AP Royal Oak Offshore Navy Review.

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Here's a personal review of my newly acquired AP ROO Navy. Or rather I should say, my point of view..



I got this early morning call from my favorite dealer and he told me.. "you have time to visit today? Something you really wanted came up!"..

Now I was baffled. Because honestly, there are so many watches that I really wanted, I couldn't remember which one is my dealer talking about.

Since today is lazy Friday, so I thought why not drop by my dealer first and then head to the office.

So I did. And much to my surprise (and I have forgotten), that its the long awaited AP navy! They have always gotten the safari and many wierd colour ones, the safari is great, but I think there are too many running around. And honestly speaking, a friend of mine owns the replica of the safari, and it looks very very similar. It kinda put me off..



As you can see, the ROO is not a small watch, its wide, and thick. Its probably thicker than my panerai too, and perhaps the thickest watch in my collection. The extra width/length towards the lugs also gives it a larger look, it kinda look like I'm wearing a solid metal chunk on my wrist. But perhaps that's just because I have small wrist.



You can also notice the usual pushers and crown for a chrono watch. However, if you pay close attention to it, you can notice that the chrono pushers are actually higher than the crown - they're not aligned. Why? Because its a piggyback module. Now I'm not against piggybacking, but frankly, for a watch that retails well above 15k, I think the movement shouldve been better. It shouldve had a built in chrono instead. Perhaps piggy backing is cheaper and easier in construction and repair, and perhaps they thought the case is big enough anyway.. But again, just not something I would expect. My 150 bucks swatch does chrono without piggyback just fine.

The rubber inlaid between the bezel and the case gives it a somewhat appealing look. It cuts the "all metal" construction into a more sporty look. I'm not sure that the rubber inlaid has any obvious usage, but I'm glad they did it. Otherwise if it had been all metal, I think it would look abit over the top.



I really like how AP designed their cases. The brushed and polished combo is definitely eye candy. The way light glints off it plays nicely on the brushed surface and polished screws. Talking about the brushed finish, I think AP has got to be one of the most pleasing brushed finish available in the market. The brushed streaks feels very prominent yet very soft and elegant. When you run your fingers down on the case, you can actually feel the brushed texture..



Being 44mm wide and even more with the lugs and crown, this isn't the most comfortable watch. It just never sits right on my wrist. Its not that its extremely uncomfortable, just that I've had much more comfortable watches in my collection. Though I have the give credit for the hornback gator strap, it gives a rugged killer look and surprisingly its very very soft. I thought they would be hard and stiff, but I was wrong. Thumbs up to AP for the strap. Oh yes, one extra thing, the blue hue colour is just right. Its not too dark but not too bright. However, the side paint on the leather is kinda corny blue, I wish they made it black instead.



The ROO has got to have the most horrible clasp designed into it. I'm not talking about the appearance here, it looks just fine. But when worn, its never ever the right place. The single clasp design goes so much out of place that it actually presses against your wristbone. I can live with off centre clasps, but this is waaaaayyyyyyyyy off. I had to turn the strap around (notice my end strap is not facing the common direction), and yet it still doesn't feel comfortable. As you can see I have exchanged my clasp to a third party double clasp! And it still doesn't feel great, but much much better. The only way I know to fix this is to use a tang buckle, or have AP make the short part of the strap, shorter. To accomodate for smaller wrists so we can centre the clasp.



I personally think the navy looks best with jeans, but each to his/her own. I can wear this with anything casual with jeans, a shirt, polo, t-shirt and whatever you can wear with a pair of blue jeans.

All in all, its a very very good watch, with a questionable movement and horrible clasp comfort. If you can exchange the clasp like I do, and don't question the movement, you'll be very happy with this watch. Its one of APs best sellers afterall.. Its definitely not for everyone, and for those with small wrists like me, try one before you buy. You might be surprised how a 15k something watch feels like crap on the clasp! Lol..