To quote Don (Michael) Corleone in Godfather Part III, “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in!”. Just when I thought that this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo would keep me quiet for some time, my watch friend Michael (not Corleone) mailed me a few days ago, that he pulled the trigger on this fabulous blue dial Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph ref.25860. This predecessor of the current AP ref.26300 chronograph, is mighty interesting. Priced a bit more friendly than its successor, it doesn’t differ that much watch wise.  Although I can’t get it confirmed, the bezel of the newer 26300 is a bit wider than the 25860′s bezel. Not in terms of diameter, but the bezel itself, making the dial of the 25860 chronograph looking a bit larger then the one on it’s successor.

Here is some eye candy of the ref.25860 (pictures taken by Michael):

The movement in this baby isn’t a module as with the Off-Shore models, but a true chronograph movement based on F.Piguet’s caliber 1185. Another example of a time piece using this movement is the Vacheron Constantin Overseas chronograph I recently covered here (click here for the article). Although I wouldn’t mind owning an Off-Shore Chronograph, this movement makes this watch more interesting technically speaking. There is nothing wrong with an add-on chronograph module, but the fact that the date needs a cyclops on the Off-Shore models because the chronograph module has been fitted between the base movement and the dial would annoy me too much I guess.

If you haven’t tried a Royal Oak yet, please do. The bracelets are so comfortable and the polished and brushed parts of the case and bracelet are truly delightful to look at, especially when you let the (sun)light play with them.

Did you notice what’s wrong with Michael’s chronograph though? If you want to get an Audemars Piguet catalogue from 2000 (the Audemars Piguet #1 book) for free  – including shipping – leave a comment with what you think is not correct on this watch. I will randomly select a winner at the end of this week.

Hampus – a fellow blogger at How’s Hamp – did a great photo report of his visit to the Cote d’Azur. He photographed exactly what us watch nerds like to do, spotting watches on other people’s wrists. On Twitter for example, there is this #womw (what’s on my wrist) tag for everyone who wants to look at what people are wearing.

During Hampus’ vacation, he took the liberty to photograph a lot of people and did some wrist close-ups afterwards. Clearly, you need to have an Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe or Richard Mille when visiting the south of France (and Monaco).

On Hampus’ website, you can see a lot more of these ‘sunny’ pictures with incredible time pieces on people’s wrist. Even all the girls in Monaco seems to wear Richard Mille’s, Rolexes and APs.

Click here to visit the slide show by ‘How’s Hamp?’.

Most of the time, it is that first scratch or ding in your watch that will hurt the most. Jack Forster of Revolution Magazine tells about the first ding in his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15300. That triggered me to show you the first severe scratch on my Royal Oak. As you know, this watch has a lot of polished and brushed parts, most of the time divided by razor sharp edges. Luckily, none of the sharp edges has been damaged, because you can’t get that corrected any more (also AP can’t do this). I believe the bezel of my watch only needs some slight polishing on one of the polished parts of the bezel.

And here is the dramatized shot:

Anyway, it could be worse but it still hurts of course. I love this watch dearly, so I will get it corrected at some point. Probably during the next service overhaul. I have other watches that have scratches as well, but none of them feel like the one on this Royal Oak.

Check out the thread by Jack Forster on Revolution Magazine forum (formerly known as Horomundi). Click here.

Audemars Piguet always has been one of my favourite brands, especially their Royal Oak line make my horological heart tick faster. Since a year or so, I am the proud owner of a Royal Oak watch. The Royal Oak Date (ref.15300ST) at first, then after six months, followed by the ‘Jumbo’ cult icon (ref.15202ST).

The Royal Oak Off-shore Safari is on my wish list as well, as I am impressed by this time piece ever since I had the chance to review one from one of my sponsors. AP seems to enjoy the success of their popular RO and RO Off-shore a lot, organizing release parties with the rich and famous, sponsoring all kinds of events and charities and having a few rapping and acting ambassadors.

Although I don’t think there is anything wrong with that strategy, there is something wrong with the supposedly superb service that buyers of AP time pieces deserve, or, as I would like to put it, “haute service”.

A few examples from first hand: polishing an octagonal bezel to a round bezel, needing 10 weeks for regulating a movement and delivering it back with a dust pickle under the dial and even worse, there is this example of AP losing a watch from a customer. Of course, they replaced it with a new one but what if there was a personal engraving in the case back? Goner. AP charges serious prices for servicing a time piece, customers should therefore receive the best work possible.

