Audemars Piguet

Living with the Audemars Piguet Grand Prix All Carbon

Audemars Piguet Grand Prix All Carbon ref. 26290IO.OO.A001VE.01

(warning - there is dust on the watch, yes. I could have cleaned it off, but I decided not to. This is what it looks like after a few months of wear. This is about the experience of wearing the watch on the wrist. Sometimes, I like looking at magazines and the pretty models, all dolled up with perfect makeup and airbrushed perfection. If I am meeting a beautiful girl in person, I'd rather see her au naturel. This is one of those times...)

When I saw the drawings, I went, "Wow!"

When I saw the prototypes, I went, "Wow! But..."

Was there too much going on? Too many colors? too many materials, stacked and sandwiched unncessarily? Were the Ti attachment structures necessary, did they add anything to the design or did they merely detract by too much unnecessary fussiness?

Soon after the introduction of the model at SIHH 2010, I did an analysis of the design brief and elements - click here

Now, after living with an early production piece for some time, my thoughts on the design and wearability of the watch have snapped into sharp focus.

Red is a strong and consistent motif throughout the all carbon model; on the crown end cap, recessed in the crown. In the flashing between the "fins" or "gears" of the stylized crown; along the side of the OEM strap; and of course, on the dial.

For sporty applications, I have no problem with red.

More comfortable than the legendary and iconic Survivor (for me; I know that many others have no issues with the wearability of the Survivor on their wrists) the watch will appeal to anyone who is in love with complex mechanics and especially high performance automobiles.

The black alcantara strap with red flashing is very comfortable. I have quite a bit of experience with alcantara, as it lines the interior roof and pillars of a BMW E39 M5 I know very well -

I know that Porsche and high performance BMW's also use Alcantara for steering wheel covers, so I imagine it wears very well, though I have no personal long term experience in this application.

The strap does appear "worn" fairly quickly, though, unlike lined croc as is standard for most high horology strap applications.

Some people like patina'd "distressed" well worn leather, and for those, the alcantara wear will be no issue; some might even say it adds character.

For others who like their leather looking like new even after months or years of wear, you might want to look into replacement straps.

The biggest surprise - The contrast of the bright and shiney lower ceramic bezel and the flat black carbon forgé upper bezel, rather than growing long in the tooth and "contrived" with familiarity, instead struck me as genius. The contrast is beautiful and eyecatching, without being gaudy. A touch of bling, discreetly tucked away between the matte upper bezel and the matte case.

Genuis!

The polished nuts securing the bezel, with the cut-away surround of the upper bezel, reminds me of my favorite high performance rims.

It has been argued that, based on materials' qualities - ceramic having higher surface hardness and scratch resistence, why not have it on top, rather than underneath the lower surface hardness and more prone to scratching and dinging carbon forgé?

It really takes wearing the watch for some time to realize the genius of the counter-intuitive decision: having the shiney reflective ceramic on top, in an already complex design, would make the overall effect too loud, too "flashy." The muted and non-reflective carbon forgé provides the low key yet high tech counter point to all the colors and surfaces elsewhere on the watch. Again, Genius!

(aside - the shiney bezel of the Rubens Barrichello II is the main reason I did not get one and to this day continues to be the main reason I have a moment's pause on the model.)

Not to mention that the wear characterisics of carbon forgé, under most NORMAL wearing conditions, is grossly over- exaggerated. On the subject of wear characterisics of carbon forgé, take a look at this piece.

It has been worn daily for a few months.

In and out of low slung cars.

"Sir, I have reports of a beautifully distracting watch being transported in this vehicle. Please step out of the car with your wrists exposed..."

"But deputy, the watch can't help it. It was born so distractingly beautiful!"

In and out of cramped airplane cabins.

In and around baggage claim areas, with their wicked and ever dangerous luggage carts and small frail ladies trying to pull off bags that weigh 3 times their body weight, and thus inevitably swing their payload wildly around them and into those around them.

Look at the carbon forgé case.

The carbon forgé bezel.

Again, this was worn every day, everywhere life took the wearer.

Even to bed...

That carbon forgé does not "finish" like metal bothers me not one bit; it "works" with this design, in this genre. Of course, I exhort AP to continue to develop the material. The holes, any of the punched or shear areas can definitely stand further development and refinement.

Does it bother me? As I wrote above, no. But it can be better. I consider this the price of being an early adopter just like I accept bugs in early versions of operating systems and software, or imperfections in early materials use like cracking ceramics and PVD finishes that wear off just by being looked at.

a $180 retail high end knife: carbon fiber handle new from factory

The red of the eloxed aluminum dial center is almost organic - it reflects and changes hue with the slightest change of viewing angle.

While not a fan of aluminum for external parts that touches the skin - being very familiar with Al handles on knives, the haptics of Al do not feel as appealing to me as Ti or steel - Al for visual but no touch parts works very well for me.

Even the back is beautiful, as any great iconic watch should be -

I was uncertain; now I'm sure - for me, this will go down in the history books as one of the all time great iconic designs.

The Grand Prix has begun limited deliveries of early production pieces. Be sure to get in touch with your AD or local Boutique; you WILL want one and it will be hair-pulling time to realize this after they are all sold out in primary channels and only available in secondary markets at much inflated prices.

AP New York +1 212 758 8400
AP Bal Harbour +1 305 864 6776
AP Singapore +65 6 836 49 18
AP Taiwan +886 2 8101 8101

Also available through AP Boutiques in
Geneva
Paris
Madrid

and an authorized dealer near you.

This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2010-05-03 16:20:08 This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2010-05-10 18:34:30

about that bezel...

