Helping a PAM guy enter the AP world

[snowman1235]

Hi guys,
i tend to read and learn, but do not post much... I have been collecting reps since ~2009 so quite some time. Mainly I've focused on PAM with an occasional purchase of other brands but then mostly sold those after a few months and kept to PAMs.
Recently, however, I've been more and more drawn to AP design and decided it is time for me to try them out. I don't want to overkill it too quickly, so pls help me choose my first batch... I am thinking 1 diver plus 2 to 3 42mm ROOs.

Here is what I'm looking at:
- Diver 15710ST Black dial (JF, v9) open case... I know closed case would hide imperfections, but I like seeing the mechanism
- ROO Chronopassion (JF, Best)... I really like this one, but have not seen many wrist shots of this one so it seems it is not as popular? People say it scratches, but I would not have it as a daily beater - more to wear occasionally. Is it too flawed as a rep to get? Is there a 1:1 better rep in the making? Please advise... How do you think Chronopassion compares with the new grey dial 26470IO (aka Ghost)? Is there a good rep of the 26470 yet? It looks really cool
- ROO 26470ST Black/Blue dial - new 2018 SIHH model (JF, Best): this is relatively new... I don't see any wrist shots. Is this a decent rep or is it worth waiting for v2/v3/v4?
- ROO Safari Brown - the new JF release; looks really nice but I have not seen any wrist shots... anyone has this one? Is it good rep?
- ROO Safari White/Beige: I love some of the wristshots of this watch - white dial on brown Donerix hornback strap looks phenomenal. But it is an older release... has been slightly updated, but I understand that the white color is quite off from the gen. Not too worried about that though - still looks nice. What about the rest of the build? Is this release considered a good build?


...I'm kind of curious about the Blue Diver (15710 with blue dial) and the blue ROO chrono (26703ST), but have not seen many wrist shots so I'm cautious about it for now. If anyone has some wrist shots with these blue APs, I'd really appreciate it!
...Also eyeing the ROO 57th Street - I love the look of it but I've never worn a gold-containing watch. I have some RG Hublots but they stay in the watch box - only as a collection; feel uncomfortable wearing them. So probably with 57th would be the same - possibly a purchase at a later date if I start enjoying AP brand.

So any advive on this list would be greatly appreciated! I would really like to narrow this down to 3 watches to start (max 4). We'll go from there

Cheers!

 

[legend]

Hello Pam guy

I have the 2014 safari, the ghost and the 2018 black themes (though not the Batman ROO you mentioned) and I think they wear really well, though all are strikingly different in feel and looks. I hardly wear the safari nowadays, just a matter of changing preferences I think. You can’t go wrong with any one of them. As for the divers, the reps are in general good enough as starters for the AP watches, you get decent wearers when putting the reps on the wrist.

The usual flaws of the ROO reps are the case thickness, date window position, hands, movement type and a laundry list of tells but hell, they look good on the wrist as novelty or replica watches. If you like the look of any of the above watches, pick what you like, your shortlist does not look bad at all for a guy starting out in AP!

 

[theslavetrainer]

Beware the latest version of the safari it has a weird tinge to all the numbers and make it stand out as a rep- caught when I bought one .


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[snowman1235]

Hi guys,
legend thanks for quick feedback and great photos... very helpful. Thanks theslavetrainer - this is a good warning. Do you suggest this is with both brown safari and white safari or just white? Do you have a photo to show what numbers to keep an eye on?

 

[Acurtisttu]

Hi guys,
i tend to read and learn, but do not post much... I have been collecting reps since ~2009 so quite some time. Mainly I've focused on PAM with an occasional purchase of other brands but then mostly sold those after a few months and kept to PAMs.
Recently, however, I've been more and more drawn to AP design and decided it is time for me to try them out. I don't want to overkill it too quickly, so pls help me choose my first batch... I am thinking 1 diver plus 2 to 3 42mm ROOs.

Here is what I'm looking at:
- Diver 15710ST Black dial (JF, v9) open case... I know closed case would hide imperfections, but I like seeing the mechanism
- ROO Chronopassion (JF, Best)... I really like this one, but have not seen many wrist shots of this one so it seems it is not as popular? People say it scratches, but I would not have it as a daily beater - more to wear occasionally. Is it too flawed as a rep to get? Is there a 1:1 better rep in the making? Please advise... How do you think Chronopassion compares with the new grey dial 26470IO (aka Ghost)? Is there a good rep of the 26470 yet? It looks really cool
- ROO 26470ST Black/Blue dial - new 2018 SIHH model (JF, Best): this is relatively new... I don't see any wrist shots. Is this a decent rep or is it worth waiting for v2/v3/v4?
- ROO Safari Brown - the new JF release; looks really nice but I have not seen any wrist shots... anyone has this one? Is it good rep?
- ROO Safari White/Beige: I love some of the wristshots of this watch - white dial on brown Donerix hornback strap looks phenomenal. But it is an older release... has been slightly updated, but I understand that the white color is quite off from the gen. Not too worried about that though - still looks nice. What about the rest of the build? Is this release considered a good build?


