Rolex BLNR vs AP Royal Oak...Swap?

[hopkinswatch22]

Hi All,

I am currently toying with the idea of swapping out my BLNR for an AP Royal Oak. I have had my BLNR for almost a year now and I do love it, it is a beautiful watch and wears amazingly, however I have always been a big Royal Oak fan and I'm at a point where they are in reach. The kicker is that I would also have to add my Speedy Pro to the BLNR in the swap in order to pick up the Royal Oak, which is another great and iconic piece.

I was wondering if any of you have had the experience of owning or wearing both the BLNR and Royal Oak and what your thoughts and impressions on the two watches are? Do you think it's worth swapping the BLNR and Speedy for a Royal Oak or do you think having the versatility of owning both the GMT and Chrono outweighs having just one AP? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[breitlings]

I wouldn't. I had a bad experience with the AP RO.

[donut]

I would keep the BLNR and save more money to go for AP Royal Oak.

[kevnmarc]

Originally Posted by donut

I would keep the BLNR and save more money to go for AP Royal Oak.

This, I would do

[Cutlass]

I would do it ..

AP is my favorite brand , once you go AP , you'll be in forever ..

[Syed117]

Was at an event over the weekend and someone had a black dial 41mm RO.

Don't get me wrong, I love my new DJ41, but that AP is awesome.

That's probably the only AP that I would want though. With a blue dial.

That 50m of water resistance is not acceptable though.

[malb85]

I'd swap for the AP. As much as I love Rolex's, AP has been my grail brand for 10+ years.

[MaverickMP]

I am in love with my AP RO, but I don't think I would sell sell my BLNR to get it... I would just keep saving until I have enough to buy it outright. I would swap the speedy+cash for it though.

[HL65]

I would without a doubt. Love my RO’s and have had nothing but great experiences with them. Go for it!

[strettyend]

Absolutely.

[meganfox17]

Unless you've watched the movie , the AP slogan wouldn't make sense, I guess....
Go with your instincts , Go for the AP

[hopkinswatch22]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I have definitely considered just swapping the speedy + cash and keeping the BLNR, that would be ideal, but I'm hesitant to have that much tied up in watches at the moment even though I know a lot of people consider rolexes/APs as good as cash.

To go a little further into detail, I am looking at both the RO chrono 25860ST 39mm with white face and the RO Offshore Triple Calendar 25807ST.00.1010ST.01 39mm with a black face. For those that own/owned either of these or other APs what were some pros and cons and your favorite models mainly in the sub $17k range?

[AK797]

I would, think you ned to try AP properly and sample that smooth and fine finishing. Keep the Speedy if you can as I wouldn't have the RO as my one and only.

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by hopkinswatch22

Hi All,



I am currently toying with the idea of swapping out my BLNR for an AP Royal Oak. I have had my BLNR for almost a year now and I do love it, it is a beautiful watch and wears amazingly, however I have always been a big Royal Oak fan and I'm at a point where they are in reach. The kicker is that I would also have to add my Speedy Pro to the BLNR in the swap in order to pick up the Royal Oak, which is another great and iconic piece.



I was wondering if any of you have had the experience of owning or wearing both the BLNR and Royal Oak and what your thoughts and impressions on the two watches are? Do you think it's worth swapping the BLNR and Speedy for a Royal Oak or do you think having the versatility of owning both the GMT and Chrono outweighs having just one AP? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I've owned both. I still own the BLNR and I no longer own the AP. It's a beautiful watch but it never fit well (no micro adjustment and even with the 1.5 link it wasn't perfect). Also I always felt so cautious wearing it because it's so shiny and beautiful.

That being said the AP RO has a finishing that is well above most sports watches. It's truly a thing of beauty. I might someday go for a 15202 even though the 15400 didn't work out for me.

Any way to acquire the RO without having to let go of 2 iconic watches? It might help make it more palatable long term.


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[socalwatchcollector]

Go with the AP..

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by HL65

I would without a doubt. Love my RO’s and have had nothing but great experiences with them. Go for it!

Amazing watches aside, that is such a great picture

[HogwldFLTR]

Tough call; not fond of either. Seems like the RO has greater value so I'd do it.

[Kaedeh]

Owned both for around a month. I may have worn the BLNR 3x. The Royal Oak (to me) wears more comfortably and feels more special. I say do it!



