The watch industry thought the cheap fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore was a mistake. Just like the original Royal Oak in 1972, a lot of people initially thought it was nuts. Even Gérald Genta himself was not silent about it. He felt that 1:1 replica Audemars Piguet had created a walrus based on his precious Royal Oak design. That’s a bit awkward really, as he probably received similar comments about his Royal Oak and Nautilus design from conservative enthusiasts in the ’70s. Italy was, as always, in the lead when it came to actual sales of the UK AAA fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, and it took the rest of the world a bit longer to follow the country’s example. Within just a few years, however, the Royal Oak Offshore already accounted for a large portion of AP’s sales.
The Beast
The first reference 25721ST, also nicknamed “The Beast”, was way ahead of its time. The huge, beefy case measured approximately 16mm in height. It used rubber for the crown and pushers, as well as a visible gasket between the case and the bezel. These are all things we wouldn’t even bat an eye at today. Interestingly, the first luxury fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore also had a Faraday cage to protect the movement from magnetic fields. A soft-iron plate was mounted underneath the dial, while a soft-iron inner case surrounded the caliber 2126/2840.
This movement was based on the often-used Jaeger-LeCoultre 888 caliber with a chronograph module by Dubois-Dépraz. After the first 200 Offshore examples, cheap replica Audemars Piguet started using the caliber 2226/2840, which was based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre 889/1 with a Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module. Combined with the heavy stainless steel bracelet, the watch weighs approximately 223 grams. Consequently, it’s not for the faint-hearted. Later gold and platinum super clone watches uk weighed even more.
In addition to the very visible gasket underneath the octagonal bezel, there is also a rubber-like material on the pushers and crown. This material is actually referred to as Therban, a high-performance elastomer that is resistant to, among other things, hot water and steam. It can handle extreme temperatures from -40° to +165° Celsius, peaking at 180° Celsius for short-term use. This material was developed by Bayer in 1975 and marketed as Therban in 1986. The Therban pushers and crown have the same blue tone as the dial of the high quality replica watch.
A very early perfect fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 25721ST with number 039 was auctioned in November 2018 by Phillips for CHF 102,500. Not only does it not have the “Offshore” engraving on the case back, but more importantly, it also belonged to the original designer of “The Beast”, Emmanuel Gueit. It has a different clasp than the other early copy watches online, specifically, the one that Gueit originally had in mind for the watch.
