March 29, 2024
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42mm Watches

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42mm WatchesThe original Royal Oak Offshore was released to the public in 1993 as a follow up to Gerald Genta’s much applauded A-Series “Jumbo”.  This was the second time Audemars Piguet took a serious gamble with the Royal Oak, and the second time they knocked it out of the park.  Just as the original Royal Oak Jumbo can be credited with creating an  new category of wristwatch in 1972 (the Luxury Sports Watch) through and through, the Royal Oak Offshore (as the new models came to be known after the 1993 launch) was actually the first watch for the next generation of luxury timepiece consumers, and launched another compet new category: The Oversized Sports Luxury Watch .

Certainly,the first Royal Oak Offshore (we’ll call it a ROO from here on in) wasn’t precisely oversized by today’s standards, measuring in at 42mm in diameter.  However in 1993 it was an absolute monster.  With an extra thick case and a beefy bracelet that looked like the original Gay Freres unit on steroids, it made quite the statement. In the past twenty years, the Offshore collection has grown almost as much in size as it has in variety of styles, and has become an icon in its own right, in spite of the fact that they have become so large that they are downright unwearable by many an enthusiast.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42mm Watches

Compared with those who do wear them, the ROO is a religion, with mega owning more than one version.  A approximately innumerable number of variants have been produced in the past 20 years, commemorating collaborations with musicians, actors, and athletes, as well as a wide variety of dedicated task watches,like the popular Diver.  To some, obsession with the ROO is hard to comprehend, while others liken it to other cultish collector stereotypes, such as the vintage Rolex crowd.  Regardless of your take on the model, there is little question that the ROO has made a significant impact on sporting timepieces, and the model has been copied by numerous other brands in attempt to capture some of AP’s success.

Probably it is the tremendous success of the ROO and its subsequent copycats that has turned so many collectors “off” to big luxury sports watches.  After all, nothing kills a trend like an overabundance of a popular thing. At that, the association of the ROO as wrist-bling for gangsters and wannabe rock stars can be a little overbearing for more restrained timepiece collectors.

None of this is to say that the ROO (or any Audemars Piguet) is anything less than a fantastic timepiece, as even its occasional detractors would acknowledge.  It has just become a bit…much, and there has been a recent cry for something a bit less ostentatious.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42mm Watches

Moreover,Audemars Piguet answered that call in grand style and unveiled an thoroughly new line of 42mm Offshores.  This release is very much a throwback to the original ROO and is likely to do just as much for the Offshore collection as the 15202 40th Anniversary has done for the Jumbo since its launch in 2012.  In spite of the continued popularity of larger sports watches in the consumer market, there is an imminent and noteworthy change on the near horizon.  Manufactures are slowly but surely sizing down their collections (literally!) in preparation for the next big thing – which in this case, will be smaller watches (comparatively speaking – they will never be petite and you won’t actually see sport watches under 39mm).  These smaller ROOs are a great start for Audemars Piguet , as they will no doubt bring in an fully new batch of buyers who have been unable to pull off the larger versions for wearability reasons, while also coming full circle for the die-hard ROO fans whose tastes are maturing past the tremendous and blingy and have been crying out for something smaller and sustainably wearable.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 42mm Watches