...I'm kind of curious about the Blue Diver (15710 with blue dial) and the blue ROO chrono (26703ST), but have not seen many wrist shots so I'm cautious about it for now. If anyone has some wrist shots with these blue APs, I'd really appreciate it!
...Also eyeing the ROO 57th Street - I love the look of it but I've never worn a gold-containing watch. I have some RG Hublots but they stay in the watch box - only as a collection; feel uncomfortable wearing them. So probably with 57th would be the same - possibly a purchase at a later date if I start enjoying AP brand.

So any advive on this list would be greatly appreciated! I would really like to narrow this down to 3 watches to start (max 4). We'll go from there

Cheers!

my advice, check the sales threads daily for a nicely modded used one. expect to pay between $1000-$2k, unless you really enjoy the mod process.

 

[Jurgenk]

Welcome to AP — as a current and former PAM fanatic I think the interest in AP makes sense for a lot of horological and aesthetic/design reasons. legend is a great resource for knowledge on all things gen and rep AP. The reps are a gateway drug to modded reps, franken and gen. Unlike PAM, no factory has quite made a rep that makes gens quite NWBIG if that means anything to you, yet many reps are enjoyable out of the box. Your list looks pretty much like my grail list for AP gens, you have great taste. Unfortunately many of those choices are the biggest challenges when it comes to having major compromises in the reps... so depending on how much that matters you might become interested in some models with fewer compromises. The modern AP 42 mm ROOs are the most refined and difficult to rep.

 

[Stuntman]

Hello snowman,

I followed the same path as you do about the AP watches. First, I bought an AP ROO volcano, then an AP ROO all black, then a diver.
what can I say, I love all of them....

Now i am looking more and more to the AP RO especially the kasparov ones or something like this https://watchbase.com/audemars-piguet/royal-oak/26332pt-oo-1220pt-01 , i think they are less sporty than the AP ROO. But it seems that there is not good rep for the AP RO.

So to the perect set should be : 1 AP ROO 42 mm, 1 AP Diver, 1 AP RO 41mm.
As i am also a newbies to AP, i let the master of this forum give you the best factory for each of them.

good hunt

 

[snowman1235]

Jurgenk your comments are spot-on and I feel I will see myself on a similar path as I was with PAMs. I am not the most fanatical type to need to have everything as gen-like as possible and to go for franken builds for 1k+. In my PAM journey I would often seen reps initially of really poor quality (think of the first 111 or Fiddy when they came out)... soon, however, there were decent reps that had good QC, good attention to details and "felt" high quality. They still had issues when compared face-to-face with a gen, but if one did not know gen, these reps were great. Certainly far beyond the crappy initial attempts. I bought those. Many peers went ahead and spent 1k+ to mod and franken them to eternity. I know- that can also be part of the fun of this hobby. But that's not my cake. So... there were v2, v3, v4, v5 etc. all incremental improvements, but still flawed. At one point, however, a model became so perfected that it was worth replacing my older version. If I look at Noob's 111 now, or Fiddy, it is so well made, that you don't need any mods to it and can be extremely happy with it. But I agree with you in general - it is a journey and a personal preference where does one draw the line of what is acceptable imperfection and what is something that makes you frustrated and bothered each time you put the watch on the wrist... in which case you either sell it or mod it

I look forward to hearing from legend and all of you guys what are the basic mods that you would recommend. For example, I know for sure I will want to have all APs with Prof's 2x AR crystal and his cyclops even if the Gen AP may only be 1x AR... Anything else you guys would recommend?

