Just before year-end, on the 24th of December to be exact, I traded my Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref.15300 for a 15202ST (or 15202ST.OO.0944ST.02 in full). Although I was very happy with my white dialed Royal Oak 15300, the 15202 ‘Jumbo’ remains to be the original Royal Oak in my opinion. The original Gérald Genta creation of 1972 still lives in the current Royal Oak collection, bearing reference number 15202ST. The original Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ is pictured below, with reference number 5402.

As you can see, the hour markers are a bit different than the current ‘Jumbo’ and the AP logo changed position. If you look even more closely, you will notice that the dial pattern is a bit different too. The squares are a bit smaller than on the current models of the Royal Oak series.

What didn’t change, is the size of the watch, the lack of a second hand, the movement caliber (2121) and the thin case. The thin case is only possible because AP still uses the caliber 2121 movement, which has a height of only 3.05mm thick, including the 21ct gold rotor. The screws in the octagonal bezel are still made out of white gold, as are the minute and hour hands. Below a picture of the movement, dis-assembled (without rotor) not even 3mm in height. Picture credits to Matthias S of the German R-L-X forum.

I think a lot has been written about this movement already, also used by Vacheron Constantin (caliber 1120 in their ‘222′) and the Patek Philippe Nautilus (caliber 28-255), all based on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s caliber 920. Story is that VC, PP and AP had some influence/input when JLC created this movement. Later on, only AP made this particular movement in license of JLC.

The main difference between the 15300 and 15202 are the thickness of the watch and bracelet and, ofcourse, the second hand. From an owners perspective, I have to say that I really had to get used to the 15202 ‘Jumbo’ the first few days, as the bracelet is really thin in comparison to the one of the 15300. It feels a bit like wearing a vintage watch, where the 1972 design kicks in again probably. However, it wears very comfortable on my wrist and the look of the watch’s face (there is almost no space between the dial and the sapphire crystal) is simply amazing.

Although I was a bit weary at first, that I would miss the new and updated bracelet, and the white face with long(er) hour markers, the Jumbo is here to stay and I consider it the master piece of my very modest collection of time pieces. The name ‘Jumbo’ is a bit out dated as well, since 39mm isn’t that Jumbo and the 15300 is even a bit larger in size. However, it could be considered authentic to keep calling this particular model ‘Jumbo’.

Enough talk, here are some of the photographs that I took today!

And here is a lousy shot of the transparent case back, showing the wonderful caliber 2121 movement. You can clearly see the superb finished rotor, with the 21ct gold mass attached to it.

I will write a more in-depth review in some time from now, I first have to enjoy wearing it! Although I don’t feel the urge purchasing another time piece in the (near) future, I can imagine it will take a lot of time to buy something next to this one.

Lastly, I recently found this vintage (probably 1970s) advertizement of the Royal Oak that I love to share with you.

Ever since my early days (mid-nineties) of exploring the watch universe, I have a lot of love for Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. The Royal Oak Jumbo (15202ST) being too expensive, and the normal Royal Oak’s being too small with their 36mm (and too expensive at that time as well), the year 2005 suddenly brought some hope. In that year, Audemars Piguet introduced a new Royal Oak date model in stainless steel, with an in-house movement caliber 3120. AP used a movement based on JLC 889/1 movement till then, for its regular Royal Oak date model. This new model, with ref.15300 had a case diameter of 39mm. Almost the same size as the Jumbo 15202ST, only a bit thicker because of the movement construction. The Jumbo uses a very flat movement, due to a different construction of the rotor which makes the entire watch almost 1mm flatter. Which is a lot of course, in horological context.

Anyhows, as you might know, Audemars Piguet is a brand that can be bought with some discount (with the exception of some limited models and the famous Jumbo) and the price difference between the regular stainless steel Royal Oak and the Royal Oak Jumbo is pretty significant. Also, you might be attracted to the more updated (thicker) bracelet, the screwed-down crown and long hour markers a bit more. On the other hand, the movement of the Jumbo is beyond special.. so if you have a weak spot for the caliber 2121 it is going to cost you serious money.

Enough tech-talk. My watch friend Michael was instantly in love with the Royal Oak after seeing the Royal Oak Jumbo model on the wrist of another watch friend of mine, during our trip to a watch fair in Düsseldorf. Just like me, Michael fell in love with the regular Royal Oak ref.15300ST and when one of these beauties crossed his path, he pulled the trigger on it.

Yesterday, I received a few photographs of his Royal Oak 15300ST. He has it for quite some time now, but finally got himself a decent photography set-up. For me, the pictures he took capture the true essence of the Royal Oak. Simple and yet sophisticated, stylish and yet sporty at the same time.

Enjoy!

