Audemars Piguet

I have been offered by AD AP Bumbel bee and befroe i pick it up would apprecaite if some one can tell me if buble bee is a limited edition ? if so how many nos is this limited to ?

I saw on net a comment of "01-Dial (that only 157 pieces will be produced have with this dial)"... is it true ? what is a 01 dial ?

Also was told that the first batch of Bumble Bees.. the numerals have no lume.. for subsequent batches, AP will add lume....is thsi the lume aroudn the nos ?

Also as i am new watch collector pls. can some one help me if bumbel bee is actually worth the cost or are there better AP watches whcih are mroe exclsive, i like the end of days but i am told by my AD almost impossible to get ! is that true ?

Pls. do guide me as i am a new watch collector and since this August, have aquired AP Black offshore, Daytona and IWC Big pilot Limited Edition Saint Expurey Brown and now want to get AP Bumbel Bee and Patek 5130p? Any thoughts woudl be apprecaited ....

and congrats on your new hobby as a watch collector. As many of us here will agree, it is a very satisfying hobby for years to come.

The three pieces that you bought are all very high quality pieces, I see that your focus is on the casual and sports model.

Regarding the Bubble Bee, I don't think it is a limited edition, but rather "limited production" (similar to the case of Volcano, but perhaps rarer?). I think the first batch did not have luminous materials on the dial - this is something that AP added later for subsequent dials.

I think it is a fantastic-looking piece and the all-black look has a very consistent and strong appeal to me (my view might be biased - this is a guy who travelled across the Pacific to buy the Survivor). The movement is AP's new in-house chronograph movement and is beautifully decorated. So this watch passes both the exterior design as well as interior machinery tests.

However, whether it is a "valuable" piece, is hard to say. If you are talking about resell value years down the road, then nobody will know for sure. I think back then, nobody knew that the Montoyas and EODs would fetch the high prices today.  However, other LEs such as the Montauk Highway or Sachin Tendulkar are not doing so well...

The way how people's tastes congregate and why certain products become so hot beyond belief, are complex and perpetual research topics in the fields of social psychology and consumer behavior...

Hence, not only do we Purists not wish to guess the fickle watch market down the road, it is also plenty unwise to do so. You should just buy the piece if you really love it, and enjoy wearing it. 

Best of luck with your decision.

Cheers,

Jon

p.s. By the way, I believe all the End of Days are entirely gone and are only available at inflated prices on the secondary market

Hi, Vishal, and welcome.

The Bumblebee is not a limited edition (only "xyz" to be made and that's it) but rather a limited production (small production but no ultimate cap on the total number made)

Your last two sentences are about the same thing - the 01 dial (only certain number, I don't remember exactly) were produced with this dial - no luminous paint - and then all future pieces produced with luminous.

Not that big a deal, to me, but some people (mostly people who are trying to sell one or the other) will tell you one or the other will be "worth more."  Ultimately, that is only up to you and you alone.

The main difference is

a. the hue of the yellow

b. whether you like glow in the dark or not

Cheers,

TM