Is ROO dead?

[Tompa]

Is Royal oak offshore dead for ”normal” ppl? I have notice for a long time now for ex in m2m sales that roo’s never comes up no more. And in wristshot galeris it not so many roo’s no more. What do you guys think? Is it only 15400. And divers ppl buys now days? And if so why? Is it because its to many known flaws with Roo? or its not fashion no more? Rolex and stuff are more desirable? Can things turn around? And what need the maker do to make it popular again? (If its possible)
(Rep lwo movement maybe, and thinner case thats the biggest issues i think) But what do you guys think?


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[Revolper]

Have ROOs ever been as popular as Rolexes to begin with?

Also, gen parts are very hard to get, this is probably why people rather hold on to their builds. As for stock reps, I actually see a lot in m2m.

 

[Tompa]

No offcourse not as popular as rolex. But i feel it was a lot more roo’s 12-8 month ago. Every one hade a Roo. But now its just our little gang here. I could be wrong but just a feeling i have


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[BIONONE]

i think within the forum it has something to do with JF's abusive business strategies. They release mediocre versions with the same flaws over and over again and asking for prices like for a 4130 clone or other more decent watches.

It is very demotivating for the enthusiasts who want to wer the watches ootb without modding too much.

Just look at your example - you could buy a RLX rep and be pretty much near the gen (regarding the over all specs) - while you pay around 600-700 dollars for a ROO that is too thick, got a laughable decoration on the movement, wrong crown position, wrong DW position while often paired with a wrong DW font, too large hands base etc. [...]

So you see even though rolex is completely different to a ROO the offer is a much better one when it comes to bespoken factors.

Once you look over to the 3-hands Omega section and the outstanding 8500/8400 clone and VSF built quality you ask yourself why the hell should i pay top dollar for a half decent ROO...

Well the answer is easy - because nothing beats the design of a ROO hehe.

 

[legend]

No offcourse not as popular as rolex. But i feel it was a lot more roo’s 12-8 month ago. Every one hade a Roo. But now its just our little gang here. I could be wrong but just a feeling i have


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If you ask me, there are no decent ROO reps OOTB out there with exception of 1-2 models.
You don’t need the entire world owning ROO reps, as long as you enjoy yours personally.



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[Keylog74]

1-2 models.

That would be the bee and the survivor?

 

[csthe]

i think within the forum it has something to do with JF's abusive business strategies. They release mediocre versions with the same flaws over and over again and asking for prices like for a 4130 clone or other more decent watches.

It is very demotivating for the enthusiasts who want to wer the watches ootb without modding too much.

Just look at your example - you could buy a RLX rep and be pretty much near the gen (regarding the over all specs) - while you pay around 600-700 dollars for a ROO that is too thick, got a laughable decoration on the movement, wrong crown position, wrong DW position while often paired with a wrong DW font, too large hands base etc. [...]

So you see even though rolex is completely different to a ROO the offer is a much better one when it comes to bespoken factors.

Once you look over to the 3-hands Omega section and the outstanding 8500/8400 clone and VSF built quality you ask yourself why the hell should i pay top dollar for a half decent ROO...

Well the answer is easy - because nothing beats the design of a ROO hehe.

Everything said here.
For me, the thickness is the true deal breaker. However once you notice the hands base... I guess that's also..

 

[flying-tommy]

For me the 42mm Roos are too heavy of the head in wearing but 44mm im fine with it.

Also the newer Rolex Models with improved Movement out now.

When I’m with Domi and see the whole Packages what arrived 75-80 % are Rolex and only 10-15 % AP. Hublot nearly nothing and sometimes IWC.

When I think about for 2 years Hublot was much more and also AP when JF started.

But also some AP Franken which are not shown here.

Domi confirmed also the Gen Parts are harder and harder to get especially in good/new condition.
Some people would like to build Franken but don’t find a Gen Tachy and also Hands.


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[Keylog74]

Well the answer is easy - because nothing beats the design of a ROO hehe.

---

 

[TingelTangelTom]

I love the ROO Design and always will, but too many flaws, and prices too high for what you get.

As soon as they announce a 3120 Clone Movement - ill buy more, i promise

 

[Mr.Marbella]

Just because you dont See them on the wristshot thread doesnt mean they are Not out there ...

Lots of nice roos around - modded, franken pieces which were never posted on the Forum for whatever reason.

Also style changes with time.

Alot of People start off with rolex, then move to AP and finally end Up with patek - at least thats what Happend to me.

Now Im down to 1 Roo - the bee and to be honest it gets 0 wrist Time. I keep it just to Look at it sometimes as I Love the yellow black


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[SHB]

I love the ROO Design and always will, but too many flaws, and prices too high for what you get.

As soon as they announce a 3120 Clone Movement - ill buy more, i promise

You got it right

 

[Pdatoon]

That would be the bee and the survivor?

Probably the LBJ too

 

[Hublot1704]

Recently ordered a rose gold ROO 42mm qc pics already approved and excited to get it! As my name says I am more into hublots but got to AP one year and a half ago and started with the 15400 and after that two divers always had a 44mm ROO in mind but decided to go with the 42mm now and maybe start a build so you have me in the team now

 

[Jurgenk]

If JF, Noob, or ZF wants to come to the game with some ready to wear reps that match the level of Noob Rolex reps or even VSF Omega, there will certainly be a market.

Until then, as a hobbyist I don’t mind the challenging parts search or work arounds for franken builds, it makes them that much more special.

