Audemars Piguet - AP Diver - One year on the wrist

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I will be commemorating
several milestones in Aug 2015. My
country (Singapore) will be observing 50 years of independence. My daughter will be celebrating her
first birthday. And it will also
be one year since I bought my AP Diver.

It was my Dad who first
introduced me to the world of watch collecting when he gave me his Yacht Master
Blue a couple of years ago. Prior to that, I had been wearing my trusty Seiko
Kinetic – which I bought when I was 18 – for almost a decade. There were always a bunch of watch
magazines and books around the house but I never got into my dad’s hobby until
the Yacht Master. Suddenly, I
understood

I starting reading
different websites and forums like PuristsPro to learn more about watches. When my wife was expecting our daughter,
I decided to buy a watch to mark her birth.

I was so convinced that
I was going to purchase a JLC Deep Sea Chronograph in SS. It was well received in many reviews –
Nicholas had written extensively here about both the steel and cermet versions. One day after my daughter was born, I
went to the mall across from the hospital and was prepared to get it.

Unfortunately, the AD
at the mall did not have it in stock.
As it was a holiday weekend (National Day), the sales rep could only
check with JLC on stock availability the next week.

“Have you considered
the AP Diver?” The sales rep fished it out from the display cabinet and laid it
before me. There was no turning
back. There was just something
about the AP Diver that captivated me intellectually and emotionally. You know what I mean – it’s just hard
to put in words.

Then I asked about the
price…and balked. The Royal
Oak’s price tag was stunning four decades ago and it (the AP diver in this
case) still causes jaws to drop today, including mine. What floored me was not so much the
quantum per se but more of what AP
was asking for steel.

I said I’d think about
it and left. Think about it I did.
I couldn’t get it out of my head! From the immaculate brushed finishing to
how the hour markers and the hands sparkle in the light. But that price…

I managed to hunt down
an example in a second-hand dealer.
It was several months old at a fair price. I scrutinized it for flaws and there were none. I asked to inspect the papers and then
I saw it. Lo and behold, the watch
was dated on my wedding anniversary!
I could not have scripted it more perfectly!

That was one year
ago. The watch has been all I expected
and more. I began to appreciate
its versatility – the AP Diver can be dressed up or down easily and it works
with both casual outfits as well as with a suit.

It has been a great
journey. I discovered new
characteristics such as the “wet look” of the dial… I inadvertently gave the bezel its first (and only)
scratch… I’ve contemplated adding
a metal bracelet or hornback strap to its wardrobe…

This one is definitely a keeper!

John