piguet has decided to enlarge the hour and minute chrono registers at 9 and 3 o'clock, reduce the size of the running seconds subdial at 6 o'clock, shorten and widen the hour-markers while adding more lume to them and update the typeface and transfers on the chronograph totalizers.
SIHH 2017: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver ref. 15710ST. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
Following the success of the 2016 launch of the Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph in a range of fizzing bright and vibrant dial colours, Audemars Piguet now introduces the non-chronograph model in similarly exciting hues. These five funky colors are definitely great on the regular AP Diver and much better than on the AP ROO Diver Chronograph. Not much else to say, watch is still 42 mm and powered by the same in-house Audemars Piguet calibre 3120. Also fitted with a display case back like on the latest AP Divers.
SIHH 2017: Audemars Piguet Perpetual Calendar Black Ceramic ref. 26579CE. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
Perhaps one of the most striking watches Audemars Piguet has released lately, the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Perpetuel —Perpetual Calendar— in black ceramic just released at the SIHH 2017 is crazy sexy. This new reference 26579CE.OO.1225CE.01 joins all the other new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars released in 2015 and 2016. Our first impressions of the watch from the press release were not very positive, however, in person this watch is absolutely stunning.
SIHH 2017: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin 18K Yellow Gold ref. 15202BA. Hands-on Live Pictures & Pricing.
Finally, today we were able to see all of the Audemars Piguet novelties in the metal. The new 18K yellow gold Royal Oak Extra-Thin is simply gorgeous, especially with its vintage-inspired champagne color dial ref. 15202BA.OO.1240BA.02. With regards to the blue dial version ref. 15202BA.OO.1240BA.01 that is supposed to feature a lighter shade of blue when compared to its counterpart in 18K rose gold, we really couldn't see much of a difference next to it.
News: Pre-SIHH 2017 New Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Extra-Thin in 18K Yellow Gold ref. 15202BA. Two Different Dials Available.
When the original Royal Oak first appeared in 1972, it was notable for several reasons and it was available only in stainless steel. However, in 1977 the first 18K yellow gold 39 mm Royal Oak was launched, bringing a whole new character to what would soon be regarded as an iconic design. In 2016, classic 18K yellow gold returned to Audemars Piguet’s product portfolio and was presented in a select group of Royal Oak models including the Royal Oak Chronograph ref. 26320BA at the SIHH 2016 as we reported here.
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Gentleman's Driver' ref. 26175ST. The Only Royal Oak Offshore with a Chiseled Out Bezel.
Released in 2010 and discontinued shortly after, the so called 'Gentleman's Driver' Royal Oak Offshore ref. 26175ST.OO.D003CU.01 is one of only seven references released by Audemars Piguet with orange accents on their dials. The other six are the following: Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph ref. 26703ST reviewed here, the Royal Oak Offshore Ceramic Diver ref. 15707CE reviewed here, the Royal Oak Offshore Volcano ref. 26170ST.OO.D101CR.01, the Royal Oak Offshore Limited Edition Oceanografía 'Goliath' ref. 26217 in white gold, rose gold and stainless steel featured here, the Royal Oak Offshore ref. 25770ST and the Royal Oak Offshore Scuba ref. 15701ST.OO.D002CA.01
Rare Bird: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rubens Barrichello II Titanium. Seven Years After its Launch, Still One of the Top Grails Among AP Collectors.
On August 23, 2006, Audemars Piguet presented the Royal Oak Offshore Rubens Barrichello II in Istanbul, Turkey. Today, seven years later, this iconic watch is still one of the most coveted timepieces among Audemars Piguet watchlifestylers as well as watch collectors in general. This watch, honoring the Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello —Ayrton Senna's disciple— is a perfect example of the forward thinking and cutting edge design that Audemars Piguet has always had since the launch of the Royal Oak in 1972.