Indeed, a stroke of genius.  When I first saw the pictures of this watch I wondered (like many, I would guess) about using carbon over ceramic instead of the other way around.  When looking at this watch as a whole, there is no question that it is executed the way it has to be.  To place this watch on the wrist and look at it straight on, you see just a smidgen of that polished ceramic poking out beneath the carbon on all sides.  Refined structural support below the upper wear material... perfect.

Certainly there is much more to your fabulous report, but with limited time this key point is what strikes me most.

Congratulations Thomas, along with the Survivor, you have the two finest LE Offshores I have ever laid eyes upon.

to share common ideas with kindred spirits!

Thanks, Michael.

TM

Spot on comparisons.. Incredible review! Thanks Thomas.

Was the Grand Prix Offshore designed by Octavio Garcia?

though not necessarily by Mr. Garcia himself.

Again, Mr. Garcia is an extremely talented designer and a great human being, but in AP, there is great bench depth in all the departments.

Cheers,

TM

The more I see it, the more I like it. I like to think that we can find the beauty on the details, and this one has a lot of them. With post like this it's even easier to understand, who, when, why, what, where and how of a watch design.

Thanks Thomas.

Nice M6 by the way. It was one of my fav car back in the 80's.

Vte

Thanks for your kind words.

Though the M6 is not a super car by todays standards, the design is ever green.

And that drive train - wow! They really don't make them like THAT anymore. Power and reliability. So many have 150,000 and 200,000 and still going strong. Not many of todays model can count on that for their future...

 

TM

I'm one hundred percent convinced this is a stylish watch. 

However, after reading and gawking at the beautiful pictures in this review, I realize that I have another dilemma; I don't have a red car to go with the watch. 

A watch is a man's accessory.  A winding box is an accessory for the watch.  Is a red car an accessory to this watch?  It might not be mandatory to have a red car, but it sure does go well with the watch. 

Thank you for the review and the beautifully vivid photographs.  This Audemars Piguet is definitely the wristwatch for lovers of red cars and motorsports!  Thank you for the enjoyable and humorous review. 

 

This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2010-05-03 18:29:42

Hope you got a chuckle out of parts of the editorial.

copper/gold coloured tachometer?   I stared at it for good 5 minutes and couldn't pull the trigger in the end.    The contrast is just not harmonic, and of course, that's just me...

I liked it from the beginning, even from just the original drawings.

The "copper/gold" bronze colored tachy ring looks fine to my eyes, even amidst so many other colors on the dial. It also has the unique visual illusion of appearing either convex or concave depending on lighting and viewing angle.

In person, it definitely is quite easy to get used to, to my eyes.

Too bad there isn't a library of models to check out, so that one can experience them on the wrist for an extended period. This one really really grew on me.

Cheers,

TM

I really LOVE your shot of the display back.  That picture looks unreal!  Much better display back than the Montoya IMO.

The more I see this Grand Prix, the more it's growing on me.  I still think there's a lot going on with the watch, but I'm definitely getting used to all the different details congealing into a single identity.

The Alcantara strap should age very well.  I have Alcantara seats in my car and it's been almost a year and they still look brand new.

Cheers,
Anthony

and then the harmony of the design overall, as well as all the little details, start to come through.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm not a great photographer, but sometimes, I get lucky...

Great review (cool watches and cars too!).  My favorite pics are these two, they really show the red eloxed aluminum dial color change:

Thanks TM!
Regards,
ED-209

a really great effect!

Thanks, Ed.

TM

for the first time at SIHH, it was the carbon/red version that really caught my eye.  The platinum/blue is a close second, but the carbon/red is striking.  What really pleased me about the watch was the use of the AP 3120 base calibre - a far more elegant and robust movement over the usual ones found in the Offshores.  Does go well with the exotic cars and this is my absolute favourite shot:

Given that my son has just learned how to pronounce 'Lamborghini' properly!

Great review - thanks

Andrew H

 

usually it doesn't work ...

Sometimes, it works GREAT!

Cheers,

TM

No message body

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Great pics TM! AP did an amazing job with the race car theme on this one.

-MW

like most of AP's designs, it is much much better in person but it ain't so bad in pictures either...

Thanks for your kind words.

TM

-MW

supercool!

Although I love AP and many of their watches, I pretty much given up on them as of late.

Not to rant too much, but they really should make the new "evolved" line of cases part of a regular production line and not LEs.

Hi, evosam,

It really is a double edged sword.

Readily available and some buyers will ask "why is it so easy to get? Does not one want it?"

Hot and hard to get and those who can't get it feel betrayed or frustrated.

I know that AP are considering a number of different options, and I'm sure they will find a good solution.

Stay tuned...

Cheers,

TM

Thanks for the reply Thomas.

Looking at other brands and even at their own "limited production" and not limited edition strategy is one way to go.

So while I fully understand the line between limiting availability to create hype and demand, they could also just limit the production but still enable people who want a piece to get that piece - even if it takes a few yrs.

Can you divulge any more details on how AP are looking to address this since this has been an on-going problem with their "evolved" line of cases for at least the past 3 or 4 yrs. I think the beginning of this was with the launch of the Montoya line.

Thanks

-Sam

Hi, Sam,

Long time!  Glad to see you are still around and looking.

A number of different plans are being considered and to be rolled out; details will become clear in the coming months.

Cheers,

TM

First I want to say that your photos are exceptional,...especially the one of the caseback which is breathtaking. 

It was interesting to see how auto parts inspired the design of the watch.  Thank you for highlighting this.

 I'm amazed at how much detail this watch contains, every corner of it. 

It is evident how much thought AP put into designing it.  

Thanks again for a great read.