My suggestion to AP is to skip a few release parties or drop an ambassador and invest in proper quality control before a repaired or serviced watch leaves their factory. Unfortunately, AP is not the only manufacturer that suffers from lack of “haute service”. There are numerous examples from first hand that include brands like Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre and a few smaller ones. I have to admit that in the end, most problems are solved, but it shouldn’t have come so far in the first place.

To be honest, the only brand that I would be totally comfortable with performing a repair or service overhaul, is the giant from Geneva, Rolex SA.

About a year ago, I wrote that the Royal Oak Date ref.15300 could be more interesting than the famous Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ Ref.15202 (click here for the article). Not long after that article, I decided to pull the trigger on Royal Oak Date. On the 24th of December 2009, I did a trade-up to the Jumbo because it crossed my path.

Now, I just received a message from John over at WatchUseek writing the following (left out some non-relevant information for this blog post):

“I  have read your articles comparing the Jumbo and the 15300. First of all, congratulations on a very nice review. It was well written and very informative. In fact, your blog was one of the reason I am now in the hunt for a 15300.

It is to my surprise that you have traded your 15300 to a Jumbo. I’m really curious what made you do it since you’ve made a very strong case on why the 15300 is a more interesting proposition than the Jumbo and I fully agree (and still do) to all your points.

Mind you, in no way I would change my mind in getting the 15300 but I would just like to gather your thoughts on what made you decide.

For me, to consider that Jumbo it would have to be a vintage one and should at least come from the 1980′s and not the current. Being a fan of new technology, the 15300 suits my character well. Again, this is a matter of personal taste and I’m looking forward to your reply.

Thank you,

John”

Today, I replied to John and thought that it would be nice to post it here as well, since I reckon that there are more potential Royal Oak buyers struggling with the same thoughts and questions about the ref.15300 and the ref.15202. Assuming you did your homework on both these magnificent timepieces, I won’t go into detail on them. Here is my answer to John’s message:

“First of all, congratulations on your decision to hunt for the AP Royal Oak 15300 time piece. You will not be disappointed.

You have no idea how long I sat down in the shop of my watch dealer, comparing my 15300 with white dial to this Jumbo 15202 he had received as a trade-in for some other watch. My watch dealer is not an AP dealer and mailed me that he had this 15202 and that it was possible to do a trade with one of my other watches.

There are a lot of pros for the 15300, as I wrote in my comparing review for FratelloWatches. The bracelet of the 15300 for instance, is much more up-to-date than the one on the 15202. The bracelet of the latter, makes this watch feel like wearing a vintage timepiece. The case of the 15300 is a bit higher, and therefore gives the watch a whole different look. It is more masculine and less fragile than the case of the 15202.

As for optics, the 15300 is hard to beat. However, and this is something you have to experience for yourself, comparing both watches to each other while holding them in your hands. The movement of the 15202 is more interesting, even though it isn’t an in-house caliber. The construction of the rotor on a rail is making this movement incredibly flat, which enables the entire watch to be no thicker than 7,05mm. I haven’t seen a more beautiful movement when it comes to a caliber with no complications, just hours, minutes and a date. The space between the sapphire crystal and the dial is therefore so flat, that when you look at it from an 45 degrees (to almost 90 degrees) angle, it is just as if there was no sapphire crystal at all.

My horological heart started ticking faster seeing the movement, and as a result of that, the amazing dial.

A friend of mine says that the ratio of the dial, bezel and case is better on the 15202 than on the 15300, but I don’t agree. The 15202 does tend to look a bit larger in diameter, as the bezel is a bit smaller.

Again, the up-to-date appearance of the 15300 and its price compared to the 15202 (15202 lists for 13900 euro, but can be had for 8500 euro (BNIB) where the 15300 lists for 9700 euro and can be had for 5750 euro (BNIB)) makes the 15300 a very interesting timepiece that will stand out of the crowd! If you do not care for having a brand new watch that feels like a vintage watch and can’t see the added value in the caliber 2121 movement, don’t spend that extra money on a Jumbo. I was just in the opportunity to trade in my 15300 with some extra cash for a 15202 and pulled the trigger. If this deal had not come by, I would still be the happy owner of a 15300.

Personally, I decided that I should hunt for a 26300 (as pictured above). This is the Royal Oak Chronograph (no Off-shore) which has more or less the same case and bracelet as the 15300. It is also based on the same in-house movement as the 15300. This way, I think will have the best of both worlds.

Best,
Robert-Jan”

I hope this helps others as well, seeking for their perfect Royal Oak Date time piece

Pictures of the 15300 courtesy of Dimer, Picture of the Royal Oak Chronograph courtesy of Audemars Piguet.