Whenever we post an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. It creates a lot of buzz.
We get a lot of questions, a lot of comments, a lot of feedback on them,
but maybe not any more than when we post the 15400ST. We'll go over why.
Whenever we post a fresh Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. It creates a lot of buzz. And one of the
ones that when we post it, it really gets a lot of attention is the 15400ST. Now this one
is a regular Royal Oak, not a Royal Oak Offshore. So it's not super thick. It's only 9.8 millimeters
thick. But it's a really good size. It came out in 2012 and 41 millimeter diameter. That's the case
diameter, but it really wears a lot bigger than that. It probably wears more like a 44 millimeter
watch when you put it on the diameter of the case. Dimension is a little bit dwarfed by the entire,
the overall dimension of the watch. And the reason I say that is that the bracelet is essentially
rigid from about here to here. This is where I can start feeling it where it'll have some give.
So if you look at this dimension from here to here,
that's quite large. And it still looks great on just about anyone. It's not too large of a watch.
The fact that it's not an Offshore, it's only 9.8 millimeters thick means that it'll
rest on the wrist. Nicely it'll fit under a shirtsleeve. And so for a lot of people,
this is the right combination because it's a larger diameter than the so-called jumbo, which
has only 39 millimeters. This one at 41 is just a great modern size. Now we'll go over a few things
of what makes this watch special. It's really interesting. It's a great design. Of course, this
goes back to the Gerald Genta design from 1972, but this one came out in 2012 at this dimension,
and it features a lot of the things that you've come to expect from the entire Royal Oak line.
Of course, you've got the porthole bezel with the screws showing through. Now this one,
this is a brushed steel case and bracelet, but the screws are 18 carat white gold. So it gives a
nice contrast to the steel. When you look at the dial, of course, this is the classic Grande
Tapisserie design dial, the waffle design dial. And it gives an interesting look to the watch.
Hopefully it's showing up in the lights. This dial is considered black, but when you look at the way
it looks overall because of the waffle design in the dial, the pattern, it almost looks like a dark
gray because you get a lot of reflections of white in the in the dial itself. Same thing on this one,
this one's called white, but it's really more silver. And when you look at it, it has just
has so much interesting depth to it because of the way the waffle pattern is cut into it.
And then those dials, they're still cut the old way. They use a pantograph machine. That's a
really old machine, I think from the 19th century that they used to hand cut those. So it's still
done the old fashioned way. The markers are 18 carat, white gold. And so are the hands. The hands
in fact are called Royal Oak hands because they're so distinctive to this watch. When you look at the
bezel, you have the perfect combination of brushed on the top and high Polish around the edges,
and it just makes this great geometric shape that you've all come to know and love with this watch.
And you do see a little bit of the gasket between the bezel and the case. It's not as thick or
pronounced as it is in the Royal Oak Offshore, but it's still there. It's a nice design element.
And that's original to the Gerald Genta design. The case of course has real flat, but what you
see, and this is just such a great hallmark of the hand finishing you get with this watch series,
this beveled edge that goes right into the downward slope at the lugs. And then right
down the bracelet with each of these tapered links of the bracelet is just fabulous. The way
it's made with the, the high Polish bezel on the edges. When you move the bracelet and look at it,
there's a lot to see because there are a lot of different flat surfaces that catch the light and
also between each bracelet link it's high Polish, even though it satin on the top. So there's just a
lot to see there. The clasp is definitely heavy duty, as you would expect from such a watch.
Of course, you're always closed the non logo side first, and then the side with the AP logo.
It does have a double button here for security, and it has the exhibition caseback so that you
can see the movement. Of course, just like any AP movement it's beautifully decorated and it's got
a gold rotor it's a high power reserve movement. And one thing I want to mention about this one,
that's different from the jumbo. The jumbo does not have a screw-down crown, even though it's
rated as water resistant to 50 meters. This one has a screw-down crown in the 15400ST which makes
it a true 50 meter water resistant. You could actually swim in this one and feel secure in that
the overall look and feel of it. I just think is one of the best watches that AP really has ever
made. You've got a very interesting looking dial, even though there's not a lot of complications.
There is the sweeping second hand, which there's a hack function for
the hours and minutes. And then of course the date in a very small aperture at three o'clock.
But it's just a pleasure to wear it feels great on because of the way the, the bracelet curves
with the wrist it's designed so that it doesn't grab any skin or hair as you're wearing it. So
it's very comfortable. And of course this is going to always stand out. If you're ever in a crowd of
watch guys, everybody knows and loves this design. And definitely a watch that has performed very
well on the secondary market, as far as just an investment goes that it's, it's done very well in
the past and doesn't show any sign of slacking off. So I'm making the case that the 15400ST
really is the best AP. It has everything going for it and really no downside at all. Tell us what
you think in the comments, click the button to like, and subscribe, give us a call at the store.
See which one of these we still have available. We'll be happy to ship it right out to you.