Colourful Accents for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver Collection

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore, also known as The Beast, muscled its way onto the scene in 1993 as a beefier and bolder version of its famous sibling, the Royal Oak. Drawing its inspiration and name (offshore) from the world of powerboat racing popular in the 1980s, the ROO family expanded, and in 2010 surfaced without a chronograph and with professional 300m diving capabilities as the ROO Diver. In 2021, the ROO Diver was refreshed, equipped with AP’s in-house automatic calibre 4308, a sapphire caseback window and a patented quick-release interchangeable strap system. Joining the collection are three new ROO Divers in vibrant, contemporary colours.

The 2021 third-generation models retained the external features of the earlier ROO Divers – 42mm diameter x 14.2mm height – but added an extra flourish of finishing. However, the two screw-locked crowns, one for the movement and the other for activating the internal rotating bezel, were made of resilient ceramic and no longer had rubber protective covers. The new ROO Divers come in stainless steel cases with the raised, brushed octagonal bezel, eight polished screws, and black ceramic crowns.

Although nothing has altered technically, the new ROO Divers feature contrasting, luminescent colours on the internal diving bezel to highlight the all-important 0-15 minute zone. The two models with black Méga Tapisserie patterned dials are combined with bold turquoise and pink (not photographed) accents, 18k gold hands and stocky hour markers treated with luminescence. Redesigned in 2021, the short, wide hour markers vary in length: the stubbiest ones indicate 5-minute increments while the longer ones indicate quarter hours. The missing index at 3 o’clock is to accommodate the date window with a magnifying glass. The most classical edition features a teal Méga Tapisserie dial and a matching rubber strap, with a white luminescent area on the 0-15 zone of the diving scale and elegant, contrasting pink gold touches on the tips of the two crowns, indices, and hands.

Visible on the reverse, AP’s in-house automatic calibre 4308, first unveiled on Code 11.59, beats at 4Hz and has a robust 60-hour power reserve. Decorated with Geneva stripes, circular graining and bevelled edges, the 22k pink gold rotor is blackened for a more contemporary look.

As mentioned, the ROO Divers feature AP’s tool-free interchangeable strap system with quick-release pushers on the back of the strap. The price, which hasn’t altered, is EUR 30,100.

More information at AudemarsPiguet.com