Spotted this amazing Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar reference 25654ST this morning
First time I see such a dial patina on a Royal Oak. Brownish, copper, maybe burgundy sometimes with sub dial rims which are verging on the orange. This dial patina is just incredible and so desirable 😍 What do you think of it? Credit: Meertz World of Time...
That is truly stunning
do you have an idea what year it is made? Thanks for posting it.
Wow...
I haven't seen that color before, very interesting. The patina is also really different, it's almost like the sub-dials just have discoloring around their edges, which seems odd to me. In any event, a very cool watch and really something you don't see eve...
So the black (or blue) changed into red??
mmm could it be counterfeiting? I have often wondered what would happen if you would place a Rolex (or in this case an AP dial) under a UV light for weeks or months....? Artificial patina?
I know it's possible to modify the original dial colour of a watch to give it an artificial patina. More than UV or different lights, you have to use a combination of solvents to reach such a colour
Here, I’m perplexed about the homogeneity of the colour 🤔 Best wishes Alkiro
I don't know about this one; it does not fit with RO QP history
So I saw this pic on the Meertz IG account yesterday. It was surprising. I did some amateur research on the RO QP last year when I was purchasing mine so I remember many variations. Not this one from Meertz. This dial is very different and some of its odd...
There’s another potential explanation even if it’s mostly improbable
One of my friend, who own a lot of AP, went to the manufacture for a visit few years ago and he saw a RO with a very unusual dial colour on the wrist of one of the employees. He asked what this dial colour was and the employee replied him that it was a pr...
Great that you brought it ro light.
Detailed and would pay special attention to understand first how to explain such difference. Cheers Kolosstt
Very nice patina.
Those look like signs of humidity on the dial and hands, I hope the movement has not been affected. Watch looks great anyway. Vte
Okay, now even more questions about the provenance
screen grab from the Meertz website of the watch Reference 25654 was the 3rd generation of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. It was estimated that 800 total were produced in various metals. The year 1990 would be acceptable because this generation had a l...
I think this watch will give rise to more questions that it will give us answers unfortunately
I hope someone here could give us more info. Best wishes Alkiro
Just some info
Sorry to be late, from my personal research ref. 25654 has been produced in more than 1000, the one I have in my collection brings on an individual number higher than 900 and in my reaserch I've spotted some piece with number slightly higher than 1000. Fu...
Interesting, thanks...
I thought all the Royal Oak watches up to about the mid-90s were 2 part construction case. I think Velociphile made a post about it last year.... Anyhow, good to know that production number is more accurately over 1000. It means it was a good success and ...
Another inconsistency: words “Audemars Piguet Automatic” printed over tapisserie
That is very different from any other dial style in the RO QP history that I’ve seen. Typically “Audemars Piguet Automatic” is printed over a smooth surface different from the dial pattern in terms of color and/or texture. The watch is already on hold per...
Good additional point. It seems that the length of applied indexes are slightly shorter than they should be too
I would be curious to see the original (extract from the archives?) papers of this one. Best wishes Alkiro
Yes the Extract from the Archives needs to support this dial for me
Meertz said it is the original dial and hands. I doubt the Certificate of Guarantee would do it. But who knows? AP made thousands of the RO QP.
Sure, possible special order, but dial quality is too low with those issues that I pointed out
So, if I were the VIP client and AP sent that dial to me (imagine it was blue or black tapisserie before the rust set in), I wouldn't be happy and wouldn't keep it. I would send it back to AP. I am surprised Meertz did not mention anything on their IG or ...
Sorry i am no AP expert . I think some comments make sense .
If you see the space between the sub dails 🤔. Would love to know the outcome of this puzzel 😉
Seems appealing
but I would stay away from that one An acquaintance had a nice blue dial Reverso date (quartz) It recently turned completely golden brown... guess what? That acquaintance had had a little water accident with the watch but she likes it as it is I have the ...
Ha
No just plain tap water (but it was at the seaside...) Examples from two tone Rolex GMTs with blue dial turned purple/brown abound I believe
She told me her crown was not properly set when she had her hand under the tap
I do not know how long it took but the result is actually quite interesting - I will try to post a picture at some point BTW - I meant the yellow gold rolex blue dials that sometimes turn to purple or brown (two tones are brown to start with ;-)
I bet this was a custom order.
They have been writing Audemars Piguet on the tapestry for many years. I have seen some photos where the letters look a bit strange. Although I do see a hint of blue on the dial edge between the 6-9.
I have an aging Offshore dial I hope to use one day...
I have been meaning to do a post on it. The patina is cool. I'll get to it soon.