![]() ![]() “The construction took time because it was never as simple as just making it bigger,” says Audemars Piguet's Museum Archivist, Raphäel Balestra. That, and the fact the Offshore is an anniversary piece, of course.Įmmanuel Gueit, the man in charge of delivering the OffshoreĪudemars Piguet therefore worked long and hard behind the scenes on the development of the new piece, and ironically, the company faced complications that delayed the watch’s introduction until 1993, one year after the Royal Oak’s milestone anniversary. It is indeed impossible to talk about the Royal Oak Offshore without first talking about the Royal Oak, a watch so visibly present in the design of the Offshore that Audemars Piguet could not drop its name from the new line. Not only is it the only example to have appeared so far in the market but it is, in my opinion, a true Audemars Piguet milestone and icon, very likely one of the rarest Audemars Piguet ever produced. Without any doubt my favorite watch is the platinum D series ref. They are magnificent watches, with production numbers that very likely won't exceed the fingers of one hand. 25854, especially in pink gold and in white gold. The same is true of the perpetual calendars ref. Some of the watches illustrated here, such as the purple, turquoise and green models Ref. I have always collected very rare timepieces and I can safely say this was one of the most challenging to put together. When I realised how rare some references were I decided to start this collection. While we know all, or almost all of the well-known Royal Oak models, I found that the Offshore lived in uncharted territory. After spending a few months trying to classify the rarest references I noticed the total lack of literature around this Audemars Piguet wristwatch. I have always been attracted by this watch and its massive design and it inspires the feeling of adventure whenever I look at it. Here's what he had to say about the challenge of putting together this collection. He has successfully hunted down some of the rarest examples found in amazing condition, and now shares them for the first time with the public. They were generously lent to us by Alfredo Paramico, who, besides being one of the only collectors who can say his initials are present on every Offshore, was the first collector to recognize the watch’s importance. Some of these watches you may not have seen before. Several Offshore models deserve a moment of appreciation for the model’s ultimate success, but in order to understand how “The Beast” became so influential, we will discuss some of the earliest examples – made between 19 - and highlight some of the lesser known incremental changes introduced during the first decade of the Offshore’s life. ![]() Following its introduction in 1993 as “just” an anniversary piece to the original Royal Oak, the Offshore soon became the company’s favourite testing ground for new materials, limited editions, and high-profile endorsements. There are also several ISO certified models made for recreational diving that feature a single screw-down crown, and though quite a bit different from the original Offshore, bear its name – such is the weight of it.Īudemars Piguet has relied on it to provide excitement, and more importantly, to generate sales, which has led to its dominant position within the company’s catalogue – a position that is partially responsible for introduction, last year, of the Code 11:59, a brand new family of watches designed to reduce the brand’s dependency on anything with the word “Oak” in its name.īut the popularity the Offshore enjoys today only arrives after some experimentation with its original design. Today, the Swiss watchmaker offers more than forty different Offshore models ranging from a faithful re-edition of the original chronograph, made in 1993, to much more complicated versions featuring high-end complications and avant-garde materials. More than 25 years after its launch, the Offshore is a watch that has carved its own, unique, and somewhat unexpected position in the Audemars Piguet catalogue. To learn more about these pieces, please visit our Geneva Watch Auction: XII catalogue and review the footnotes dedicated to each watch. However, we are offering this November, two of the watches mentioned below, the Royal Oak Offshore “Beast” Ref. Editor's Note: The following article was published in March 2020, and at the time of its publication, none of the watches were for sale. ![]()
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