![]() Over the years, the Royal Oak Offshore has become a venue for Audemars Piguet’s experimentation. The production was increased to 2,300 units.įor the F-Series which were produced between 19, the paint used was more stable, and these watches rarely show their age, unless damage is present. ![]() The D-Series was a smaller batch making up 1,300 units, with tighter Tapisserie motif on the dial and blue paint that tends to fade over time.įor the E-Series watches, the blue paint is noticeably different, this time with a purplish hue. The D and E-Series Royal Oak Offshore starts with the original reference 25721 made in 1992, and the last from this series was produced in 1999. It slowly built momentum when personalities such as Michael Schumacher and Arnold Schwarzenegger started wearing it, too.Įarlier productions of the Royal Oak are referred to as the D, E, or F series, where each letter corresponds to production years. The first to truly understand its aggressive design were young and wealthy Italians, and it received even further recognition when alpine skiing legend Alberto Tomba, the country’s most beloved athlete, started wearing a Royal Oak Offshore. Gerald Genta, the creator of the Royal Oak, expressed his misgivings about the Royal Oak Offshore and became its staunchest critic. Just like the Royal Oak, it was a slow burn for the Offshore, but it achieved success by appealing to collectors with active lifestyles and desire for larger, more masculine watches. They only created 100 pieces for the first batch and stamped the casebacks “Royal Oak” in case the collection ended there. The leadership team itself was pragmatic about launching this revolutionary take on the classic Royal Oak. Because of uncertainty and revisions, the launch was postponed to the following year’s Baselworld. The initial plan was to launch it in 1992, on the 20th anniversary of the Royal Oak. It also had a blue dial and vertical chronograph registers. It was quickly nicknamed "The Beast" because of its imposing size – one that has not been seen in the commercial watch industry during that time. The very first edition was a stainless steel model with a 42mm case, bearing the reference number 25721ST. With the aim of appealing to younger clientele, he worked with designer Emmanuel Gueit, who conceptualized a more robust take on the Gerald Genta-designed classic. While the Royal Oak Offshore was introduced in 1993, AP’s CEO Stephen Urquhart, had already thought of creating a new version of the Royal Oak as early as 1989. In the 1970s, the Royal Oak introduced the concept of the steel luxury sports watch, and ignited interest in mechanical watches, just when the Quartz Revolution almost killed the Swiss watch industry. Much like the iconic Royal Oak, the Royal Oak Offshore demolished the established conventions of its time.
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