The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph.

This is a watch that’s so known to many of youpersonally, it may not require much of an analysis — but this is HODINKEE and you’ll be able to think you’re gonna receive one. The Royal Oak Chronograph is a watch that has thousands of fans all over the world, and a couple of detractors, too. The Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore families frequently appeal to very different individuals, but I’ll get to this shortly. Within this review, I handle a mainstay in the AP lineup, along with also an intriguing piece of haute horology, though one without its own in-house movement. I will look at how this 41mm column-wheel, vertical clutch chronograph wears, and whether the matter of where the motion came out of is even something worth noting at all. That is your HODINKEE Week About The Wrist with all the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph, and it’s one worth spending some time with.AP is a really distinctive watch manufacture. It’s one of the very few worldwide haute horology brands which stays in the hands of its founding family, with different members of the Audemars family still sitting on its board. However, the possession of AP is not always the most interesting side of the 175 year old fabrication — the question that matters is who purchases AP’s watches?
I was further motivated by Audemars Piguet Watch Travel Case along with the Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph when considering my recent article on things I’d love to see more of and less of out of the watch business in 2017 and discussing my own expectation for more bold colors in watches by major brands. It appears like Audemars Piguet shares my enthusiasm. There are five “vibrant” Funky Colour Edition styles of this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver to pick from this season including the mention 15710ST. OO.A027CA.01 in dark blue, 15710ST. OO.A070CA.01 in vivid orange, 15710ST. OO.A051CA.01 in acid yellow, 15710ST. OO.A038CA.01 in lime green, along with the 15710ST. OO.A010CA.01 in white. The latter is very similar in layout to the white ceramic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver from 2014. Every one of the versions comes in a finely completed 42mm-wide steel case that’s water resistant to 300 meters. A hallmark layout element of the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is the inner rotating timing bezel which is run by the crown located at 10 o’clock. It looks like the blue-colored crowns are coated from vulcanized rubber. Attached to the cases are extremely high-quality rubber Royal Oak Offshore tapering straps in colours to coordinate with the bold hues of the watches. Interestingly, the blue is the frequent colour across all these new versions, and in order to offer a more “safely conservative” option, Audemars Piguet includes an extra blue-colored strap with each watch. The version that already includes a blue strap gets an additional yellow strap to go with this. This 15710ST. OO.A027CA.01 piece may actually be the coolest model when on the yellow strap.
What’s left of the “dial” is essentially a satin-brushed, ruthenium-toned ring round the border and both anthracite sub-dials. There is a rehaut printed with a second chapter ring as well. In my experience, legibility is not the strongest suit to get a skeletonized watch, but that is less of an issue in the case of the watch. The use of pink gold applied hour markers and pink gold baton-shaped hands, both full of lume, should offer adequate legibility in most light conditions. The “Audemars Piguet” logo is printed on the surface of the sapphire crystal on the front, and this gives it a nice floating effect.The sub-dials are easy with white printed text and white baton-shaped hands. The sub-dial at 3:00 indicates chronograph minutes and also the one at 9:00 shows constant moments. One possible issue with legibility must do with the chronograph seconds hand, which can be black with a lumed white tip. Between just how thin the seconds hand is and the color, studying the chronograph elapsed time may be more cumbersome than people may like. It’s not easy to say for sure until we get our hands on a tangible case of this watch.I’ve left the situation and bracelet description for the past because these are a few of the most recognizable areas of the watch. This is the exact same Gerald Genta design that is so popular among many collectors however with 44mm by 13.2millimeter case dimensions. This is a somewhat large watch with a wide bezel on both the front and rear. All the right lines and sharp angles also give it a larger look. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph can be obtained in two case materials — titanium and rose gold. There will be the obvious visual differences in the two materials but what I find more interesting is that ceramic is usually a light material with high tensile strength, while gold is a dense but soft substance. What this means is that the expertise of wearing every variation should be significantly different, and that I personally find this interesting.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver is probably the Audemars Piguet I would want to next own. I developed a fondness for it back in 2010 when the Royal Oak Offshore Diver was initially introduced. Since then, Audemars Piguet has introduced a number of models in various case materials which range from steel to forged carbon, and ceramic (see all of them in our Royal Oak Offshore subject page or search “Audemars Diver” onto aBlogtoWatch). For 2017, the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver watches are all in steel, but observe a plethora of daring visual styles which echo other products already produced by the brand, in addition to a color theme that you can find in other new-for-2017 Audemars Piguet watches like the much costlier Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph Selfwinding Limited Edition pieces.Not that any of these watches are cheap, but if you are going to opt for a sporty timepiece in largely electric green, my mind is that spending circa $20,000 (that the Royal Oak Offshore Diver) feels a little more appropriate for something which isn’t likely to be a daily wear as compared to circa $300,000 for a pristine collector’s part (that the Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph Selfwinding Limited Edition). The majority of folks will probably err on the more conservative side and also elect for the very same watches in more “classic” colors provided by Audemars Piguet. Then again, if you live a lifestyle where you can pull-off among those colorful Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Divers as your daily wear, then more power to you.Last year in SIHH 2016, Audemars Piguet toyed with the idea of dressing the Royal Oak Offshore Diver in flashy colors when they introduced the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph. What I found to be interesting is that they debuted the Royal Oak Offshore Diver Chronograph (hands-on here) exclusively in wild colours like orange, yellow, blue, and green… without a model that could be regarded as a bit more conservative.

