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.

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.

The Watch Lounge asked for a short story about my favorite watch and for what reason it is my favorite watch. Although this watch has been covered here numerous times, it might be a nice read for my fellow AP Royal Oak adepts and Gérald Genta disciples.

Click here to read the article over at The Watch Lounge.

People who love (luxury) watches will also be able to appreciate the other finer things of life. One of these finer things is – of course -?Ǭ� fashion and in this case, shirts. Just recently, I came in touch with Wallstreet Kingdom shirts. The owner of Wallstreet Kingdom is also a big fan of haute horlogerie and shares his fashion philosophy with us on his website.

“Our fashion objects are exclusively made. Sartorial tradition and real craftsmanship, as well as the best fabrics and handmade details epitomize what real luxury should be all about: sophisticated, stylish and ready to wear. Everyday. Every time. Everywhere. “We want to be the Audemars Piguet of the fashion industry”, says Christian Adriaanse. “Tradition, excellence and daring. Designing iconic objects. Just like them. Their first Royal Oak watch was unveiled in 1972 – my year of birth – it looks as if it was designed yesterday. Fabulous”.

Designer Christian Adriaanse only uses the very best materials to create these Stripes of Pride shirts, including mother of pearl for its buttons. The Stripes of Pride collection is there to celebrate your successes, achievements and – in short -?Ǭ� life. No holding back because the economy/business goes slow. Just like Audemars Piguet and G?ɬ�rald Genta did in 1972, introducing a stainless steel luxury sports watch, costing as much as a 18ct gold Patek Philippe Calatrava watch. Because they could do so, by showing their tradition and excellence in everything they do, including in their stainless steel sports watch.

The designer of Wallstreet Kingdom shirts is also an admirerer of haute horlogerie and particularly of Audemars Piguet. As he discussed with me, the red-white Stripes of Pride shirt will perfectly match a Royal Oak ref.15202ST and the blue-white shirt will go well with an Offshore Navy. Just so you know.

When the first Royal Oak was introduced in 1972, nobody could have guessed how popular the design would be in the 21st century. Based on that original design, Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Offshore collection 20 years after the first Royal Oak. At least here in The Netherlands, the Royal Oak Offshore is very popular and in my humble opinion, it is one of the watches that caused the end of the hype around the stainless steel Rolex Daytona (given the fact that it is widely available again and that they are going for list price).

However, given the fact that I am the proud owner of the Royal Oak model that comes closest to the original of 1972, how does this Offshore compare to its ancestor and is it actually a true alternative for the ultimate cult chronograph, the Rolex Daytona ref.116520? A few weeks ago, I was able to review a Royal Oak Offshore Safari (26170ST.OO.D091CR.01) from Dutch watch dealer Watch-Site and I finally have some time to share my findings with you.

From the Offshore collection, the Safari always drew my attention, mainly because of the very nice creamy dial color. It reminds me a bit of the Rolex Explorer II Cream Dial ref. 16550 (mid-80s), a very sought-after Explorer II model. The Safari has this very cool brown alligator (hornback) strap with bone texture, making it look very euh… Safari. Just like every other Royal Oak, the Safari also has the 8 white gold screws in the bezel of the watch. When the watch is being held in certain angles, the light will play nicely with the satinized bezel and the high polished white gold screws. I catch myself doing this quite regularly

The watch case is a lot bigger than the original Royal Oak model and not only that, but also a bit different in shape. Edges are not as sharp as on the original Royal Oak models, and most parts of the watch are a bit more round in general. The Offshore models are famous for their rubber parts, like the thick rubber gasket between the bezel and the watch case and the rubber protectors for the crown and chronograph pushers.

Although not very visible in the picture above, the crown and pushers are not aligned. However, the date window already should have told you that this movement is not a dedicated chronograph movement but a regular movement with an additional chronograph module (this method is called piggybacking).

The base movement is an in-house movement, that has been used by Audemars Piguet since 2005. The regular Royal Oak Date Automatic (ref. 15300) has the same base movement (caliber 3120), amongst others . The movement used in the Safari (and other Offshore Chronographs) is referred to as caliber 3126/3840, with 59 jewels and a 55 hour power reserve. A high number of jewels for a chronograph movement will tell you that it is a piggybacked movement most of the time. Nothing wrong with that of course, but the purists amongst us will prefer a dedicated chronograph movement instead.

Personally, I think you shouldn’t expect to get a piggybacked chronograph movement in a 16.000 Euro timepiece, although it would be mainly because of the misalignment of the crown and pushers.

As you can see in the picture above, the (round) screws are going in via the back of the watch and the white gold screw in the bezel is actually a hex nut. The case back of the AP ROO Safari actually says all that is necessary on the back, except for its 100 meters of water resistance.

The production number is a combination of a letter and a few digits and then again a few digits with No. in front of it. The letter (G in this case) should tell us something about the year, 2007 and the rest is abracadabra to me. My own 15202 has an F-number, and dates back to 2006. If anyone can explain me the logic behind these numbers, I would be very grateful.

With approximately 800 employees in Switzerland and 200 in foreign countries, Audemars Piguet is able to manufacture between 25.000 and 30.000 watches per year. So, there has to be something going on with the combination of these two identifiers in the back of the case.

So, is it a good and modern alternative for the once highly sought after Rolex Daytona? Most Rolex fans will tell you that there is no substitute, and a lot of AP fans will probably tell you the same. Apples and oranges indeed. Fact is though, that the AP ROO has become the watch of choice for bankers, soccer players and movie stars, where there was once only one ruler, the Rolex Daytona – preferably in stainless steel. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but movement wise, I think the Rolex is more interesting with its in-house developed chronograph caliber 4130. When it comes to the resell value, the Rolex Daytona is – although the hype is over – still good to go quickly for cash that comes close to retail.

A Royal Oak Offshore Safari Chronograph has a list price of 16.100 Euro, while you can get a BNIB model between 11.500 and 13.500 Euro. Used models, like the one reviewed, are approximately 10K Euro. One reason or another, you can bargain a lot on a new Audemars Piguet or get an occasion for almost 6K under list price. This could be seen as an advantage as well I guess, as long as you aren’t the guy who bought one for list price.

The 44mm x 14.75mm dimensions might not look good on everyone’s wrists, but I surely found the watch to be comfortable yet very ‘present’. I do think that it is at least the nicest Offshore model available right now, with its brown alligator hornback strap, stainless steel bezel (instead of rubber) and easy-on-the-eyes dial.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of this timepiece by leaving a comment below. Thanks to Watch-Site for lending me the watch.