Audemars Piguet

I have narrowed my next watch to one of the two I am heavily leaning toward the AP Diver so a bit biased but am looking for an honest comparison since both are terrific watches. What are the pros and cons of each model?  My current watch rotation is 1) AP RO chronograph, 2) Rolex DeepSea, 3) Omega PO, 4) Omega constellation, and 5) Rolex Datejust stainless steel. 

I am a patek fan as well but never had a thing for the Aquanaut...

I was torn between the 5167 and the RO 15300. Eventually i got the RO.
As much as i like Patek, i think the diver is a very successful interpretation of a modern dive watch.
It achieves to keep the original RO DNA and being contemporary in it`s design. In a way that it will still look fresh
for a long time to come, IMHO. It does not scream as loud, as some of the other offshore designs are doing. 
And it`s wearing very comfortably, although it`s heavier than the Aquanaut. For sure the 5167 is a great watch, but it does
not have enough autonomy next to the Nautilus. For me, a  world timer or a Calatrava is much more what Patek is all about.




This message has been edited by burkinab on 2011-11-15 15:24:08

for me as well....

Have you considered the 5711 instead ?

Well since this is the AP forum I guess it's not a surprise that the Aquanaut doesn't get much respect here.  After all, even over on the PP forum the Aquanaut doesn't doesn't seem to get much respect.  But I have a different opinion.  I have used an Aquanaut for many years and IMO it's a great watch.

Yeah it's not a diver watch, but then I would be surprised if anyone actually uses the AP Diver for serious diving, since there are much less expensive specialty dive watches that are actually dive computers and are therefore much more useful for diving.  One might use it for a casual dive every now and then FAIK though.

My 38mm Aquanaut is barely noticeable on my wrist.  It has a reliable movement; the rubber strap is very comfortable for extended wear; it's light weight; it easily slides under a shirt's long sleeve; it is worry free for bathing, swimming, washing dishes; and for any other activity that one would normally want to do while wearing a mechanical wrist watch.

Good luck in deciding on your choice.

But I love the diver! It is a cool watch in its own right. I would not buy an Aquanaut as I would always see it as a poor mans Nautilus, however I know someone with an Aquanaut (he could probably afford any PP) and it looks cool and understated on his wrist.

" I would not buy an Aquanaut as I would always see it as a poor mans Nautilus…"

This discussion probably belongs in the PP forum, but here goes anyway.   While I appreciate that everyone has a right to their own opinion, I couldn't disagree more.  

AFAIK the fact is that the price difference between the basic calendar only Nautilus and the Aquanaut with bracelet (IMO the best comparison for the purpose of this discussion) is only about ten percent.  Also, the Nautilus and the Aquanaut have the same movement, both have gold hands and markers on the dials, and both share other features.  I suspect that the Nautilus price is higher because of the more complicated case design and maybe the more complicated bracelet design.  But from a purely financial and quality perspective IMO your presumption does not really hold.

On a more general note, my guess is that most anyone who can afford a Aquanaut can also afford a Nautilus (and you alluded to this above), so therefore IMO your presumption that the Aquanaut is the "poor mans (sic) Nautilus" is misguided.  For myself I just plain prefer the simpler case design of the Aquanaut and I also prefer the rubber strap (which is not available for the Nautilus) over the bracelet style, so I chose my watch purchase accordingly.  Regardless IMO your statement proves my point that the Aquanaut just doesn't get much respect from many PP fans.

"De gustibus non est disputandum."

I obviously did not make it clear enough, I was not suggesting that others would see the Aquanaut as an inferior watch as both of these watches fly under the radar anyway to anyone other than a watch nut. I just don't like the design of the watch as much as the Nautilus and I think that because of the integrated strap, the Nautilus looks more expensive - just my opinion. Interestingly the person I know only bought the Aqunaut because he felt that because it is ss and has a rubber strap no one would bother mugging him for it. He did insist that he was wearing a Nautilus though which was funny.

I would choose AP Diver.