While Audemars Piguet Watch Winder has received quite a lot of flak in the past for what some collectors perceive as milking the Royal Oak fame a bit too much, I think the option available within the range is a great thing. Not everyone is able to afford a tourbillon chronograph, and not everyone wants just a time-only watch. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked Material Good watch includes a bracelet of the identical material as the case and an additional alligator leather strap. It’s accessible at Audemars Piguet boutiques and the Material Great store in NY for $297,000 for its pink gold version and $261,000 for the titanium version. At SIHH 2017, Swiss Audemars Piguet renowned color – that is obviously the focus for all these versions of the popular Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver 15710ST. The independent manufacturer’s offerings are light on novelty but rich in hue, and called the “Funky Colour Editions.” As such, the provider is likely doing what is smart this year since they continue to browse uncertain economic oceans where pouring R&D cash into entirely new goods can be regarded as a bit unwise. Despite understanding this fact of essential prudence, it makes being a watch blogger hard since we are always hungry for annual “newness.” That said, Audemars Piguet proceeds to remind myself and colleagues that our urge for “everything Royal Oak” is by no means a new sense.
As we already start looking forward to 2018’s SIHH novelties, we thought it high time to take a closer look at some of this year’s favorites, including the richly over-the-top 15202, rendered for the very first time as a contemporary, non-limited reference entirely from 18-carat yellow gold. It is not just the all-gold situation that brings the 15202 relevance though — there are a couple additional (albeit much more subtle) visual cues that set this specific reference aside, and may make it even more desirable for collectors in the long run. Probably most obvious, is the simple time plus date-only dial configuration, completed from the ‘AP’ logo at 6:00, which pays direct homage to the original steel 5402 published in 1972. This aesthetic also tips its hat towards the yellow gold 5402BA Jumbo introduced five decades later — the first time Audemars Piguet Watches rendered the Jumbo inside this valuable metal.However, more notable is the depth — the brand new 15202 measures a hair over 8mm, 0.2mm thicker than the first 5402, and the closest we’ve seen to people pioneering ultra-thin dimensions because the 40th Anniversary variations from 2012 — hence the ‘Extra Thin’ naming convention. This new-but-really-old profile, coupled with the eminently wearable 39mm case size really feels just like the sweet place for the Royal Oak, also has much to do with why this iconic layout managed to develop into such a future-proof classic in the first place.The Jumbo Royal Oak in its most classic arrangement is a wristwatch that historically, by all dimensions, should wear tremendously thin. Those searching for a marginally more toned-down aesthetic still rendered within this precious metal will appreciate the next of those 15202’s two new dial variants: a stunning blue, which, given the spate of blue-on-bronze sports watches we have seen this year, is as much on-trend, as it is a bit less ostentatious.

Starting this upcoming Monday, January 16th, and running through Friday, January 20th, is the always anticipated, annual Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland. The exhibition will feature displays from some of the largest watch brands as well as a stable of independent brands who are newly invited for 2017. This year also features a first for SIHH – a day open to the public on the final day, January 20th. The aBlogtoWatch team will be ready and present with the most comprehensive reporting of the event, and we will be bringing you our hands-on coverage of the latest novelties to debut at SIHH 2017. And if that didn’t already excite you, get ready to take an even closer behind the scenes look when we host our own aBlogtoWatch day on Thursday, January 19th at the show.

