Good morning!
SwissWatchExpo.com fresh from the showroom here we're talking about Audemars Piguet this
morning.
This is an iconic watch of the watch world.
Absolutely it's been around since 1993.
Yeah, you know I remember reading that this was considered the first luxury sport watch
ever in the world.
It was an interesting case because it integrated with the bracelet.
It had this feature where the screws on the bezel are integrated but they're also where
you can see them, they were exposed, I guess for the first time on a sport watch.
Yeah, absolutely.
And one of the interesting things about the screws - when they are put through the watch
they actually go completely through the case to the other side.
So there is a sleeve and a screw.
So it works like a bolt, a nut and a bolt.
So the ones from the top are more like the nut and then the screw from the bottom is
more like the bolt, and they actually affixed each other and then compress the body together.
I always wondered how a hexagonal screw that's in a hexagonal hole could even be turned,
but now that answers the question - the top ones don't turn.
And there's actually eight of them purposely, eight.
Interesting.
So when this was launched it was a much smaller watch in 1973 at the Basel Show.
This is a kind of a mid-size, this one is 33 millimeter.
That's right.
And this one is steel and rose gold, it's got a diamond dial.
It's very thin compared to the other Royal Oaks, and it's got this beautiful brushed
finish on the bezel and on the links of the bracelet.
Totally different look than this one that's very unusual that we just got in.
Right, so this interesting dial is extraordinarily rare.
There are, there’ve been versions of this color several times, but what makes this one
particularly unique are the numbers - the colors of the number.
The pattern on the dial is often referred to as a waffle style dial.
It's actually “tapisserie.”
And that's a fancier than word than waffle.
Absolutely, everything's French.
So this one is really interesting too because it has this Aaron bespoke strap that's with
it, it's a stingray strap.
It also comes with a more traditional brown crocodile, I suppose that is, but it's got
an interesting stitching color on it, and another plain black strap.
So with this watch you get all three different looks.
Totally changes the look of the watch to put a different strap on it.
Is that something that's easy to change?
That’s my understanding that it is because the screw is from each side, as long as you
have a good reasonable screwdriver for maybe for your glasses or something of that nature.
Just be very, very careful because they do screw opposite ways when you're when you're
detaching it.
So it works a lot like a panorama if you're familiar with how that strap comes on and
off.
Beautiful watch, very limited production.
You can see it's much thicker - this is the Royal Oak Offshore that was launched in ‘93
for the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak.
The Royal Oak it was designed by Gerald Genta.
It's considered one of the greatest watch designs ever.
He's the guy that also designed the Patek Phillipe Nautilus and the Golden Ellipse,
the Cartier Pasha, the IWC Ingenieur.
So he definitely has a consistent theme throughout if you think about what his watches look like,
even though they span different companies, they all have a similar look to them.
The portal design for ships and boating was the whole inspiration behind the octagonal
shape, which is why there are eight screws for each corner of the octagon.
Okay so it's interesting too that the Audemars Piguet is still family-owned, has been since
the 19th century when it was founded in Switzerland, still run by the Audemars family.
And they're very secretive about the way they produce watches, about their manufacturing
processes.
They're kind of a mystery of the watch world to me because a lot of the other companies
are so transparent but it gives them a mystique that is kind of not there in some of the other
companies.
Something else too, it's very important to by Audemars from folks that you can trust
to be able to verify that these are actual Audemars.
Because there are a lot of fakes in the marketplace, and it's real important to purchase your watch
from folks like us where we have expert Swiss watchmakers who are very versed in how to
make sure that these are the authentic piece.
Yeah, and that gets us back to part of the difference in SwissWatchExpo.com, we have
a Swiss training master watch maker as our owner who personally authenticates our watches.
We give a authenticity guarantee, as well as a warranty.
We can ship this watch out to you; we have a great return policy.
It's available right now at SwissWatchExpo.com with the box, papers, extra straps, everything
you see here.
I think one last note we should make – this is a great watch.
A lot of people don't realize that even though that this is a 33 millimeter, it looks great
even on larger wrists.
And it's very, very thin, it's a quartz watch - you don't see this piece very often, and
the two-tone nature of it, it’s an exquisite watch.
So don't be afraid to wear a smaller watch from Audemars.
It's classy, it’s elegant, and it still is that octagonal shape, you get a lot of
style out of this watch.
Fantastic.
Yeah, absolutely.
All right, fresh from the showcase here at SwissWatchExpo.com