I had been an admirer of the Royal Oak for
some years but it never really rank high on
my want list until recently. Some months ago
I posted on Watchrap about suggestions for
an everyday watch. A very kind Gentleman, Mr
Valentin Blank wrote to me direct and
suggested with great persuasion the RO
Jumbo. I did follow up on his suggestion and
went about looking for one at the authorised
retailers here. The stores here had only the
darker coloured dials while I preferred the
white. I did more research and discovered a
lot more about it. While I was beginning to
seriously consider the Jumbo, there were
many other daily beater watches that started
to call out to me as well. The Vacheron
Overseas Automatic and the IWC Ingenuier are
just but two very nice watches of many
shortlisted and researched.
Until one day someone mentioned to me of the
newly launched RO 15300 and the Calibre 3120
movement. When I found scans of the watch, I
was very pleased to find out how close it is
to the RO in terms of its look. But when I
found out that the Cal 3120 and bracelet is
completely brand new I was thrilled. So I
went about looking around for one here in
Singapore. I was hopeful but doubted its
availability. When my regular luxury watch
retailer informed me that one of the other
branches had a piece, I jumped at it. They
had only one piece - a white dial (which is
my preferred dial in any case in this
model).
On the morning of 9th August 2005 -
Singapore's 40th Year of Independence - I
went to HourGlass to inspect the watch. In
the short years of having collected watches,
I have learnt not to raise one's
expectations too high as the probability of
disappointment can be high. Even though I
was very excited about the watch, I resolved
not to make an impulse buy but to walk away
to consider closely all things before
completing the deal.
So what happened? Well, when the wonderfully
gracious the Asst Manager took out the watch
and showed it to me - it seemed that time
and sounds came to a standstill for a
moment. Somebody was talking but my ears
wasn’t listening. My attention was
completely focused on something that just
stunned me. The RO15300. Why is it stunning?
A very rare characteristic. Sublime
simplicity.
After the heady early rush of excitement, I
made a closer inspection of the RO. It was
obvious that the bracelet is somewhat
thicker than the RO Jumbo. It looked a lot
larger than its declared 39mm. In fact it
looked like a 42 mm when compared to my
Explorer II. But the illusion is due to the
design of the case and the somewhat non
existent lugs.
The watch studied in detail is even greater
than the wonderful whole. From 2 feet away,
it looks like a nicely made watch. From a
close loupe look, it is unmistakably a
wonderfully made watch.
I was smitten by the balance of the dial
work. The white tapestry is luminescent and
the new baton markers and three hands are
perfect in unison. I thought the original
Jumbo was outstanding but this new dial work
- simply sublime (yes, that word again).
When I turned the watch around to inspect
the movement through its exhibition back I
discovered a movement smaller than the Jumbo
but no less impressive. This is where words
will not do justice. It just has to be seen.
The size of the Cal 3120 is small compared
to the overall size of the watch but its not
so noticeable that it distracts. The rotor
is wonderfully designed and carved (or
pressed?). The bridges were all beveled
nicely, clean and polished. As with all
autos, much of the movement is covered by
the rotor. The balance wheel is quite
special as it seems to be altogether a new
design. It has a bridge over it to secure it
for higher accuracy and stability (as I
understand it).
The Asst Manager then offered to have the
bracelet adjusted to see how it fits on my
wrist. I agreed to this with some reluctance
(because I really did not want to
commit to a sale right away as a norm - no
matter how much I liked it). So I walked
around the shop for 5 minutes looking at
every single mirror in the shop admiring it
on my wrist. I realised its not as heavy as
I had expected but its not so light to feel
cheap. Slowly but surely I had the sinking
feeling that I will not be able to walk away
without it.
I put the watch down on the watch tray after
taking all the effort that my self control
could muster. The Asst Manager and I then
spent a few minutes talking about AP, the
new RO model and she showed me the engraved
serial number on the back. It’s a single
digit number (000x). Its always special to
have a single digit number serial number.
For me, its like being the first.
After another ten minutes of chatting, I
realised my resolve not to buy that day -
went out the window 5 minutes ago. So put
the watch on and completed the purchase
there and then.
I am glad to say that I have not taken this
watch off since. Each day, the satisfaction
seems to grow as I catch myself looking at
the watch without looking at the time. This
watch is the evolution of the Royal Oak and
not a revolution. It’s a great success
because it retains all the positive
characteristics of the line but yet
modernise all other aspects to continue
making it the truly long life classic it
will be.
My sincerest congratulations to Audemars
Piquet and all the boffins there for a
wonderful watch. In my books this watch is a
double home run. It will most definitely
help in AP's claim in being amongst the best
watch brands in the world.
(* this story was first posted online at
the Audemars Piguet Forum on a thread called
"The Sublime")
