AP Brick Review | All Gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42mm (AP 26470OR)
Today we are looking at the all gold Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph reference 26470OR.OO.1000OR.01, commonly referred to as “The Brick”. Here is our review of the AP Brick.
Royal Oak Offshore watches are best known for their stainless steel versions, but their Rose Gold version has become the most sought after in recent years. Today we are discussing the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Rose Gold (26470OR.OO.1000OR.01) champagne dial.
AP’s Royal Oak Offshore Line
It’s hard to mistake the Offshore line from other brands of watches with its octagonal rose gold bezel and unique dial layout. It’s very unique and it stands out tremendously from the rest.
Out of all the most popular commercial Swiss brands of watches, AP is a brand in the sweet spot between Patek Philippe and Rolex.
In terms of brand tradition, reliability, and resale, what really attracts us the most about AP is the overall design of the Royal Oaks. It goes to show how well AP understands fashion and design. When it comes to the Royal Oak Offshore in rose gold, this is even more apparent as it is such a charming color.
This particular model in all gold is called The Brick (AP 26470).
It’s called The Brick because it weighs like a brick. It’s very heavy. The version we are reviewing in this article is the latest version of the watch.
AP made a couple changes when they revamped the Royal Oak Offshore line in 2014. It has a different dial layout, see-through caseback, ceramic chronograph buttons, and the crown is different, all of which, we believe, was a nice change, and it’s very subtle as to not shock consumers.
Although the watch is super heavy, we absolutely love the Rose Gold Audemars Piguet Brick.
It is an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph 42mm. 42mm is a more versatile size than 44mm, as the 44mm just doesn’t fit everybody.
Furthermore, the 42mm is “in” right now and it holds the most exclusivity for AP and the watch industry. It seems that there are five 44mm watches around for every one of these. It’s rare and highly sought after. For the luxury watch industry, the AP rose gold watch, “The Brick”, is a big win.
AP BRICK On the wrist
Rose gold is the most popular metal for watches these days, as it is considered more modern than yellow gold. If you are thinking about getting an AP rose gold watch, this is definitely one of the best ones you can get on the market.
It has an incredible presence with its entirely rose gold bezel, case, bracelet, dial and clasp. As with the 1972 Royal Oak, this model’s case, lug and bracelet are very closely unified.
The watch is water resistant up to 100 meters and has a 50-hour power reserve.
Regarding thickness, this AP ROO is not too thick. It is only 14.5mm from the top of the sapphire to the bottom of the case back. Also, its octagonal bezel has a slope to it, so it will allow for a looser sleeve from a sports blazer, jacket or casual sweater, to flow up and over the case of the brick with ease. Nonetheless, though, this is a watch that should be seen, not tucked under a sleeve.
On the wrist, the Audemars Piguet Brick is 16 centimeters in circumference. The feeling of mass and substance clearly explains the nickname of this oversized AP watch. This thing is heavy on the wrist. Some people like that, others don’t. That’s personal preference. Nonetheless, the heaviness of the watch is something we want to make clear if the nickname doesn’t already make that certain. Another thing to take note of is that even though it is heavy, the fact that this is a 42mm, it is a lot easier to don on your wrist.
AP 26470OR – The Weight:
With the 2014 revamp of the line, a major change that they made on their all-gold watch “The Brick” is they made the bracelet thinner.
Some people don’t like that it’s thinner because they are a traditionalist and or they like to have the heavy bracelets. In fact, many people we’ve talked to love the heavy bracelet.
We personally like heavy as well, but we think the change was for the better. We believe AP thinned out the bracelet to help shave off some weight.
The all gold bracelet weighs about 350 grams. That’s a lot, especially comparing to the rubber strap version, which weighs only 200 grams.
So, with that being said, this is a watch that we recommend trying on. And not just for a few seconds or minutes. Wear it for a good 15 to 30 minutes to see how it feels after some time. The weight might catch up to you.
Although, the robust AP Brick is “super heavy” in the watch game right now, it can be slightly cumbersome for those who aren’t used to heavy watches…due to it being super heavy (literal meaning).
Audemars Piguet BRICK – The Case & Bezel:
In terms of dimensions, as mentioned, it is the classic 42mm Royal Oak Offshore. Yet, as many know, if 42mm is the profile across the round of the case. This is more of a speculative measurement because, as you can see, there really is no round portion of this cushion-shaped case and the AP Brick, as with all ROO’s, has an impressive overall span from lug to lug at 53.5mm, which makes for a huge amount of wrist territory.
The watch has a few different characteristics on the case that subtly change it from the pre-2014 versions of the Royal Oak Offshore. As this is a post-2014 model, it has both ceramic pushers and crown surround, and the display case back. This is the first time the display case back is available on the 42mm Royal Oak Offshore.
Like everything else on the case, it is completely hand finished (and beautifully at that). You can see how the border of the bezel are polished and the tops of the bezel are perfectly brushed producing a straight grain, which contrasts with the polished hexagonal stainless steel bezel bolts.
