The Royal Oak. Man, what a watch. It’s like, *the* Audemars Piguet, right? Everybody wants one. But because everybody wants one, that means a whole lotta people are trying to sell you a bogus one. And lemme tell ya, they’re getting crafty.
First off, the bezel. This is HUGE. The Royal Oak’s bezel is, like, iconic. Eight perfectly aligned screws, super polished steel…If the screws look off, if the polishing isn’t, ya know, *perfect*… red flag! I saw this one once, the screws were all kinda wonky and the steel looked kinda dull. Like, dude, come on! You can’t even get the screws right?
And speaking of the case, that’s another tell. I read somewhere, maybe it was online, that the fakes are often thicker. Like, noticeably thicker. They said like, a real 15400 should be around, what was it… 8-ish mm? And the fakes are, like, over 10mm? I mean, who even measures their watch case? I sure don’t, but now I kinda wanna! I bet most people wouldn’t notice, but if you *do*, that’s a major giveaway.
The dial, too, is super important. Apparently, the real ones are super detailed and crisp. If the lettering looks blurry or the tapisserie pattern (that little waffle thing) looks off, you got a problem. I swear, though, some of these fakes have got that tapisserie down *pat*. Like, damn near impossible to tell. It’s insane.
Oh, and here’s a random tidbit I learned: apparently, the Royal Oak’s name came from some guy at some Swiss watch corp who was, like, in charge of dealing with AP back in the day. Carlo de Marchi, I think? Who knew?! But that doesn’t really help you spot a fake, does it? Just a fun fact.
Honestly, the best advice? If you’re thinking about dropping serious cash on a Royal Oak, go to an authorized dealer. Like, seriously. Don’t buy it off some dude in a parking lot, or even some online store that seems kinda sketchy. It’s just not worth the risk. You’ll save yourself a lotta heartache (and a lotta money!) in the long run.
