At least there's no date...
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At least there's no date...
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I think the colours put me right off to be honest. if it was just black and white, would have been so much nicer. For the price I would just get a chromo offshore which is far more appealing or alternatively the 41mm Chrono on the bracelet.
It'd be OK if it didn't have that huge 'wart' top left
:devilish:
z
The simple RO is such a nice watch, but ROO's like those are just awful to my eye.
I'll go against the consensus so far and say I quite like the orange one, not a huge fan of chronos though as its just another thing to go wrong / get serviced. I could wear a three hander with date in orange....Weren't these released at SIHH last January (2016)?
No,actually quite good.
Blue one looks fine, orange maybe a bit much, but most would have preferred a ceramic bezel to a chrono.
I think the carbuncle on the upper left side (helium escape valve?) completely ruins it,
Simon
It's a crown to rotate/lock the internal bezel.Quote:
Originally Posted by mycroft
Aah, OK. Still ruins it...
Simon
Says'Lego version ' to me....
I think the blue and yellow one is fantastic. Not really for a daily wearer in a dreary London office, but living somewhere warm and by the sea... absolutely. The ultimate holiday watch perhaps.
They look alright. Fun watches, not to be taken too seriously. ;)
The price tag does have to be taken seriously though, and might just spoil the fun... That orange dial is frankly hideous.Quote:
Originally Posted by o u t a t i m e
Putting a screwdriver slot in a hex-head screw that's in a hexagonal hole just really bugs me. What's the point when the screw clearly can't be rotated?
What's the point of luxury mechanical watches?Quote:
Originally Posted by Valkyrie
It is because the hex bolts are white gold which sit in a steel case, the slot is there for tightening purposes to protect the hex edges getting rounded when they are tightened from the back.Quote:
Originally Posted by Valkyrie
To give watch nerds like all of us something to do indoors before our carers turn up to take us to the shrinkQuote:
Originally Posted by Itsguy
The colours look fine on both watches to me. Good summer colours. Perhaps the orange is a bit too vivid. But the watch itself is a bit of a car crash.
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Is that definitely the case? Wouldn't there also be a danger of damaging the screw slot? Though really this refers to the RO as the ROO bolts are steel, necessary due to the higher tension for higher pressures, so it's stylistic again and part of the family resemblance (such as it is).Quote:
Originally Posted by nunya
You can see that in the original drawing and patent linked here, the 'screws' were not even aligned around the bezel. I can only imagine how much that would have driven people mad, who were already offended by this element. I'd always assumed it was a hint at their function, that they are not just decorative gold hexagons but that they part of that mechanism for screwing down the bezel, though from the other side. Form hinting at function, in a decorative way.
Alternatively, 'Becasue it looks cool' is also an acceptable answer.
Or European Golfer. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by henk
That is hideous! But I guess if you can afford it then it is a statement.
Can I ask, beyond fashion and trends, is there anything technical about AP that makes them so expensive? I'm not being sarcastic! Just genuinely interested...
To tell the time. What's the point of a screw that does not work?Quote:
Originally Posted by Itsguy
p.s. I know what you mean! But the bolts are entirely useless...right? A luxury mechancial watch does the job more of less the same as a Seagull...but it still does the job.
Here's a video showing a jumbo case being put together:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KC-y5QRCUUA
Plenty of info is here: http://www.timeandwatches.com/p/hist...royal-oak.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by redsox78
They are genuinely hard to make. Not that that alone would justify the price of course, but when something is extremely distinctive, desirable, and has a legendary history you can produce in small numbers and name your price. They more or less did from the start to be honest, its insane price for a stainless steel watch was part of the way they positioned it, a design that was worth more than its weight in gold, luxury stainless steel.
The job of the 'screws' is to look good, just like a luxury mechanical watch. Though to be fair, while it's essentially decorative it does hint at the function, they are part of the mechanism to screw down the bezel, not just pretty gold octagons. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder obviously, but it looks good to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by redsox78
Thanks for this, I remember once finding something about the design history of the Royal Oak and this has brought it back to me. Impressive stuff! Given the engineering here (bar the ertzaz screws:witless:) I hope they don't get too dragged down by the whole football association. I mean, it would be shame if they become a bit, er, the CP Company Mille Miglia Goggle Jacket of luxury watches. But, consider me more informed. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Itsguy
That's cool, enjoyed that! Bet half of the people wearing them and sponsored by them have no idea, sadly. But, cool vid.Quote:
Originally Posted by crooky13
To be honest, I'm as suspicious of the Offshore as you are and think the ones that kick off this thread are foul, footballer as you like. The original RO, the extra thin, and the now discontinued 14790ST are another story entirely though. Yes, the screw slots are decorative, as decorative as the dial, though the the bolts themselves are functional. It's a constant source of controversy! Arguably it just looks better than leaving them plain and is pretty rugged and masculine as decorative elements go.Quote:
Originally Posted by redsox78
I'm reminded of the dial on an Ingenieur I used to own, which had a graph paper design that occasionally caught the light. Completely decorative, but another reference to engineering. The 'ears' on the Nautilus are similar, they create its looks but are also a hinge and the way the case closes - form following different mechanical approaches to creating a thin waterproof case.
Clearly Genta was well aware the hex bolts couldn't screw, but wanted it to look mechanical, almost brutally so. Perhaps he's playing a game with us, a puzzle. He might even have imagined screwing the bolts into the sleeves from the top to initially locate them, before pushing them in and finishing the job from the back, though in practice they are not assembled that way. Either way if it puts you off just be happy about the pile of cash you just saved!
I actually like a lot the blue one. I think the screw slots give a really nice look of the bezel.
Of course a diver watch at this price cannot be really justified by any "technical" feature. Anything more expensive than a sub £100 G-Shock can't. Or a Seiko divers 200 for the people who prefer mechanical ones. After all the Royal Oak was one of the first, if not the first luxury steel watch. I must admit that I am looking forward to the moment that I will be able to afford a ROO. But not because I am saving for years, or selling my entire collection. It should be because I have so much disposable income, that I don't care about dropping £20-30k on a watch...
http://watchesbysjx.com/2017/01/sihh...ky-colour.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by Davis
Think I prefer the blue or white versions now they've released them in the flesh
I'd rather have a north flag on a rubber strap
Money can't buy you taste....
It reminds me of Frankenstein's monster
If anyone has one they can't live with I'd look after it for them.