36 DEPARTURES THE
36 DEPARTURES THE FLASHBACK MECHANICAL WATCHMAKING may be booming at the moment, with long waitlists for coveted designs (Patek Philippe Nautilus, anyone?) and secondary prices trading at premiums for the most desirable brands (Rolex, Audemars Piguet, perchance?). So it may be hard to comprehend that once upon a time, some of watchmaking’s biggest Hall of Fame sports pieces were, in fact, commercial flops when they initially launched. That’s surely the story of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore – “Royal Oak on steroids” as it’s been called (referencing the brand’s best-selling model) – which celebrates 30 years this year. But when it debuted in 1993, the Offshore nearly didn’t survive its initial years. Super-sporty and oversized, the Offshore was a product of the charged-up, flashy 1980s era – think Miami Vice, Michael Jackson and big boomboxes – its name taken from the super-fast, offshore luxury powerboats like the Bullet 31 by American maker Cigarette. “The idea was power, speed, performance, sport but also elegance and comfort,” says Sébastian Vivas, Audemars Piguet’s heritage and museum director. Early drawings of the Offshore from 1989 translated that brief into an oversized case, extraordinarily thick gaskets, crowns encased in proper 1980s-style neon-coloured rubber, rounded links and studs. Some sketches even had a compass function, to underscore the adventuring vibe. When the Royal Oak Offshore 25721 launched in 1993, the chronograph watch was sized at 42 millimetres and was 14.05mm thick, making it a whopping 2.5 times the volume of its largest Royal Oak sister (plus, at CHF16,600 around twice the price). With the average size of men’s watches coming in at 36 millimetres at the time, it’s no wonder the Offshore quickly earned nicknames like “the monster”, “the beast” and “the sea whale”. Gerald Genta, the original designer of the 1972 Royal Oak, called the Offshore a “sea elephant” and its designer, Emmanuel Gueit, a “murderer” for having “spoilt my watch”. Clockwise from top left: Cartier’s mouldbusting Baignoire Allongée, reimagined as high jewellery for 2023, cartier.com; Vacheron Constantin’s Historiques 222, a 2022 reissue based on the 1970s-era design, vacheron-constantin.com; The numbers told an equally grim story. Within three years, only 716 pieces had left the manufacture, accounting for a measly 1.6 per cent of Audemars Piguet’s overall watch sales. Compare that to the 1,652 Royal Oaks that were sold between the model’s debut in 1972 and 1974, and the Offshore, “comparatively, should have been killed,” says Vivas. “It was far from a success.” But Audemars Piguet persevered, and in 1996, added five new references, including a new women’s 30mm size, new functionality and even a special edition to mark Hong Kong’s handover to China, which paved the way for future special editions. In 1997 – galvanised by the Royal Oak’s 25th birthday, which introduced a chronograph, tourbillon and grand complication – the Offshore launched in a host of zingy colours with matching straps, in the likes of canary yellow and apple green. Daring and experimental, such innovations helped turn the watch into a bold statement for young buyers who had made it in life – and in 1997, sales topped 1,000 units for the first time. That same year, Audemars Piguet began collaborating with Arnold Schwarzenegger, making special watches linked to his films, like the bad-ass-looking Offshore for End of Days (1999). The rest, as they say, is history – and today, the Offshore “beast” has become a watchmaking icon in its own right (as it happens, Audemars Piguet is marking 30 years with a limited edition, a black ceramic chronograph that pays tribute to the End of Days Offshore). The Offshore isn’t the only slow-burn story in watchmaking; interestingly, the 1970s had several similar tales. It was a time in which the industry was on its knees from the quartz crisis. Vacheron Constantin’s 222 luxury sports watch from 1977, for example, was created to mark the maison’s 222nd birthday, but was so unpopular that production stopped just after eight years. In recent times, however, the 222 has been picked up by collectors who substantially bid it up at action, leading Vacheron to revive the design last year on the occasion of its 45th anniversary. Another flop was IWC’s Ingenieur SL Ref 1832 from 1976, designed by Gerald Genta, which was eschewed for its heavy, bulky design at the time, especially when pitted FROM LEFT: ANTOINE PIVIDORI / CARTIER, © VACHERON CONSTANTIN
FROM TOP: © SOTHEBY'S, © IWC, © ROLEX against the up-and-coming, ultra-slim quartz watches of the day. Fewer than 1,000 pieces were sold between 1976 and 1983. But just like the 222, the watch became a cult favourite in later decades, and in March, IWC finally bowed to popular demand and reissued a new Ingenieur 40mm Automatic collection. So what makes a watch go from flop to fantastic, from slow burn to soaring? Of course, there’s a certain je ne sais quoi to what makes an icon, but Paul Boutros, head of watches for Americas at Phillips auction house, shares some insights. “These are the result of brands who take risks – who put a lot on the line. When you build it, you don’t know if clients will come – many times they don’t. But in those rare cases where they are a hit, and it may take some time, they transcend from just a product to an emblematic icon of the brand.” Boutros believes that some qualities will always resonate, like classic styling, good proportions that fit as many wrists as possible and original, non-derivative designs with a strong identity. Every single Rolex model today seems super-desirable, but the Sky-Dweller, in fact, was a slow-burn watch. Designed for travellers with a dual-time and annualcalendar functions, the watch launched in 2012 in precious metals – white, yellow and rose gold – but was a flop for years until Rolex introduced a steel version in 2017. “That was a game changer,” says Boutros. “The offer price of ,000 when it launched was a super bargain for an annual calendar … Everyone wanted one.” Zenith’s legendary El Primero movement, the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph, invented in 1969, perhaps wins the title of most remarkable slowburn story. In 1971, Zenith had been purchased by a Chicago-based radio company who quickly decided to cease making mechanical watches at the height of the quartz crisis. This dismayed Charles Vermot, a foreman in Zenith’s watchmaking workshop, who in 1976 went against management’s orders and secretly stashed away some 150 presses and tools in an attic, which he walled up and kept secret – even from his wife and family – until 1984, when Rolex sought to modernise its Daytona model with the El Primero chronograph. Needless to say, the Rolex Daytona is today one of the most hard-to-get watches, with vintage “Zenith Daytonas” especially valuable (cue a limitededition 1998 model with an unusual turquoise dial that sold for .1 million at Sotheby’s in 2021). But Vermot’s act of defiance saved Zenith and the El Primero, too; this year, the chronograph powers the watchmaker’s latest, headlinegrabbing Pilot collection, among other novelties. Finally, it wasn’t only sports watches that were slow off their feet. The Cartier Baignoire – which was named after its oval, baignoire shape (bathtub in French) – first entered the scene in 1912 as Cartier’s first oval-shaped watch that essentially stretched out the traditional round watch. But the design only really took off in 1958, when it was tweaked into a more curved and generous oval shape that hugged wrist. The Baignoire became a signature shape for the house, hitting the mainstream in the 1960s with fans like Catherine Deneuve, Romy Schneider and Jeanne Moreau, with a super-daring Allongée line that once more elongated the form. Today, the Baignoire still very much exudes its original chic à la française vibe, with last month’s new Allongée collection coming in jazzy, métiers d’art highjewellery pieces that are true works of art – and all of which propel this once slow-burn watch firmly into the future. From top: Rolex Daytona – featuring Zenith movement, which fetched .1m at Sotheby’s, rolex.com; this year’s IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40, iwc.com; an Everose-gold Rolex Sky- Dweller, released this spring, rolex.com 37 DEPARTURES
