And so, my addiction to Royal Oaks continues unabated...   I already have three 15400s and a PVD chronograph 26320. There is something about the octagonal bezel case that appeals to me. Perhaps I'm a Gerald Genta fanboy.Short of a skeleton dial and a tourbillon Royal Oak , there is the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.   The Watch Before I talk about the ref 26579 specifically, it might be useful to give a bit more context for this watch. A conventional perpetual calendar watch should be able to take into account leap years and the 29th February issue. The watch would have a day, date and month complication at least. Moonphase displays are also commonly seen in perpetual calendar watches.  Perpetual calendars predate Audemars Piguet--Jules Audemars's pocket watch that marked his watch-making graduation was a perpetual calendar watch! Now sit back and reflect on the watch you wore for graduation. Let that sink in. And be ashamed.   It has always been fascinating to know that the perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and tourbillon predated the invention of a date wheel.    Non-sequitur aside, while perpetual calendars were invented centuries ago, it did not mean that they were everywhere. Prior to the 1950s, Audemars Piguet has only manufactured  a grand total of 208 calendar watches. As in any type of calendar watch, not only perpetual calendars. A perpetual calendar with chronograph function, ref 5503, circa 1942. Another perpetual calendar: ref 5516, circa 1955 The ref 5548, produced from 1977-1990 was the most popular and prolific of the AP perpetual calendar watches. It houses a calibre 2120/2800 movement. Calibre 2120/2800 It took more than a decade after the release of the Royal Oak (1972) for a Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar to be unveiled in 1983. The ref 5554 houses a similar 2120/2802 movement.  Here you can see the dial design retains the aesthetic of perpetual calendars past. The revolutionary Genta case meets the conservative dial composition--it has a smooth dial instead of the characteristic Grande Tapisserie pattern. An time-traveling amalgamation  of two different eras. Here it is interesting to note that all examples of AP perpetual calendar watches shown above do not have the leap year indicator.  The watches were able to take into account leap years, but they were not displaying that fact. Audemars Piguet in fact pioneered the leap year indicator complication in 1955. The more you know, eh? In 2015, Audemars Piguet released the ref 26574. This perpetual calendar watch has the conventional date, day, month, year and moonphase complications. On top of that, they added a week complication, displayed in a creative way via a third hand. The elimination of the second hand brings balance and serenity to a very busy dial. A very tasteful design choice indeed.  The moon phase astronomical indicator on this watch requires correction every 122 years and 108 days! The watch houses a 5134 Calibre, which is based off the smaller calibre 2120/2802. In 2017, they released the all-black, all-ceramic ref 26579. Yes all-ceramic, including the bracelet. The finishing on the ceramic bracelet takes 5 times longer than the stainless steel equivalent, totaling 30 hours. The lengthier time required for finishing, not to mention R&D time, is reflected in the price. Ref 26574 (Stainless steel) RRP: GBP 54, 000 Ref 26579 (All-Ceramic) RRP: GBP 83, 100   The Rep So far, the JF version is the best rep of the Ref 26574 out there. However, the rep has a day/night indicator in lieu of the moonphase, and the white hand week indicator on the gen is a seconds hand on the rep. This is a huge tell due to the incorrect hand stack and that the "week indicator" is constantly moving  Furthermore, there is only one hand in the 12H subdial, with no year indicator. Priced at USD358, that was too many compromises to be worth it. For a bit more, I could get a Blancpain 6654 rep with all functions present, including a proper moonphase and novel under-lug correctors.   I decided to shelve my plans for the JF rep, until I could figure out how to mod the hand stack. Until I found this version for GBP135.50.       Dimensions The gen has 41mm diameter and 9.5mm case height. My watch measured 41.7mm diameter and 12.36mm case height. A rep is never going to be able to match a gen thickness, especially when there are so many complications at play.   Dial With so many functions, this is probably my longest section on the dial yet. The Grande Tapisserie dial here is black whereas in the gen it is a subtle slate-grey colour, whatever that is.  