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Review - Audemars Piguet ROyal Oak Offshore

SLK55

Active Member
28/7/06
318
0
0
As promised, here is a full review of the AP ROO. I got it from Andrew and it is the Asian 7750.

FIrst of all - for the nitpickers - WARNING! The subdials are not 100% correct on this model. If you are offended by the subdial misplacement and you think the one other human being in this world that you will ever meet that will have the exact same model and will recognize the flaw, STOP and click "Back" :lol:

Ok now on to the review.

The watch weighs a TON! Much heavier than my SS banded 44mm Pam.

PICT0022.jpg


It has single sided AR on real saphire glass.

PICT0023.jpg


Overall the model is very close to the gen. The dimensions are right on, the rubber gaskets, the bolts, and fit and finish is very high quality.

PICT0024.jpg


now lets compare:
ap_royalOakBlack2.jpg
PICT0025.jpg


Gen on the left, rep on the right.

On to the flaws:
1. The subdial placement... yes yes the second hand is placed in the wrong subdial.
2. The cyclops mag glass in the dial. The rep has a small, weak mag, while the gen has a larger and more substantial 2X mag.
3. The font spacing is slightly more together on the rep than on the gen.

Otherwise, its perfect. The chrono resets to 0, the lume is decent for a rep and the dial, weight and feel is fantastic. The engraving in the back is spot on also:

PICT0026.jpg


Overall, a highly recommended model that I know I will enjoy for a long time.

Thanks Andrew!
 

seraphe

Renowned Member
9/10/06
656
1
0
SLK55 said:
now lets compare:
ap_royalOakBlack2.jpg
PICT0025.jpg


Gen on the left, rep on the right.

On to the flaws:
1. The subdial placement... yes yes the second hand is placed in the wrong subdial.
2. The cyclops mag glass in the dial. The rep has a small, weak mag, while the gen has a larger and more substantial 2X mag.
3. The font spacing is slightly more together on the rep than on the gen.

My eyes are playing tricks on me... but I don't see the difference in the subdial placement. Pls enlighten me.
 

robertk

Active Member
16/3/06
439
3
0
The Gen has the 60 second dial at 12. The rep uses the 9:00 subdial for the 60 second or small second counter. That's because the rep movements 60 second dial work at 9 and not at 12.
 

seraphe

Renowned Member
9/10/06
656
1
0
robertk said:
The Gen has the 60 second dial at 12. The rep uses the 9:00 subdial for the 60 second or small second counter. That's because the rep movements 60 second dial work at 9 and not at 12.

Ah! So that means even the subdial marker is showing second subdial at 12, the second hand is really running at 9... I get it!

Then I'm buffled. If the reps makers can do a good job at realigning the subdials of the A7750 to fit a Daytona, why not the AP ROO? Has anyone opened up this rep and see if there's still ample of space in the case for the additional gears to do this? Also, the mini cyclop inside on the dial should not be that hard to fix...

Btw... Great Review, SLK55!
 

fletch512

Known Member
9/5/06
151
73
28
seraphe said:
Ah! So that means even the subdial marker is showing second subdial at 12, the second hand is really running at 9... I get it!

Then I'm buffled. If the reps makers can do a good job at realigning the subdials of the A7750 to fit a Daytona, why not the AP ROO? Has anyone opened up this rep and see if there's still ample of space in the case for the additional gears to do this? Also, the mini cyclop inside on the dial should not be that hard to fix...

Btw... Great Review, SLK55!

Another subdial placement issue: On the gen, there's less space between the 9 and 12 subdials than the 9 and 6 subdials. The spacing of subdials on the rep is equal. Basically, the 12 o'clock subdial is a bit lower on the gen dial than on the rep dial. I doubt this will ever be repped correctly.

As for the cyclops, the MBW version of this watch has a much better cyclops, so that can be repped, just not yet by the factories that supply the dealers here.

