DEPARTURES STYLE THE
DEPARTURES STYLE THE FLASHBACK 34 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 STYLE All in Good Time Sometimes, it’s all about the slow burn. Ming Liu explains how some of watchmaking’s biggest non-starters rose to cult status decades later. The controversial first Royal Oak Offshore model, released by Audemars Piguet in 1993, audemarspiguet.com 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 © AUDEMARS PIGUET
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANTOINE PIVIDORI / CARTIER, © VACHERON CONSTANTIN, © ROLEX 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”. 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). 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; an Everose-gold Rolex Sky-Dweller, released this spring, rolex.com 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 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. 35 DEPARTURES
