Credits: Article and images by Alexey Kutkovoy @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/10/23/30th-anniversary-of-the-audemars-piguet-royal-oak-offshore-divers-editions-was-gerald-gentas-diving-inspiration-finally-realized/
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It is interesting to note that the Royal Oak Offshore Scuba can be considered in some ways a realization of the original design inspiration of Gérald Genta, who created the classic Royal Oak design in 1972, inspired by the ammunition of the submariners he observed on the shores of Lake Leman in Geneva.
The classic Royal Oak was designed and marketed as a sports watch, but it was never really suitable for underwater use until 2005. The non-chronograph diving watch ROO looked very fresh and impressive due to the lack of counters on the dial and the presence of an inner rotating bezel with a diving scale, so the sequel followed almost immediately, a year later.
2006. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba Boutique Special Edition Ref. 15701ST.OO.D002CA.01, special boutique model from 2006. Stainless steel, limited edition of 300 pieces (photo courtesy Antiquorum)
In 2006, the experience with a special edition of the ROO Scuba for Wempe was deemed successful, so a sequel followed. The Royal Oak Offshore Scuba ‘Boutique Special Edition’ in stainless steel remains one of the most military-influenced releases to date.
The vertically aligned Arabic numerals of the geometric sans-serif font are covered with a yellow-orange luminous material, which looks very impressive against the black background of the dial, which was newly developed especially for this watch.
It is easy to see that the dial of the special boutique “diver” is very similar to the dial of the first ROO ‘Barrichello’ from 2005 – there is also a large relief méga tapisserie motif in the central zone of the dial and a thin circular groove on the chapter ring that serves as a background for the numerals.
2006-2008. The casebacks of all three special boutique models ROO Diver of 2006, 2007 and 2008 were decorated with the same relief image of the old Audemars Piguet manufacture building in Le Brassus (photo courtesy Phillips)
The hour and minute hands of this ROO Scuba retain the rounded Gérald Genta design of the original 1993 ROO wide hands, while the seconds hand has the ‘lollipop’ of the same shape, filled with a yellow-orange luminous material. Everything was made according to the rules of diver watchmaking, which require an indication of the function of the movement, which should be visible even in low-light conditions.
The Royal Oak Offshore Scuba ‘Boutique Special Edition’ of 2006 was limited to 300 pieces, which were distributed to boutiques without much fuss and could not even be found in the brand’s catalogs.
2007-2008. Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba Boutique Special Edition ‘Blue’ (Ref. 15701ST.OO.D002CA.02; 2007, limited to 300 pieces) and Royal Oak Offshore Scuba Boutique Special Edition Boutique Special Edition ‘Red’ (Ref. 15701ST.OO.D002CA.03, 2008, 300 pieces)
Also not found in the catalogs are the later ROO Scuba Boutique special editions of 2007 and 2008, which were produced in two limited editions of 300: Boutique ‘Blue’ with a blue inner rotating bezel with diver scale and Boutique ‘Red’ with a red ring.
The solid caseback of all three special Boutique ROO Scubas is again decorated with a relief image of the old Audemars Piguet Manufacture building in Le Brassus.
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Credits: Article and images by Alexey Kutkovoy @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/10/23/30th-anniversary-of-the-audemars-piguet-royal-oak-offshore-divers-editions-was-gerald-gentas-diving-inspiration-finally-realized/