(c) Photos by Michael

When I borrowed the AP Royal Oak Offshore Rubber Clad from Watch-Site, I got the AP Royal Oak 15300 as well. Just to do some look & feel on this watch. Not too long ago, I was a bit reluctant on this particular model, since there was only one Royal Oak, and that was the Royal Oak Jumbo, also known as the ‘15202ST’. I have written many times on this Jumbo by Audemars Piguet, saying it was my dream watch or number 1 or 2 (this position changes back and forth with the PP Nautilus 5711/1A) watch that I need to have somewhere in life.

Friends of mine have the 15202 and are quite clear on the 15300. A no-brainer, because of the second hand with the ‘wing’ on the short tip, the movement and the thickness of this watch. The movement used in the 15202 is indeed a beauty. However, I think that focusing on movement only is not something you should be doing. It should be the whole package of design, usability/wearability, price etc. that needs to be right. Besides a different movement (AP caliber 2121 vs 3120), the 15300 is a bit more masculine than the 15202 Jumbo. One of the first things that got my attention was the look & feel of the entire watch. The stainless steel watch case (39mm) and bracelet with satin finish is heavier than the 15202. Not only in weight, but also in the construction of the case and bracelet. The bracelet of the 15300 feels solid and the size is just right, as opposed to the bracelet on the 15202 Jumbo, which feels a bit fragile.

I am probably stepping on toes of purists here, and I am a bit amazed myself as well, that this watch gives me this impression. Given the price of the 15300 – market price approx.6500 euro versus approx 8500 euro for a 15202 – I don’t know if I would care enough for the caliber 2121 of the 15202 to pay almost 2000 euro premium for it. I think I prefer a case and bracelet that are more convenient and wearable than having the cult version (15202) with a movement that is more sought after.

The dial of this white fellow is pretty neat as well with its famous pattern of the AP RO and applied logo. The hands and hour markers are made out of 18kt gold. The only downside of the dial is the lettering of Audemars Piguet and Automatic. The font is a bit too bold, and they could have left ‘Audemars Piguet’ off the dial completely, as the applied logo makes it clear that you have an AP anyway. However, this wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me personally.

When handling an AP Royal Oak, I am always impressed by the finish of the case and dial. The satin structure of the stainless steel (or gold) is true craftmanship and way more impressive than let’s say, my IWC Ingenieur 3227-01. When you touch the bracelet of the AP Royal Oak, you can actually feel the satin brushed lines on there. When you do the same with an Ingenieur for example, you just feel a smooth surface.

The caliber 3120 movement in this watch is a real beauty. The 22k gold rotor with impressive engravings covers the 4.25mm flat movement (which is very flat) inside the 15300. The sapphire displayback gives an excellent view on this small masterpiece. I don’t know if it’s because this transparant caseback, but the watch is only guaranteed water resistant for 50 meters (5 bar). This isn’t very much for a watch that is considered to be ’sporty’.

Taking the price of this particular watch (it’s for sale at Watch-Site) into consideration, 5750 Euro, dated 12-2007 complete with box and papers, it is a very interesting stainless steel sportswatch, that still breathes the ‘cult’ of Genta’s original design of the 1970s. Given the price and the updated design, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref.15300ST could be more interesting to buy than the iconic Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ ref.15202ST.

Since the early days of my watch addiction (I admit), I am a sucker for the designs of Gerald Genta in the 1970s. Most of the time, I neglect the Vacheron and drool on pictures of ‘his’ Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and IWC Ingenieur SL.

I always found it hard to get proper information and pictures of the Vacheron Constantin ‘222′, nowadays known as the Vacheron Constantin Overseas. The ‘222′ was the last icon that Gerald Genta designed in the 1970s, just one year after the Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700 and IWC Ingenieur SL 1832. However, yesterday I stumbled across the The Hour Lounge website, a Vacheron Constantin (where did the ‘et’ go?) discussion forum.

Below a great picture of the Big Four (not to mix up with the accountancy firms):

The Big Four by Gerald Genta

In this picture you see the ‘Jumbo’ versions of the Ingenieur SL, Royal Oak, Nautilus and ‘222′. The in 1977 introduced ‘222′ was limited to 500 pieces in stainless steel, 100 in gold and 120 in gold/steel combination. These watches were delivered in a nice leather box and included a money clip in the shape of the watch case.

The movement in the ‘222′ is the VC 1120, based on the Jeager LeCoultre caliber 920 movement (but never used it in their own watches). The Royal Oak and the Nautilus also used iteration of this movement.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally found a great article on the internet about the Vacheron Constantin ‘222′, written by Leonardo of the The Hour Lounge forum. You can find the article by clicking this link. Someone should make a PDF of this article, just for safe keeping!

As this Bucherer ad says, ‘Live the Legacy’ and get yourself a Gerald Genta watch!

Live the Legacy

There is a gold version of the ‘222′ currently up for sale at chrono24.com, from Italy in great condition (dates 1980) and will cost you 13.800 Euros. I don’t think the stainless steel version will go for very much less, in similar condition.