Another small change is of the re-profiling of the crown guards, which you can see to good effect from this angle.
“The Brick” Rose Gold Bracelet & Clasp:
As you probably have gathered already, the bracelet is a big and unique amongst Royal Oak Offshores. It is appealing to watch enthusiasts for it is very integrated, completing the look of the watch beautifully.
As the Royal Oak Offshore is usually strapped with leather or vulcanized rubber, the full rose gold bracelet on the AP Brick brings back the original 1972 Royal Oak.
You can also see satin finish on the top and sides of the bracelet. There is a very small hand polished beveling. And when we say hand-polished, this means it is completely performed by hand. The look has a seamless flow from the bracelet to the case and back to other side of the bracelet.
The bracelet’s underside features great channels between individual links so that it avoids pinching skin and pulling hair.
The clasp is charmingly rendered and one hundred percent satin finished throughout. It is a twin trigger, double deployment clasp so it doesn’t have that awkward up and over fold like a single.
When the clasp is closed, you can see the point where it parts, distinguishable by the AP logo. The positive release function used on the clasp is great as it isn’t friction fit. So you don’t need to press both of the triggers to open it.
The clasp function makes it truly more like a jewelry bracelet than a watch bracelet. Which makes sense, as the lead Royal Oak designer was a jewelry designer. You fully get the designer’s history in jewelry when looking at this specific watch with its smoothly continuous flow of precious metal.
The Dial (26470OR.OO.1000OR.01):
Again, the post-2014 model has a fresh dial layout, with some subtle changes of the Arabic numbers, the hands, and other features like the numbers font. It’s nice they made these changes as it gives it somewhat of a whole new look.
The fresh champagne tapisserie dial was a great move, as it compliments the overall watch and its black accents. It simply looks fantastic.
The dial’s contrast is superb thanks tone tri-tone of black, gold and white accents. There is a tachymeter scale in black that provides a visual union between the top of the bezel and the slope down to the mega tapisserie dial.
Audemars Piguet, using a vintage style pantograph machine, has executed the tapisserie dials in-house since 2012.
Each of the applied rose gold Arabic numerals are filled with black variant of super-luminova, allowing this watch to glow in low or no light conditions.
Furthermore, each of the individual sub-registers has a polished golden chaptering. With the golden chaptering you get a little more gloss, sheen, and panache to this already excessively impressive watch. All of the sub-registers have an impeccably legible and instantly accessible white on black printing.
As with all AP ROO Chronographs, the magnifier is sunken deep into the dial, rather than on top of the sapphire as Rolex does. Royal Oak Offshores have it hidden within the crystal. They made it this way so that it doesn’t create its own profile on top of the watch.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph – The Movement:
All of the Royal Oak Offshores are pretty much exactly the same internally. So, the watch features an in-house Audemars Piguet 316 with a 3840 chronograph module.
It is a vertical clutch chronograph, so when you start the chronograph the seconds hand doesn’t jump, and when you stop it doesn’t stagger. It resets precisely to the index 12, and again, because it is a vertical clutch, not horizontal, you can leave it engaged continuously without compromising the movement in any way.
There is a hacking function when you pull the crown. This stops the balance and pauses the seconds, granting precise synchronization to an accurate time. Also, during monthly adjustments, you can promptly reset the date using a quick set function.
Perhaps the most notable feature of this movement is the finish of it. After the JLC 889 based movements were phased out, AP introduced the 316. When paired with the vertical clutch chronograph module, you get a movement with 59 jewels and 365 parts.
A 22 karat fiery gold winding ruler and unlubricated Ceramic rotor bearings with exceptionally high efficiency can be seen thanks to its exhibition caseback.
Because Audemars Piguet shuns unidirectional winding wobble, they have a bi-directional winding action for much smoother action without the unloaded rotating direction that a unidirectional system has, which can be somewhat annoying when rocking it on the wrist.
Additionally, there is a full balanced bridge set on both sides for shock debilitation with a free sprung balance for additional stability and precision on the wrist.
Lastly, it has a 55-hour power reserve and it is beautifully finished in the finest traditions.
Get the AP Brick at Diamonds by Raymond Lee
The watch is bold and in your face. Anyone with an AP in Rose Gold is clearly a prolific person. The AP Brick is not just heavy in terms of weight; it’s got a heavy price tag and status too. The All gold Brick AP watch is a heavyweight, top contender in the watch game, and if you have the chance to get your hands on and wrist underneath one, then jump on it.
You can get your very own AP Brick at Diamonds by Raymond Lee in Boca Raton. This is a lion of anyone’s watch collection, and it will surely blow the competition out of the water If you are looking to make your next watch purchase or upgrade your Rubberclad, contact us below.
26470OR.OO.1000OR.01 – AP ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE ROSE GOLD PRICE:
This particular model retails for $69,000+…Contact us for a special discount.
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