Absolute AP Newbie UK - Bond St Invitation. Advice Please

[PeteWales]

Hello All

I have been lucky enough to have received help on the Rolex and Panerai forums and hope my good run of interacting with the very knowledgeable continues here.

Quite simply I would like a Stainless Steel Royal Oak. I have absolutely no relationship with AP and have never even touched one. I would like either a 1150ST 41mm or a 11620 Jumbo Ultra Thin. 39mm (?) No doubt I have picked the two most desirable models with 300 year waiting lists; i tend to do that.

I emailed the AP Showroom on Bond Street half expecting them not to even reply; but they have done and asked me to come and view the above watches. I actually don't mind waiting a little while for a watch because I might pull the money out of my pension in about 18 months time. Obviously if one comes in prior I do have funds to purchase.

I can see the above watches go for considerably over list on the secondary market so I assume there must be a considerable wait time for them? I'm not asking for hacks to jump queues or any such nonsense. I would just like a fair understanding of what to expect before I visit.

One last and possibly extremely dumb question. How tough are Stainless Steel Royal Oaks. I wear a stainless Rolex Datejust every day and that's quite a tough watch and can take a little clumsiness. Might I expect the same resilience from a RO ?

Really look forward to any help any of you might be able to offer.

Thanks!


Pete