Stuntman agree with your comments on RO/ROO/Diver collection strategy. I am also likely going to end up there. Currently as my ultimate "dress" watch I like the Patek Nautilus 5711 blue dial most, and I felt AP RO 15400 was too close design-wise. However I do like the new/fresh 15500 model, so as soon as there is a good rep out there it will be on my list

 

[legend]

Jurgenk your comments are spot-on and I feel I will see myself on a similar path as I was with PAMs. I am not the most fanatical type to need to have everything as gen-like as possible and to go for franken builds for 1k+. In my PAM journey I would often seen reps initially of really poor quality (think of the first 111 or Fiddy when they came out)... soon, however, there were decent reps that had good QC, good attention to details and "felt" high quality. They still had issues when compared face-to-face with a gen, but if one did not know gen, these reps were great. Certainly far beyond the crappy initial attempts. I bought those. Many peers went ahead and spent 1k+ to mod and franken them to eternity. I know- that can also be part of the fun of this hobby. But that's not my cake. So... there were v2, v3, v4, v5 etc. all incremental improvements, but still flawed. At one point, however, a model became so perfected that it was worth replacing my older version. If I look at Noob's 111 now, or Fiddy, it is so well made, that you don't need any mods to it and can be extremely happy with it. But I agree with you in general - it is a journey and a personal preference where does one draw the line of what is acceptable imperfection and what is something that makes you frustrated and bothered each time you put the watch on the wrist... in which case you either sell it or mod it

I look forward to hearing from legend and all of you guys what are the basic mods that you would recommend. For example, I know for sure I will want to have all APs with Prof's 2x AR crystal and his cyclops even if the Gen AP may only be 1x AR... Anything else you guys would recommend?

Stuntman agree with your comments on RO/ROO/Diver collection strategy. I am also likely going to end up there. Currently as my ultimate "dress" watch I like the Patek Nautilus 5711 blue dial most, and I felt AP RO 15400 was too close design-wise. However I do like the new/fresh 15500 model, so as soon as there is a good rep out there it will be on my list

Hi Snowman,

These are the names you will want to keep in mind if you ever need help in the section. Each of them has gone through his own trial of fire, and will be able to save you lots of time and pain down the road when it comes to mods:

tosoboso Jurgenk flying-tommy QueTip Revolper . There are others but the above are the ones I know of personally.

Why do you want double AR on your AP? It is something I do not understand or agree with. Other than the fact that it is not accurate to gen, it detracts from the DNA of AP crystals, and also, it presents the very pragmatic issue of having the outer surface coating susceptible to scratches. There is a reason the gen makers often opt for single AR on their crystals. Don't ruin the brand DNA and look (and outer coating) by putting double AR crystal on your watch.

Regarding the rest, I will say that you have gotten the approach and attitude pat down right. If you apply your attitude for Pam reps toward APs, you will be a happy camper.

 

[Stuntman]

snowman1235

Yeap, the nautilus is also a great looking watch, i love it !!

I hope to see your futures modded AP on this forum.

 

[Madmax283]

Hi, how are the watches working? Any problems?

 

[snowman1235]

Hi, how are the watches working? Any problems?

Not sure which watches you mean? The ones I've not bought yet? Or the ones that other members here were referring to?

 

[Madmax283]

The chronos

 

[QueTip]

Hi, how are the watches working? Any problems?

What are you talking about?? Don't even think you can spam your way to make a sale. Just FYI

 

[Madmax283]

Perhaps i´ve posted it wrong. Id like to buy a AP 44mm chrono and wanted to know if the watches have any problems, nothing more

 

[Madmax283]

What are you talking about?? Don't even think you can spam your way to make a sale. Just FYI

BTW: Why so agressive?

 

[legend]

Perhaps i´ve posted it wrong. Id like to buy a AP 44mm chrono and wanted to know if the watches have any problems, nothing more

Then your communication should have been more clear. Your question did not make sense as OP did not even buy his first AP yet. QueTip has the right and duty to step in as your post was dubious.

I’ll advise you to keep your posts and questions meaningful for each thread please instead of posting random questions. You see, there are many guys like this who post one worded replies or short sentences all over to build up the post count just to sell.
I’m not accusing you of doing the same but you need to understand what it CAN look like to the crew at work here.


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[QueTip]

BTW: Why so agressive?

Say that again and I'll show you aggressive.

EDIT: Post count reset. You're welcome.

 

[Raddave]

lol

 

[snowman1235]

Mods, thanks for keeping threads clean; no worries Madmax if intention was harmless but your question really did not make any sense.


For you all that helped with tips so far, here is a short update - order placed with TD for the following APs:
- AP Diver Black - a no brainer. Went with the open caseback though...
- AP RO Blue (15400) - while I thought I'll wait for 15500, but Stuntman comments made me re-consider and I decided to get one anyway.
- AP ROO Safari white - stunning watch and seems to be a decent rep
- AP ROO Brown/Blue (26470st)... this one I'm the most sceptical about whether I'll like the colors in real life, but I wanted something different. May be a catch-and-release or love-at-first-sight. We'll see.

Desperately seeking the Chronopassion still. All TDs are out of stock. I can only hope JF would re-visit this model and make a new batch...

I'll keep you posted on updates.