Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore: Service Disaster

Jim14 · 2021-07-10T14:10:37Z

Jim14's Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Carbon' saga: a deep dive into authenticity issues, unexpected service costs, and the challenges of buying pre-owned luxury watches.

Jim14

WPS member · Audemars Piguet forum

15 replies9852 views1 photos

Jim14's account of his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Carbon' saga offers a compelling look into the complexities of luxury watch ownership, particularly in the secondary market. His experience highlights the critical importance of authenticity and the often-unforeseen costs associated with maintaining high-horology timepieces. This narrative serves as a valuable resource for collectors navigating the intricacies of service, repairs, and the provenance of pre-owned watches.

Well, the time has come to tell the story of my AP Royal Oak Offshore "Carbon" -- a very dear watch indeed. I did not care to relay this story until the watch was safely moved on to a new owner because I didn't want to "taint" the sale in any way.

One day I opened my watch box and discovered this:

Aside from the dust (which is magnified in the photo), you can see the ceramic pusher was gone! I searched throughout the watch box for it and finally concluded that it fell off while I was wearing it, I didn't notice, and put it back in the box that way.

Since I love the piece so much, I figured, "Okay, I'll just call AP and get them to send me a new pusher and it will probably just snap back in. Maybe cost me a couple hundred dollars, right?" Not so fast. After much back and forth, it was established that AP Service would not sell the pusher alone and would only allow me to fix this problem by submitting the watch for a full service at $1,500.00!! I decided that I would do this because even though the watch was purchased second-hand, it probably had never been serviced anyway, so the time was right for service as it was manufactured in 2014 and it is 2021 now. So off it went to service and a 6-8 week wait began.

About 2 weeks in, I was contacted by the Service Center. They told me that they have been unable to certify the watch for water resistance and upon further inspection, they determined that the bezel, while made of ceramic, was not authentic AP and added after the watch was originally marketed!! What? Why would anyone do this? And how much would it cost to put the correct bezel on there? The answer: $2,250.00!

At this point, I contacted the seller and initiated the assertion that this was his responsibility and not mine. The seller turned out to be a "stand up" guy -- he contacted the prior owner (whom he had bought from) and, even though the P.O. wouldn't take responsibility for it, my seller did! (My seller could be characterized as an "amateur dealer" -- but now I would add that he is a friend for life!)

I am a small businessman by trade, so naturally, even though their reputation is very high, I insisted to the AP Service Center that the "fake" bezel be returned along with the repaired watch. This took some back and forth as well before they finally approved of it.

The watch came back a couple of weeks later in perfect condition. The "fake" bezel was in the package and upon close examination, I could see that the openings for the eight bolts were not perfectly milled, hence leading to the waterproofing issues. I had decided that no way would I keep this watch and I actually have sworn off ROO's that have the "rectangular" pushers -- even the new 43mm line. I like them, but I don't care to take any risk like this. It has now been about six weeks since the watch was sold as a freshly serviced piece still under warranty and the saga ended!

Key Points from the Discussion

The original author, Jim14, clarified that his decision to sell the watch and his comments about pusher durability were made before he discovered the non-authentic bezel, refuting claims of 'hiding' information from the new owner.
One contributor questioned Jim14's decision to 'swear off' rectangular pusher ROOs after experiencing an issue with a watch that turned out to have a non-authentic component, suggesting the problem might not be inherent to AP's design.
Another collector shared their own repeated negative experiences with Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 44mm models, including watches stopping, date wheel jams, and chronograph misalignment, despite receiving impressive after-sales service.
A contributor suggested that the 'fake' bezel might have been a 'protection bezel' installed by a previous owner to preserve the original, which might have been forgotten during the sale.
Several contributors emphasized the importance of purchasing luxury watches new from the manufacturer to ensure authenticity and benefit from factory warranties, which cover issues like a pusher falling off.
A collector noted that the reputation of ROO pushers falling off is a known concern, making them hesitant about the model despite its sporty design.

The Discussion

MichaelC

Jul 10, 2021

The reality is, as watches change hands, how does one really know the history? I received my new 43mm Offshore a few weeks ago, and it has a 5 year warranty, If my pusher falls off in the next 5 years, AP will replace it at no cost. I like having a factory warranty, and wear my watches without fear.

LiftAngle51

Jul 10, 2021

A real journey you made with the Royal Oak. Read the story, maybe the imitation basel is more a protection basel. Token off to save the original. So the first seller maybe had the original basel, stored in a bag. Forgotten to give. My way should be, hold on the original parts, and when something lost or damaged, it can be repaired. A wise lesson i know is to ignore to complex watches. Reading your service notes, 3750 is quite a lot. AP watch makers wearing golden gloves? Good your AP journey is

Lankysudanese

Jul 10, 2021

A horror story for sure. Imagine if the pusher hadn't have fallen, and you sold the watch or gifted it to someone; it would have eventually looked like you had sold someone an imperfect watch. Anyway, glad to hear that it's all over now. Just don't let it push you away from buying brand new AP ROOs. You had clearly loved and lived-life-fully with this watch, and there aren't too many haute horologie brands (other than AP and hublot) which do sports chronos with ceramic and forged carbon etc.

oyster case

Jul 10, 2021

and the watch was completely restored to original and is warranted for two years. I had mine sent to AP for full service as part of the condition of sale. My watch came back as new and I couldn’t be happier with it or with all my dealings with the brand.

MichaelC

Jul 10, 2021

You were wearing a watch with a fake bezel. Who knows what else was done to it along the way. Problems happen for sure. I own or have owned a handful of ceramic pusher Offshores and have never had a single issue. I will go by my own experience instead of internet postings. I mean even yours, how many people will just come across your posted photo and unfairly assume it is an AP problem? Certainly nothing personal in my reply, Jim. I am happy for you the situation was sorted out. But to "swear of

jenjames

Jul 10, 2021

I own 44mm in RGx2 and SS .. my own tough luck, all three of my ROO44mm have technical issues. They either stopped or the date wheel jammed and the chronograph second hands will not return to the 0 position ie misalignment issues. My first SS stopped completely after just 2 weeks and AP boutique replaced the entire watch for me and again replaced one of my RG with a brand new set when it stopped running I after only 2 months. The rest of the issues I mentioned above was taken care of free of cha

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