The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Watch Review

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Watch Review

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Watch Review

100 ft underwater is not a good option to begin wondering 

If you’ve correctly screwed the crowns on the mechanical timepiece. I'd double- and triple-checked the seals and springbars back on land, while suiting up for any dive around the Hilma Hooker wreck in Bonaire, but simply to be certain, I gave them another twist. I descended the sloping reef towards the capsized ship, a freighter that sank in 100 ft water not lengthy after it had been grabbed by government bodies who'd discovered 25,000 pounds of marijuana hidden aboard. Together with me wasn't any ordinary dive watch - it was the Royal Oak Offshore Diver, this years release from vaunted Le Brassus manufacture Audemars Piguet, using the lovely automatic calibre 3120 inside. It might be a criminal offense against horology to ton this baby.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Watch Review

The ROO Diver represents a milestone for AP, similar to the original Royal Oak did 39 years back. Introduced in 1972 with the aid of Gerald Genta it had been the very first true luxury sports watch, a steel timepiece that cost about ten occasions what Rolex Submariner of the identical era. It had been a make-or-break moment for AP also it wound up defining a genre. 4 decades later, the ROO Diver is again raising the bar. It's the Royal Oak for any new generation and it is no coincidence the double hash 12-o’clock dial marker may be the first available because the original reference. Within the 30-bar pressure proof situation lays among the finest automatic movements made today, a hands-decorated in-house 40-jewel masterpiece having a solid 22-carat gold rotor along with a 60-hour power reserve. So that you can understand my worry about its water-tightness.

The Diver may be the first watch from AP to possess a double-hash at 12 o'clock since the initial Royal Oak, 39 years back.As the movement lays frustratingly stashed within the 14 mm thick situation, without any display to draw attention away from a diver from more essential such things as air consumption or no-decompression limits, the situation is lovely to behold. In keeping with the Royal Oak heritage, it offers all of the usual cues: the porthole-formed bezel with uncovered screw heads, understated dial markers, the astonishing “tapisserie” dial and also the integrated strap design. Exactly the same degree of finishing the movement will get can also be apparent around the situation. The steel situation sides and also the prominent bezel get mesmerizing brushwork while beveled edges from the lugs and bezel obtain a high polish. The situation back design is minimalist however the textured medallion surface continues to be something visually appealing

AP wanted to create a true dive watch, one which complied with ISO 6425, the worldwide standard for diver’s watches. So that they made the baton hands highly distinguishable from one another for max readability, added a lume personal injury protection around the sweep seconds hands so a diver will easily notice his watch is running even just in dark conditions, a rotating passed time bezel not to mention, 300 meters water resistance. Getting tested another heavy hitters (e.g., something from both Girard Perregaux and Bremont) I leaped at the opportunity to go ahead and take ROO Diver deep and find out the way it would do within the real life. I packed it together with my dive gear along with a hi-res underwater video rig and required it for any week to Bonaire within the southern Caribbean to check its mettle.

As the materials are textured and the perfect thickness, I discovered it way too short to suit over my 2mm wetsuit sleeve. Not a problem for decent water diving however for chillier waters in which a thicker exposure suit is required, you’d have to go for AP’s XL rubber. Some won't ever require the longer diver's strap, this really is in the end a diving watch, so we felt this ought to be pointed out. The distinctive Royal Oak bracelet can also be available but because of the horn-free design, aftermarket dive straps aren't a choice. At 42mm, the timepiece situation is among the most perfect size for basically the tiniest arms, without any wrist overhang and also the 14 mm height and tapered bezel means no snagging on hoses or equipment like a number of today’s leviathan timekeepers.

The Diver was the very first Offshore to have a pin buckle this year. Customers loved it a lot that new Offshores (44mm) now have a similar buckle.I’ve never been keen on internal bezels on watches for diving from the functional perspective. The majority are not operable underwater as well as their crowns should be locked lower just before descent. This eliminates their use for timing underwater go swimming distances or decompression stops. Additionally they are usually finicky to make use of, with mitts on or with wet fingers. As the ROO Diver’s internal bezel doesn’t interrupt the classic Royal Oak design, it's virtually unusable while underwater. The position of the crown around the 10-o’clock position means when the watch is worn around the left wrist, you have to contort your right hands to unscrew the crown to regulate it. The movement from the bezel is tight between clicks, requiring considerable effort to show. Given these shortcomings, I made the decision to forgo while using bezel altogether on my small test dives using the watch.

But thought visibility was spectacular

Visibility see how to avoid and dark conditions is excellent around the Diver. Both your hands are simple to tell apart instantly and lume application is ample. Studying time inside a dark shipwreck go swimming-through was surprisingly easy. The attractive dial work didn't hinder legibility and also the deep black provides good contrast from the hands and markers.

The Royal Oak Offshore Diver is really a surprisingly subtle piece, one which I loved putting on. It easily steered clear of notice from less horologically-inclined divers in the tiki bar or dive shop, a great factor indeed. But to individuals knowledgable, the Royal Oak Offshore Diver is an up to date icon. Could it be a real dive tool that usurps any requirement for an electronic display when 100 ft lower? Definitely not. However for individuals who would like a higher level of haute horlogerie sports watch, it's no equal.