Audemars Piguet

To celebrate the 12^th Anniversary of ThePuristS and the 20^th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, I thought it would be fitting to share a few pics of the Royal Oak Offshore Prototype Number 000. 

This special Offshore is in the private collection of a fellow PuristS and I had a unique opportunity to view the watch and spend some wrist time with it.  The owner shared with me an interesting story about this Offshore; it was originally a prototype piece worn by AP’s Managing Director at the time, Stephen Urquhart, and when our fellow PuristS first saw it he was fascinated by the unique color and how awesome it was compared to other watches.  He took it off Mr. Urquhart’s wrist and it has been in the PuristS collection since then.   It is worn on a somewhat frequent basis and has the original movement, original finishing and even the original yellow leather strap with a stainless steel tang buckle.  Interestingly enough the movement has never been serviced and runs very accurately.   The chronograph function works well and still has a crisp feel when activating the pushers.

The AP Royal Oak Offshore was originally conceived in 1989 as a variation of the classic Royal Oak.  It was aimed at a younger audience and the idea was to have a larger version with a visible water-tightness joint and a chronograph movement.  The chronograph pushers and crown are coated in a proprietary rubber material to improve water resistance.  It was also a technical challenge for the AP watchmakers to coat these small parts with the rubberized material.  The Offshore was also very heavy with the steel version weighing in at a hefty 250gr, the gold version at 450gr and a massive 800gr for platinum.

The Offshore was not just about size, but also function.  A key component in the design was anti-magnetism and the watch was fitted with special plates under the dial and on the caseback, along with a soft iron cage around the movement. 

In 1992, the classic Royal Oak was celebrating it’s 20^th anniversary so Audemars Piguet delayed the release of the Offshore until the following year.  AP offered the first model in 1993 as the Royal Oak Offshore reference #25721.

The prototype Offshore case is slightly different from the standard Offshore where it does not have the two central links.  I actually prefer this case style since it allows the strap to flex and conform to my small wrists.  The regular Offshore models with the central links are stiffer and angles out the strap.  The disadvantage of this is that a steel bracelet cannot be attached to this case version.  These Offshore ‘Tutti Frutti’ models were offered in various colors as reference 25770. 

This prototype Offshore has made it’s way around various PuristS events and GTG’s throughout the past few years.  It even accompanied several PuristS for a trip to Taipei to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Taipei 101 Boutique.  Shown here is the prototype along with one of the first production ‘Bumblebee’ Offshores with the forged carbon case and ceramic bezel.


And a few local SoCal GTG's:


And at another SoCal AP event, next to AP ROO Scuba Bartorelli:




Next to the magical Panerai 203 at another SoCal GTG:


Somebody really likes yellow and Gerald Genta designs! 



Hope you enjoyed these pics.  Thanks to my fellow PuristS collector for showing this piece of AP history, and a big Congrats to AP on their 20^th anniversary and success of the Offshore.

Regards,
ED-209




This message has been edited by ED209 on 2013-05-30 08:50:12

-MW

Or is that photoshopped?

- AT

Was up in San Fran the place is called MeeMee Bakery, they have flavored cookies:

 

-MW

Regards,
ED-209

Great to see the Prototype No. 00 of the Offshore , thanks for the great report and Happy Anniversary   This message has been edited by SALMANQ8 on 2013-05-30 05:45:40

Thanks Salman, hope you can make your way over to our side of the pond soon.

Regards,
ED-209

What a great refresher on the Offshore in general.  I have always found the yellow dial alluring.  It seems to fit the Offshore theme very well.  And you know my affinity for the old school notched case type.  I believe we will see it used again in the future.

My experience with the older movements is the same - they will continue to run and run well for many years.  Glad to hear the owner of this piece wears it on a regular basis too.

Thanks Michael, I'm with you on the movement, it's impressive to see that it's been running well for so many years.

Regards,
ED-209

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...one of my favourite AP's of all time.  Wonderful colour and still as striking today as when I first saw one years ago.  Really like the PVD version too, Ming.  Any more pics & info please?  

We'll get a post out on these special versions.  Stay tuned!

-MW

Thanks Tony-GB for reading the post.  Looking forward to my colleagues on their report on the special versions too.

Regards,
ED-209

And yes, by the way, Happy anniversary to US!

Best,

Nicolas

I used to think the Offshores were too big in diameter, but this one fits well.  And yes, Happy 12th Anniversary to US and to our friends at AP.

Regards,
ED-209

appropriate. Something from today ...



I looked on the right ... and the left ...

I tried it hard and looked everywhere ...

At least (I guess) I found something HE (and some others) would like

Happy Anniversary, from me as well!

Oliver

Love the GT3RS and the old skool color

  Nice capture of all things yellow in your neighborhood.
Regards,
ED-209

I know one very cool Purist in particular that is a HUGE fan of yellow.  Thanks for sharing.

Always good times with AP's RO's and ROO's around, along with cool friends, great food and fast cars.
Have a great weekend Jerry.
Regards,
ED-209


This message has been edited by ED209 on 2013-05-30 22:58:11

The very rare apple green one.

Hi Koen S., very cool about the green version, I haven't seen it in person before.  Can you repost your pic as it doesn't show up.

Regards,

ED-209

Thanks for the pics, looks like it's in perfect condition.  Does it get regular wrist time?

Regards,

ED-209

is it for sale?

A 6 year bump of a very entertaining thread. Cheers!

Kudos to Emmanuel Gueit for that one, the original Genta was a very refined watch, an vision of a high horology steel watch. The ROO is a brutal masucline sports watch, so far away from the RO actually with its own charm.

It worked pretty well for AP.

I agree, kudos to Emmanuel Gueit and Stephen Urquhart for their efforts and vision in the Offshore design.  Thanks for reading the report.

Regards,

ED-209

Thank you for sharing this.  I really enjoyed reading this about the prototype.  I am especially glad to see even this very special Offshore having an active life among PuristS all over the world.  It is inspirational.

All the best,

respo