- 7/11/11
- 496
- 17
- 18
Hey guys,
The Audemar Piguet Forged Carbon (FC) Diver was released as a gen last year, and V1 and V2 reps are available and have been reviewed here and elsewhere, from Angus at PureTime among others. However, all these versions have been flawed, mostly due to imperfections in the "grain" of the forged carbon itself. Here's a mini-review of the V2 and the current PT ad, price $528:
http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/my-forged-carbon-152340
http://puretime.co/product/royal-oa...bon-11-best-edition-on-rubber-strap-a2824-v2/
This April, Andrew at TrustyTime began to post pics of a completely new version of the AP FC (I believe H-fac) and started accepting pre-orders, with correct "grain" on the FC. Here's the post and the current TT ad, price $398:
http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=50095
http://www.ttw888.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=10716
I preordered in April and got mine today.
Here it is:
My QC pics from Andrew:
It's + 8 sec/day, which I can easily live with:
QC was great, comms were great, and packaging was the best I've had in the rep biz so far. The only thing that was not ideal was the long delay between the planned and actual product launch date, which was not TT's fault.
After unboxing, some wristies:
My impressions:
I am not as much of an AP lover as many of us on the forum(s). However, the overall quality of AP reps has increased dramatically over the last few years. This is no exception. I have also handled the gen in person, as we have a high-end watchmaker down the street from my house. The SS caseback has perfect 1:1 engraving (down to the bubble texture background around the logo). The dial printing is sharp. The dial texture (almost invisible cote de geneve underneath the raised squares) is perfect. Finish on hands and dial markers is good. Date wheel advances with an authorative "click" and DW font looks good to me. The lume is well applied and is average-to-good; per the description is gen Superluminova. AP's usual mix of materials (SS back, polished SS bezel screws, brushed titanium lug pieces and buckle) are matched correctly.
For comparison, here is a photo of the gen from ABlogToWatch:
One issue I had initially was the somewhat strange appearance of the 12 o'clock triangle on the rotating inner bezel (which works perfectly, although I had to wiggle it a bit to get the triangle exactly where I want it). As you can see from the wristie and QC photos, the triangle looks a bit odd as it has a black outline on the right side only, making it look crooked. However, this annoying but true to gen. A close-up of gen photo above:
The movement is absolutely smooth highbeat Asian (28.8K) and rotor is quiet. When I operate the crown there is a little "play" between positions 0 and I (watch continues to wind when you are screwing the crown down), and also between positions II and III (you have to give a relatively good tug to get it from date-set to hour-set).
After handling the original, which feels feather-light, this felt a little heavier in the hand. Here is the TT AP RC rep on the scale. Only stats I could find on how much the FC is supposed to weigh is "under 120 grams", which this certainly is:
If the gen -is- lighter I wonder if it's because movement components are lighter since the movements are made by AP in house. BUT for comparison (apples to oranges) I weighted my full stainless steel but chunkier AP ROOS, also on rubber, for comparison... it was about 50% heavier.
Finally, about that "grain" on the forged carbon case. The "grain" on the prior AP FC reps is more of a "swirl", or maybe wood grain effect. As you can see by looking at the QC and wristie pics above, this rep has "grain" that looks completely different and more true to gen. I'm not really sure what to call it, it looks a little like the pattern you see on a frosted window or the mica pattern in finished granite. Anyway, it looks cool.
Conclusion: A better rep at a better price. Worth adding to any collection.
-Mach
The Audemar Piguet Forged Carbon (FC) Diver was released as a gen last year, and V1 and V2 reps are available and have been reviewed here and elsewhere, from Angus at PureTime among others. However, all these versions have been flawed, mostly due to imperfections in the "grain" of the forged carbon itself. Here's a mini-review of the V2 and the current PT ad, price $528:
http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/my-forged-carbon-152340
http://puretime.co/product/royal-oa...bon-11-best-edition-on-rubber-strap-a2824-v2/
This April, Andrew at TrustyTime began to post pics of a completely new version of the AP FC (I believe H-fac) and started accepting pre-orders, with correct "grain" on the FC. Here's the post and the current TT ad, price $398:
http://www.rwg.bz/board/index.php?showtopic=50095
http://www.ttw888.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=352&products_id=10716
I preordered in April and got mine today.
Here it is:
My QC pics from Andrew:
It's + 8 sec/day, which I can easily live with:
QC was great, comms were great, and packaging was the best I've had in the rep biz so far. The only thing that was not ideal was the long delay between the planned and actual product launch date, which was not TT's fault.
After unboxing, some wristies:
My impressions:
I am not as much of an AP lover as many of us on the forum(s). However, the overall quality of AP reps has increased dramatically over the last few years. This is no exception. I have also handled the gen in person, as we have a high-end watchmaker down the street from my house. The SS caseback has perfect 1:1 engraving (down to the bubble texture background around the logo). The dial printing is sharp. The dial texture (almost invisible cote de geneve underneath the raised squares) is perfect. Finish on hands and dial markers is good. Date wheel advances with an authorative "click" and DW font looks good to me. The lume is well applied and is average-to-good; per the description is gen Superluminova. AP's usual mix of materials (SS back, polished SS bezel screws, brushed titanium lug pieces and buckle) are matched correctly.
For comparison, here is a photo of the gen from ABlogToWatch:
One issue I had initially was the somewhat strange appearance of the 12 o'clock triangle on the rotating inner bezel (which works perfectly, although I had to wiggle it a bit to get the triangle exactly where I want it). As you can see from the wristie and QC photos, the triangle looks a bit odd as it has a black outline on the right side only, making it look crooked. However, this annoying but true to gen. A close-up of gen photo above:
The movement is absolutely smooth highbeat Asian (28.8K) and rotor is quiet. When I operate the crown there is a little "play" between positions 0 and I (watch continues to wind when you are screwing the crown down), and also between positions II and III (you have to give a relatively good tug to get it from date-set to hour-set).
After handling the original, which feels feather-light, this felt a little heavier in the hand. Here is the TT AP RC rep on the scale. Only stats I could find on how much the FC is supposed to weigh is "under 120 grams", which this certainly is:
If the gen -is- lighter I wonder if it's because movement components are lighter since the movements are made by AP in house. BUT for comparison (apples to oranges) I weighted my full stainless steel but chunkier AP ROOS, also on rubber, for comparison... it was about 50% heavier.
Finally, about that "grain" on the forged carbon case. The "grain" on the prior AP FC reps is more of a "swirl", or maybe wood grain effect. As you can see by looking at the QC and wristie pics above, this rep has "grain" that looks completely different and more true to gen. I'm not really sure what to call it, it looks a little like the pattern you see on a frosted window or the mica pattern in finished granite. Anyway, it looks cool.
Conclusion: A better rep at a better price. Worth adding to any collection.
-Mach
