We almost never forget our first love. Not even if she (or he) happens to be a pimply overweight teenager who loves her cheeseburgers more than she loves you.
But for many reasons, we never forget her.
Its the same thing with watches, many of us remember fondly our first watch, or the watch which made us interested in horology. It may not be the most expensive watch in the world, nor may it mean anything to anyone else. But many of us have a watch which have tugged at our heartstrings, or perhaps eluded our ownership for one reason or another, sometimes for years.
When I first learned of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montauk Highway limited edition, (a name which feels almost as long as the eponymous 100mile road connecting Jamaica in the Queens borough in New York to Montauk Point on the south fork of Long Island in the town of East Hampton), it was on a picture on the internet. It was instant desire. I remember calling the AP boutique after reading an article about the watch, and perusing approximately 6000 more pictures, and asking if I could reserve one. I remember the lukewarm and distant voice on the other end informing me, that the Singapore allocated pieces were all sold out. It was the one of the most annoying 10 second phone calls I had and I could even envision the smirk on the face of the sales guy as he said it.
On to the watch and why I loved it, and why I always will. I am no poet, so bear with me while I describe the colors the way I see them:
Encased in the familiar stainless steel case, and ensconced by the masculine octagonal bezel we all love, is a dial of pristine and very slight creamy white, textured of course with the mega tapisserie guilloche pattern which have come to define the modern Royal Oak Offshores. The subdials are a rustic metallic bronze/copper brown and of semi-gloss finish, and the color can change from dark to light brown with the play and scintillation of sunlight, flirting with and reflecting the light off their concentric ringed surfaces unabashedly. The subdials contrast in an almost way with the dial color, separated and enclosed by rose gold subdial rings. The rose gold hands are impeccably finished, and there is no lovelier way to tell time than having the AP rose gold hands announce it silently to you. The same rose gold accents also surround each marker on the dial, perimeters of perfect precious metal finish around the large numerical markers. Prominently, the other color which defines the watch dial is blue. Of the vagaries of hues available, AP chose an aqua pale blue which is dominantly applied on the tachymeter, the hands lume area, the hour markers and the subdial hands. What the color represents is of course open to interpretation. But the conflation of white, blue, gold and brown is undeniably sublime, coming together on a single dial. It evokes for me, feelings of summer, blue skies, and idyllic driving along a long deserted road along the Atlantic ocean. Pardon my digression. It is indeed a dreamy watch, which can be paired with the brown alligator hornback with matching blue stitches for formal or sporty wear, or the perennially favored white rubber straps for that eternal summer look. You cannot go wrong rocking the ROO Montauk Highway in a T shirt and jeans, and likewise, in a white work shirt with sleeves rolled up. The wrist presence of the watch emulates that of a graceful and majestic swan queen, who is nonchalant, poised and beautiful, swimming placidly oblivious to her surroundings. It is a watch which you will embrace, with the cliche "what's there not to love?" looking like it was coined specifically for the perfect response when looking upon the watch for the first time, and for the 8000th time.
Over the years, I found myself randomly scouring the net for pictures and reviews of the ROO Montauk Highway, and admittedly, the opportunity to buy one. It have been many cases of wrong time, wrong place or wrong price, but in my hearts of hearts, I know that I will one day own this watch, to be the owner of one of the 300 pieces made.
That day turned out to be today.
Fast forward 10 years, and a local collector friend of mine rang me up yesterday, and offered to sell me his ROO Montauk Highway.This friend is someone I have known for the past 7-8 years, and we have met at several AP events and gatherings, and enjoyed many meals discoursing to each other about watches, life and whiskey. I know that he has in his possession the AP Montauk Highway, but being a fellow hoarder, I would have no sooner asked him to part with his right arm, than I have asked him about selling the watch to me. It turned out that he was selling the watch as he was moving to Australia, and offloading some of his collection. I felt my world, my dreams and my desires coalesce into an utterance of "how much?", two words which bore the burden of sheer disbelief at my serendipity, and also the hope that it will not be yet another instant of wrong price, though the place and time are perfectly aligned this time.
He named the price and my heart sang. I will finally get to own this watch. It is a little like watching a famous actress you desire on the silver screen, and finally being able to waltz with her under the moonlit night for real. OK the feeling is a lot like that.
I have never seen the AP Montauk Highway in person before today, and I only say that the watch in the flesh (ok in the metal) is more beautiful than any pictorial depiction of the watch which I have seen. The decade long wait has been worth it.
Welcome home baby.
First look
Fun in the sun, where the colors come alive
Resting and beckoning
A portrait of desire
And home in the wear rotation box.
Thank you all for reading this.