 

[Garuda]

ap section downward spiral over 2 years. members only post about the divers and 15400 and get repetitive see same stuff over and over.

there use to be lots members chasing parts for franken builds sharing info, sources. breakdown the build for others to learn. many lurk or gone for good

 

[MrBeasy]

Definitely less ROO on the forum than when I got into it 3 years ago. I think its for the following reasons:

- Visual flaws are hard to unsee
- Modding costs alot to do it properly. You can get 2 better new Rolex reps OOTB for one modded AP that still looks inaccurate
- Harder to get parts, even acceptable rep parts from Mikey are no longer available
- Handful of watchsmiths who are well known for work on modding / frankens and longish wait times
- Open caseback of new 42mm models make it less appealing to mod or Franken
- Advent of the awesome JF divers with closed caseback
- Too many ROO models released diluted the appeal of ROO in general
- ... and possible the most controversial reason of them all... I think AP has fallen out of mainstream pop culture. These days you will more likely see musicians, rappers and celebrities wearing or singing about Patek than Audemars. 7 years ago it was AP all day.

For me I only have a handful of Supermodded reps that I will never buy gen in real life like LBJ, GPRG, GPFC etc.

I have fully divested dozens of all my other ROO modded reps.

Everything else I own AP is Franken and I have no intention of building any more AP frankens in the near term.

 

[Jurgenk]

Definitely less ROO on the forum than when I got into it 3 years ago. I think its for the following reasons:

- Visual flaws are hard to unsee

- Modding costs alot to do it properly.

- Open caseback of new 42mm models make it less appealing to mod or Franken....

- ... and possible the most controversial reason of them all... I think AP has fallen out of mainstream pop culture...

Nothing controversial about any of the things you said... slaughterer62 would agree with you that AP has long lost its way. Riding the wave of a design that was forward-looking 26 years ago (or 50 if you go back to Genta) will gain you some loyal fans, but it may be hard to win new devotees without some true, radical innovation and technology once in a while. We know what that would look like but we haven’t seen it... 11:59 ain’t it.

I’m a huge fan of this classic design like many of you, but most of us have a finite frustration tolerance for the franken game... none of it makes sense, but a few of you still push the boundaries to new levels. A few of you have been able to leverage the few available gen parts and the best of the best aftermarket parts to make some truly stunning builds over the past 9 months, and that has been a driver of some resurgent ROO franken interest (and frustration in getting gen parts as well). These GOAT builds will not be sold anytime soon and so newbies will have a hard time getting into the game...

A savvy rep maker could capitalize on this pent-up demand and kill the franken game but so far none has. Noob annihilated the relevance of countless expensive franken PAM builds (and to be honest the gens) with the quality of their reps from 2010-2017 at the height of the PAM craze. As owner of several of those models I had mixed feelings and own several of these watches now as franken, uberrep and gen. The frankens are like war trophies, the uberreps are statements of defiance to the Swiss industry, and the gens are just gens— untouchable and with sentimental value from the milestones they often commemorate. As legend will tell you one can appreciate the efforts at skilled replication/frankening while holding high standards.

I’d love to see the ROO game come back but there seems to be a problem with both AP and JF losing their way. Until they both wake up we will be in Castro era Cuba finessing our 1950s Studebakers with custom aftermarket parts and bits of watchmaking genius.

 

[tosoboso]

I’m a huge fan of this classic design like many of you, but most of us have a finite frustration tolerance for the franken game... none of it makes sense, but a few of you still push the boundaries to new levels. A few of you have been able to leverage the few available gen parts and the best of the best aftermarket parts to make some truly stunning builds over the past 9 months, and that has been a driver of some resurgent ROO franken interest (and frustration in getting gen parts as well). These GOAT builds will not be sold anytime soon and so newbies will have a hard time getting into the game...

I’d love to see the ROO game come back but there seems to be a problem with both AP and JF losing their way. Until they both wake up we will be in Castro era Cuba finessing our 1950s Studebakers with custom aftermarket parts and bits of watchmaking genius.

I used to enjoy burning hard-earned cash on franken builds, but these have now become even more expensive than before. Not only the gen parts resellers have gone greedier even if one’s lucky to find a missing gen spare, but the overall building cost measured in time and modders’ fees have made AP franken builds prohibitively expensive. I still try to have 1 or 2 builds a year but fatigue has settled and as Garuda rightly pointed out I don’t even care much of sharing my projects knowhow as rarely would anyone be interested. I too now use my own watchmaker and guide him through the builds rather than wait for ages to get a slot with the usual suspects And I have learnt to live with frankens that are not perfect, but at least I am able to often times build 2 pieces at the price of 1 There, I said it, I don’t care about perfection anymore. Maybe there’s not much rap left in the AP brand anymore, as MrBeasy rightly pointed out

 

[Jurgenk]

I used to enjoy burning hard-earned cash on franken builds, but these have now become even more expensive than before. Not only the gen parts resellers have gone greedier even if one’s lucky to find a missing gen spare, but the overall building cost measured in time and modders’ fees have made AP franken builds prohibitively expensive. I still try to have 1 or 2 builds a year but fatigue has settled and as Garuda rightly pointed out I don’t even care much of sharing my projects knowhow as rarely would anyone be interested.

Agree about aggressive pricing for gen part.Mikey is the zen master about getting reasonable deals in parts— overpaying only encourages more gouging.

I for one would love to know the details in your builds.