With respect to the seconds dial being in the 12 o'clock position, I understand that will be rep'd in the near future. Apparently the factories decided to produce the current configuration first, and then make the plate with the transfer gears at a later point in time.
 

warpedpig

Active Member
12/2/07
280
0
0
That's a serious hunk of steel....I can see why it's The Terminator's watch of choice.

Quick Question:

On the 9:00 sub-dial, why are the 10 and 20 markers reversed on the rep? Does it wind counter-clockwise?
 

Sylar

Banned member, the goat does not approve
Banned
17/1/07
2,549
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Nice watch there. Always wondered how heavy these are. I have a Rose Gold version with rubber and it still feels heavy. I could imagine this one the with the ss bracelet. Niew write up.
 

tutima

I'm Pretty Popular
22/3/06
1,456
2
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Great watch and review...

It still is an impressive rep regardless of all the flaws.
 

moggio

I'm Pretty Popular
25/3/06
2,788
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Very nice watch ...:)

the date is not really good...the marker beside 3 oclock should not be there..like in the GEN ..only on the 9 oclock side :)

I like it might buy it :)
 

SLK55

Active Member
28/7/06
318
0
0
I received it last Friday... been playing with it ever since. I didn't notice the marker by 3 o'clock (Good Catch!) The subdials are spaced equaly on the gen, the photos of the gen gives an impression of uneven subdials due to the minute marker being in the middle.

Like I said, at first few glances, the rep is dead on. Only very few people would ever be able to tell the difference and fewer still if there is no gen model next to it.
 

SLK55

Active Member
28/7/06
318
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Also, here is a small update. The watch thats listed on Adnrew's website is:

AP0026B_2.JPG


The watch I got has different, correctly placed subdials. So the question is, did I get the new version of this watch? The seconds do run at 9, now that I am looking at it. Andrew promised to ship me the "latest" version - so i don't know whether they fixed all the problems in this one (other than the mag)
 

tutima

I'm Pretty Popular
22/3/06
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I think you got the early pre-production dial that has the wrong subdial marking and the reverse 30 min. register marking too. The Website pic is the final production dial, I believe.
 

seraphe

Renowned Member
9/10/06
656
1
0
tutima said:
I think you got the early pre-production dial that has the wrong subdial marking and the reverse 30 min. register marking too. The Website pic is the final production dial, I believe.

Now I'm getting more confused. The second subdial @ 9 is the final version? I would hope to have the 'wrong' subdial @12 then...
 

SLK55

Active Member
28/7/06
318
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yeah I am getting confused too... so here is what I have:

1. All the subdials are in the correct places as the gen, with the correct spacing (see photo fo gen dial)
2. My seconds are running at 9. I don't know if gen's is or is not.
3. I have a stick marker at 3, where as the gen does not.
4. The 10 and 20 are reversed in the 9 o'clock subdial.

Thats it. I also got a different dial from the one on Andrew's website. I don't know if its pre=production or new version or what....but I prefer to have a more accurate subdial placing than having running seconds at 12 rather than 9... besides, I firmly believe no one I know would be able to, or care enough to tell the difference.
 

tutima

I'm Pretty Popular
22/3/06
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seraphe said:
tutima said:
I think you got the early pre-production dial that has the wrong subdial marking and the reverse 30 min. register marking too. The Website pic is the final production dial, I believe.

Now I'm getting more confused. The second subdial @ 9 is the final version? I would hope to have the 'wrong' subdial @12 then...

I know it is confusing. The problem is at this point, the standard 7750 has running second at 9 while the gen has running second at 12. Until they modify the standard 7750 to transfer the running second to 12, there is no perfect solution to this dilemma.

The dial is on SLK's watch has the dial that matches the gen but the movement is wrong with the running second hand going around the 30 min. chrono marking. (Mind you: the subdial at 9 has the marking wrong with the reverse 10 & 20.) The dial on Trusty's website has the sub-dial corrected to suit the function of the movement. IMO, that is a more acceptable flaw than with the running second going around the 30 min. chrono register.

Hope this helps...