For the people who care
@quetip
@ tango258
@blackboxes
@yngchrn
@shortlegs
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
But for many reasons, we never forget her.
Its the same thing with watches, many of us remember fondly our first watch, or the watch which made us interested in horology. It may not be the most expensive watch in the world, nor may it mean anything to anyone else. But many of us have a watch which have tugged at our heartstrings, or perhaps eluded our ownership for one reason or another, sometimes for years.
When I first learned of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montauk Highway limited edition, (a name which feels almost as long as the eponymous 100mile road connecting Jamaica in the Queens borough in New York to Montauk Point on the south fork of Long Island in the town of East Hampton), it was on a picture on the internet. It was instant desire. I remember calling the AP boutique after reading an article about the watch, and perusing approximately 6000 more pictures, and asking if I could reserve one. I remember the lukewarm and distant voice on the other end informing me, that the Singapore allocated pieces were all sold out. It was the one of the most annoying 10 second phone calls I had and I could even envision the smirk on the face of the sales guy as he said it.
On to the watch and why I loved it, and why I always will. I am no poet, so bear with me while I describe the colors the way I see them:
Encased in the familiar stainless steel case, and ensconced by the masculine octagonal bezel we all love, is a dial of pristine and very slight creamy white, textured of course with the mega tapisserie guilloche pattern which have come to define the modern Royal Oak Offshores. The subdials are a rustic metallic bronze/copper brown and of semi-gloss finish, and the color can change from dark to light brown with the play and scintillation of sunlight, flirting with and reflecting the light off their concentric ringed surfaces unabashedly. The subdials contrast in an almost way with the dial color, separated and enclosed by rose gold subdial rings. The rose gold hands are impeccably finished, and there is no lovelier way to tell time than having the AP rose gold hands announce it silently to you. The same rose gold accents also surround each marker on the dial, perimeters of perfect precious metal finish around the large numerical markers. Prominently, the other color which defines the watch dial is blue. Of the vagaries of hues available, AP chose an aqua pale blue which is dominantly applied on the tachymeter, the hands lume area, the hour markers and the subdial hands. What the color represents is of course open to interpretation. But the conflation of white, blue, gold and brown is undeniably sublime, coming together on a single dial. It evokes for me, feelings of summer, blue skies, and idyllic driving along a long deserted road along the Atlantic ocean. Pardon my digression. It is indeed a dreamy watch, which can be paired with the brown alligator hornback with matching blue stitches for formal or sporty wear, or the perennially favored white rubber straps for that eternal summer look. You cannot go wrong rocking the ROO Montauk Highway in a T shirt and jeans, and likewise, in a white work shirt with sleeves rolled up. The wrist presence of the watch emulates that of a graceful and majestic swan queen, who is nonchalant, poised and beautiful, swimming placidly oblivious to her surroundings. It is a watch which you will embrace, with the cliche "what's there not to love?" looking like it was coined specifically for the perfect response when looking upon the watch for the first time, and for the 8000th time.
Over the years, I found myself randomly scouring the net for pictures and reviews of the ROO Montauk Highway, and admittedly, the opportunity to buy one. It have been many cases of wrong time, wrong place or wrong price, but in my hearts of hearts, I know that I will one day own this watch, to be the owner of one of the 300 pieces made.
That day turned out to be today.
Fast forward 10 years, and a local collector friend of mine rang me up yesterday, and offered to sell me his ROO Montauk Highway.This friend is someone I have known for the past 7-8 years, and we have met at several AP events and gatherings, and enjoyed many meals discoursing to each other about watches, life and whiskey. I know that he has in his possession the AP Montauk Highway, but being a fellow hoarder, I would have no sooner asked him to part with his right arm, than I have asked him about selling the watch to me. It turned out that he was selling the watch as he was moving to Australia, and offloading some of his collection. I felt my world, my dreams and my desires coalesce into an utterance of "how much?", two words which bore the burden of sheer disbelief at my serendipity, and also the hope that it will not be yet another instant of wrong price, though the place and time are perfectly aligned this time.
He named the price and my heart sang. I will finally get to own this watch. It is a little like watching a famous actress you desire on the silver screen, and finally being able to waltz with her under the moonlit night for real. OK the feeling is a lot like that.
I have never seen the AP Montauk Highway in person before today, and I only say that the watch in the flesh (ok in the metal) is more beautiful than any pictorial depiction of the watch which I have seen. The decade long wait has been worth it.
Welcome home baby.
First look
Fun in the sun, where the colors come alive
Resting and beckoning
A portrait of desire
And home in the wear rotation box.
Thank you all for reading this.
For the people who care
@quetip
@ tango258
@blackboxes
@yngchrn
@shortlegs
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
