Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Ref. 15703ST.OO.A002CA.01

[Submarino]

As most of you know, Audemars Piguet has been my favorite brand since the late '90s. My love for the iconic Royal Oak has always been there as it was launched the year I was born. A few months ago, I decided to focus my watch collecting hobby on strengthening my AP collection. Therefore, most of my Rolexes and IWCs are now long gone.

This time, I will be talking about the 'hottest' watch of the season. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver. I've been wanting one for months and finally got one yesterday.

This watch ref. 15703ST is fitted with the same caliber 3120 as the 15300ST. Some AP enthusiasts refer to this movement as "one of the greatest automatic movements ever made". In my humble opinion, it is indeed one of the greatest and also very accurate. Power reserve up to 60 hours.

The case diameter is 42mm like on most Offshores, however, the ref.15703ST has a slightly flatter bezel that makes it appear much larger than 42mm. The thickness of the case is massive at 13.8mm, yet very comfortable. The usual matte finish and polished bevels/chamfers are just perfection!!! The movement is encased in a anti-magnetic casing that needs to be unscrewed after removing the case back. The case back is almost twice as thick as the case back in other Offshores to guarantee that the watch can withstand the pressure at 300m deep. Total weight of the watch 169grs.

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This watch is fitted with a beautiful rubber strap with a thick rubber grain very different to other Offshore straps (i.e. Rubberclad ones) and comes with a pin buckle in stainless steel. The buckle is very solid with matte finish on the front but polished at the very end of the edge between the back and the front. The back of the clasp and pin are sand blasted featuring AP and ACIER INOX engravings.

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The dial in this watch is a "Méga Tapisserie" (big waffle pattern) in black with white gold applied hour-markers and hands with luminescent coating and a inner rotating flange with diving scale that is also luminous. AP gave a glossy effect to this dial to make it appear as if it was wet. Just unbelievable nice and quite hard to appreciate in pictures. This dial comes with the classic double-baton hour marker at 12 o'clock like on the 5402ST or the 15202ST.

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The luminova is not the most powerful, but with enough brightness and several hours of night life. If you are a crazy 'luminova lover' you will be disappointed. I really miss the luminova of my IWC Aquatimer and the Mission Earth!!

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The calendar wheel is black with white fonts and the date aperture is square shaped instead of round as in most Offshores. The date aperture comes with a built-in loupe that appears to be glareproofed. If you notice on some of the pics, the date window appears to have a very slight blueish tint around the corners. The numbers on the calendar use the newer AP font with serifs opposed to the old school font in the 5402 and the 15202. The pictures make the font on the calendar wheel appear quite thick and solid white, but in real life the don't look that solid to me, especially the double-digit dates.

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The watch is fitted with very sturdy over-sized Rubberclad (opposed to Therban as in most Offshores) screw-down crowns. These crowns are used for setting the time and rotating the inner flange diving scale. In order to rotate the inner flange diving scale, you need to unscrew the crown at the 10 o'clock position and then rotate clockwise. The crown needs to be screwed back in before immersion in the water. The flange only rotates in one direction and the clicks are perfectly aligned with the minute markers on the dial. The main crown comes with a large AP engraving while the flange rotating crown comes with a circle around the perimeter.

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The watch is fitted with a glareproofed sapphire crystal. The glareproof coating is only applied to the interior of the crystal and not to the outside.The crystal is quite thick and sturdy. It sits into the bezel flatter than on other Offshores where you can see the edge of the crystal even more.

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After wearing the watch for one full day, all I can say is WOW! The watch wears very comfortably, it matches all types of outfits —dressed down or suited up— and the understated look of it is unparalleled.

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[psv]

Fantastic review, Hal and big congrats again! Although I wouldn't agree that it has an "understated look" :-) The Diver is wrist presence galore with the big chunk of metal and the wide strap.

[Dickson Lim]

Great review Hal! Hope to see more of your "review" soon. More incoming thread please!

[tkc324]

Great review!

[TSW]

Nice review and great shots Hal

[ocwatching]

Great review...its everything that drew me to the Diver in the first place..

too bad its not good on my wrist..

enjoy that BAD BOY! and nice write up!

[HL65]

Great write up Hal!

[Technics]

Nice read and pics, thanks man!

[travisb]

Thank you.

[2th Dr]

All I can say is

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[iLLGT2]

Very nice, congrats.

[ktam]

Thanks for the review, would be great for other model review, may be some contribution from Thomas TSW...

[Chulo]

Great review, and congrats! Does it wear like a larger watch? Any comparison to, say, a sub or comparable Rolex? Gorgeous piece.

[psv]

Originally Posted by Chulo

Great review, and congrats! Does it wear like a larger watch? Any comparison to, say, a sub or comparable Rolex? Gorgeous piece.

There are some photos in this thread http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=224231

How it is wearing depends on the shape more than the size of your wrist. To me, it wears considerably bigger than a Sub or SubC. Not as high as the DSSD, but the case is larger and it has much more wrist presence (good and bad).

[dalip]

Excellent review.

[LAJM]

Great pics and review! Thanks

[andrew79]

great one, thanks.

[tomato]

Great review! You pointed out many details I had missed and gave me new reasons to appreciate and enjoy mine. Thanks Hal!

[chicagofan]

Awesome review! Thanks for sharing.

[dddrees]

Great read and an excellent review.

Thanks for sharing Hal.

[Chulo]

Originally Posted by psv

There are some photos in this thread http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=224231

How it is wearing depends on the shape more than the size of your wrist. To me, it wears considerably bigger than a Sub or SubC. Not as high as the DSSD, but the case is larger and it has much more wrist presence (good and bad).

Thanks!

[craniotes]

The Diver is indeed a very special watch, and one that I foresee staying in my collection for the long haul.

Well done, sir.

Regards,
Adam

PS - You really should consider putting the bracelet on it (if you already have one for another stainless steel Offshore, it will fit just fine):

[TSW]

Originally Posted by craniotes

The Diver is indeed a very special watch, and one that I foresee staying in my collection for the long haul.

Well done, sir.

Regards,
Adam

PS - You really should consider putting the bracelet on it (if you already have one for another stainless steel Offshore, it will fit just fine):

Love that combo

[aboen]

Seriously fantastic read...great job on the write up.
I'll be wearing  AP Diver today in honor of your new acquisition .

[bayerische]

Looks awesome!!!

I want one!

[Submarino]

Originally Posted by craniotes

The Diver is indeed a very special watch, and one that I foresee staying in my collection for the long haul.

Well done, sir.

Regards,
Adam

PS - You really should consider putting the bracelet on it (if you already have one for another stainless steel Offshore, it will fit just fine):

I do have another ROO 25721ST so I can definitely swap the strap for the bracelet. I am just worried about putting marks on the screws of the Diver when I remove the strap. While I have the right tools, I can be somewhat desperate and if they're too tight I might just scratch the top of them.

It's only a few days old so I might wait a month or so!!!

[kctt]

That was an enjoyable read. Makes me appreciate my Diver even more, not that I ever needed more :)

[Tony-GB]

Fantastic review!

Thanks for taking the time.

[Timber Loftis]

Having seen this watch in person, all I can saw is just WOW. It's gorgeious and clean-looking, and wears incredibly comfortably. Hal's making an AP fan out of me, and it's going to ultimately lighten my wallet for sure.

[eric23]

Great review and photos Hal!