Seventeen exhibitors can be seen: A. Lange & Söhne, Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani, Piaget, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, and Van Cleef & Arpels.  This year marks the second of the Carré des Horlogers, now grown to thirteen independent brands: Christophe Claret, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie., Hautlence, HYT, Laurent Ferrier, MB&F, Manufacture Contemporaine Du Temps, Ressence, Romain Jerome, Speake-Marin, Urwerk, and Voutilainen.

And then there’s your average well-to-do watch purchaser. For mepersonally, the best analogy for this other kind of AP purchaser is advised using a singular scene in one episode of a single television series that was popular for a period of time some years ago. I’m speaking about Entourage, and I wager the huge majority of you understand exactly to which scene I’m referring.Ari Gold receives a solid gold Royal Oak chronograph (not as the opinion I’ll review down below) by his own then-soon-to-be boss, that describes it as “One of the finest watches in the world.” The camera then pans to the good gold watch from its box, and Ari is in disbelief regarding the gift — and thus, AP is introduced into a whole group of potential new customers, the men who see Entourage. From this moment on, you see several of the personalities on the display wearing APs. Many at the time considered Audemars Piguet had compensated for the positioning, but in discussions with AP over time, it had been disclosed to me that not just one dollar was exchanged. Rather, a specific manufacturer on the show was a large AP client, also insisted it be a Royal Oak introduced to Ari. Entourage did a lot for AP, but it was not this 1 positioning that defines the “other” kind of AP client. It will give you a good notion of where AP is popular, and that’s in Hollywood, music, and sports, with all the young and moneyed.Regardless of whether or not you are into all things that glitter, it can’t be denied that 2017’s SIHH trends were punctuated by heaps of those 79th component in white, yellow, and frosty colours. And no one needed more to reveal in this camp than Audemars Piguet, whose Extra-Thin Jumbo Royal Oak (reference 15202) in golden didn’t really steal the spotlight in the showstopping Perpetual Calendar in ceramic, but it surely came incredibly close — especially for those who’ve been following the last 40 or so years of the Royal Oak.

Follow our coverage here at the aBlogtoWatch website, as well as on the aBlogtoWatch Facebook page, Instagram feed, @aBlogtoWatch on Twitter, and our Google+ page, as well as our YouTube channel – and make sure to follow #SIHHABTW across our social media platforms as an easy way to keep up with us.

You can also follow our SIHH 2017 coverage here on aBlogtoWatch.com with hands-on articles, photography, and video straight from this year’s show, as well as all current and historic SIHH-related content here. As always, if you have any requests or questions for particular brands, simply mention them in your comments below and we will try to get answers over the course of our coverage. The readers are our number-one priority, and we want to hear from you on our social media channels. sihh.org

The dials are everything you would expect, save for the new colours. The Mega Tapisserie confront is fitted with 18k white gold daring hour mark and very legible matching palms. The white and blue dials are likely to be the most relaxing to look at over long amounts of time, while the green, orange, and yellow ones might be more likely to causing “amazing headaches” in case you aren’t in the right mood to glimpse at such bold colours all of the time.Inside the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver is your Audemars Piguet caliber 3120 automatic movement. These always have a lovely degree of finishing and decoration, and Audemars Piguet has maintained the 300m water-resistance while offering a sapphire crystal display caseback with a perspective of this movement and engraved 22k gold rotor.f you are an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak enthusiast and already have a couple conservatively-colored Audemars Piguet models in your collection then adding one of these Funky Colour Editions is likely what Audemars Piguet believes you might want to do. The brand’s recent plan is obviously focused on the prevalence of this Royal Oak, and a part of that means selling more models to existing clients. Price for each of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Funky Colour Edition 15710ST watches is US $19,900. Audemars Piguet has been creating some of the most technically interesting watches in their Royal Oak Concept collection for the last few years. Last year, they showed off the Royal Oak Concept Laptimer, a highly complicated chronograph with three pillar wheels which could measure consecutive lap times. And earlier this season, they introduced the both complicated Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie Tourbillon Chronograph watch, a second repeater exemplifying Audemars Piguet’s obsession with audio quality and clarity.