The Royal Oak, pricey but not overrated

Let's start with the most obvious thing, the Royal Oak is fantastic.

When I started this hobby Rolex, Omega, Seiko and Tag Heuer dominated my mind in terms of watches, probably it was the same for you, but like everything you start looking for information outside these wonderful brands. After doing research

and understanding the basics on quartz vs. mechanical, ETA vs. In house and Seiko vs. grand Seiko I decided to start looking for iconic watches, so I bought a great book called: '' 50 watches that changed the world'' plus a Revolution Magazine and there it was, the Royal Oak. I was intrigued by the design but did not know anything about it, it looked more like an accessory than a watch, kind of like a shiny bracelet with a beautiful waffle dial. So I did my research, learnt about Genta and the connections with Audemars Piguet, read also about the Patek Philippe Nautilus ( hopefully one day I will write a review on this one) and I was in! I was caught by the sport watches itch and that unique 70's vibe. The watch that I was looking was a Jumbo version in 39 mm and I could not believe the price! then naturally my mind started racing with things like: this is not for me, I would never pay anything like that for a watch, what is the point of this thing and why is so expensive?, I still do, to be honest 21 900£ is a lot of money, and that is you buy from the boutique, if you want to go second market prepare for an extra 20%. So why I am writing this article for a watch that I think is too expensive and its hard to find? the answer is that I managed to get an early 80's version on my rotation! yes, I bought an incredible 36mm Ref. 56023 and I love it, definitely the quality, the craftsmanship, the bracelet and thinness are haute horology, now my version is not the JLC automatic but it is the calibre 2506 Quartz version. Which for me is good as it keeps the cost down and allows me to enjoy my bellowed watch with no compromises. I see many people trying to go contrary to the Royal Oak like I did in my early days, even Audemars Piguet created the Code 11:59 to escape from the shadow of its most iconic piece and it backfire a little bit on the last SIHH, to me all of this prove that AP and its Royal Oak are as strong as any icon in the watch industry and it is here to stay.

I also have to say it is the only watch that I have that gets complements from people who are into watches, nobody has look at my watch and says: ''wow, that looks good what is that?'' people say: ''nice Royal Oak'' adding a small wink and maybe thinking: '' you now know that I know' ,I have to say that I love that. The Royal Oak is irracional, industrial and expensive but going against the tide never felt so good.