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[Wenga]

I did it , had the blnr at that time and still have it.
I was very fond of AP’s design and finish and still is.
Both the movement are fragile , crap is the right word for it , i had four watches , one more fragile than the other , the last one i had was in the shop for 6 months , glad i had the blnr

[rolexdiamonds]

Originally Posted by HL65

I would without a doubt. Love my RO’s and have had nothing but great experiences with them. Go for it!

beautiful shot

[rossi46]

I sold my 114060 and a Speedy in order to raise funds for a RO 15300. I don't regret it for one second. The Royal Oak is THE stainless steel sports watch.

No lying - there are nights when I simply sit in my lounge chair and study the brush lines, the bezel, the movement, etc. It was a dream of mine for over a decade and I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase months and months later.

It's a magnificent piece that very little else can come close to matching. Do it!

(Side note: if you're interested in a 39mm RO - which I do think has the best proportions out of any of the various versions - make sure to check out the 15300. The latest models are series H.)

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Wenga

I did it , had the blnr at that time and still have it.
I was very fond of AP’s design and finish and still is.
Both the movement are fragile , crap is the right word for it , i had four watches , one more fragile than the other , the last one i had was in the shop for 6 months , glad i had the blnr

Pure nonsense! The movements are not fragile and they are anything but crap. I own many AP’s and Rolex and AP would not be where they are in horogy if they were crap. I also have had many AP’s serviced over the years and never has it taken longer than 4- 6 weeks to get back. Also APSC is by far the best service center of any company I have ever owned including Patek, Lange, JLC, Rolex etc.

[lpolito415]

I would not think twice. I had a BLNR and have a black 15400. I much prefer the AP over the GMT.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Syed117

Amazing watches aside, that is such a great picture

Originally Posted by rolexdiamonds

beautiful shot

Thanks guys!

[hopkinswatch22]

Originally Posted by HL65

I would without a doubt. Love my RO’s and have had nothing but great experiences with them. Go for it!

This is an awesome shot


How about the movements? Neither of these use the AP self-winding 3120 like the 15400. The triple calendar I believe uses the AP Automatic caliber 2127, and the chrono doesn't use an in-house movement, it uses the F. Piguet caliber 1185. How do these compare in your experience (accuracy, reliability, ease/cost of service, etc.)?

[HL65]

Originally Posted by hopkinswatch22

This is an awesome shot


How about the movements? Neither of these use the AP self-winding 3120 like the 15400. The triple calendar I believe uses the AP Automatic caliber 2127, and the chrono doesn't use an in-house movement, it uses the F. Piguet caliber 1185. How do these compare in your experience (accuracy, reliability, ease/cost of service, etc.)?

The movements are outstanding as are prices for service. Just had my 15305st serviced in 5 weeks and for $850 including shipping back to me. As far as reliability they are all within 2 seconds a day. As I said above APSC second to none and best in class when it comes to service IMHO.

Movements above: 15300 uses Caliber 3120, Jumbo uses Caliber 2121 and the 15305st uses Caliber 3129. The last movement has over 200 hours of hand finishing alone on just the movement!

[ewdi]

Originally Posted by HL65

The movements are outstanding as are prices for service. Just had my 15305st serviced in 5 weeks and for $850 including shipping back to me. As far as reliability they are all within 2 seconds a day. As I said above APSC second to none and best in class when it comes to service IMHO.

Movements above: 15300 uses Caliber 3120, Jumbo uses Caliber 2121 and the 15305st uses Caliber 3129. The last movement has over 200 hours of hand finishing alone on just the movement!

I think it really depends on where, my 15400 went in for about 5 months in Tokyo service center (Ginza) for an overhaul - and run about 135,000 yen which is at about 1100 USD

I wore the 15400 as my daily watch, it can really take a beating, yes it scratches easy but movement is pretty solid (I actually dropped it several times by accident from my desk) - not fragile at all, I did had issue with the clasp getting loose but that could happen to any Watch brand

[Lemieux66]

What's a reasonable price to pay for a pre-owned 15450 in the UK?

[Boothy84]

I would.


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[Kigan]

Rolex on AP would not change. I was not so lucky with the quality AP RO (cal. 3120, problem with date switching). After the service sold without regret.