Interestingly, the gen subdials are smooth, as opposed to the Azuré pattern you see here. The subdial hands are of the same style as the gen, alongside the red "31" of the date subdial at 3H. Likewise, the "moonphase" subdial at 6H has a Azuré pattern absent in the gen. Note the "Swiss Made"! If you have been paying attention, you'll notice that the "moonphase" disc in this pic is different from the first pic of this rep   Day subdial at 9H  with Sunday at the top. Again, more unwarranted Azuré. At 12H, the month and leap year subdial on this rep is one slight step ahead of the JF version. Still, inaccuracies abound. The longer month hand in the gen is white, with the year hand being steel. It is reversed on the rep. Thankfully, the "L" is on the correct place. In this version, the makers prized form over function. The month hand works, whereas the year hand is simply attached to the month hand. Simple. Crude yet elegant at the same time. The inner chapter ring denotes the weeks of the year. As per the gen, the ring shows the even numbers and has week "26" at 6H. The watch has uses a stick and baton design for the minute and hour markers. However, the rep subdials are much closer together. In the gen, the 3H and 9H subdials are almost touching the bezel, losing the 3 and 9 hour batons along with some minute markers. These are visible on the rep though, due to the subdial positions. This rep version has the correct hand stack. Another form over function triumph! The white "week indicator" hand is attached underneath the hour hand. It moves with the hour hand. As such, it is less mobile than the JF version. It may not be a true week indicator, but at least it's not a fucking seconds hand at the top of the hand stack! The white arrow on the"week" hand is fatter on the rep. It could benefit from a shave. Another shot of the glorious hand stack.   Movement Here is a reference pic of the gen caseback and rotor. The exact movement used in the rep remains a mystery. The subdial composition is reminiscent of a DG3847B or TY2876, but the caseback side of these movements differ from my watch. The caseback screws are steel and a different colour from the black case, as per gen. However, the finishing of the words are shallower than the gen. Good effort on the rotor detail here!  It even replicates the 38 Jewels inscription found on the gen rotor.  Caseback removed, the detail on the rotor is further highlighted. The reverse tapisserie motif on the outer edge of the rotor is decently replicated. The movement plates itself have no decorations at all. In contrast, the gen has Côtes de Genève stripes on its plates. Minor tell: Why is gold (Au) mentioned on a "ceramic" case?  This is clearly just a PVD stainless steel case.   Case & Bezel The PVD stainless steel case is brushed in the same direction as the gen.
Thankfully the bezel screws are well aligned. It is a steel colour and distinct from the black case, as per gen. Somehow, there is lint all over the watch. At normal wrist distance, the case is pure, clean black. The 2H pusher is for the month, 4H is for the date Pusher at 8H is for the day. Case comparison between the JF V3 15400 and this 26579 rep.   Bracelet & Clasp The brushing on the bracelet is thicker and more obvious than the gen. The links have the bevelled edges as per gen. However, the screws for the end links to lugs should not be visible. The bracelet has good weight to it. The bracelet uses screw pins.  In the gen, the clasp is made of titanium.  Standard fare detail one should expect on an AP clasp by now.   Functions The rep has day, date, month and day/night indicator complications. The month does not advance when the date moves from 31 to 1. Recessed pushers are available to quickset the day, date and month. The rep comes with the standard ugly day/night indicator. Mine has been improved   The "year" hand is simply attached to the month hand. The "week" hand is simply attached to the hour hand but in such a  way that replicated a reasonable hand stack. The "week" hand moves with the hour hand. The watch may have a strong wrist presence, but it has weak lume @McGilli   Accuracy If King Charles II had a quartz watch, he would've won the Battle of Worcester and wouldn't have to hide in an oak tree.  We could have got on with the Restoration much faster with less faff. Buy quartz.   Some Assembly Required If you noticed in the first pic of the rep on here, you will have notice/blinded by the glaring day/night indicator, with the sun sneering at you, the poor, common wannabe collector who cannot afford the gen. The gen moonphase disc is something to behold, with extreme detailing and features a laser micro structured moon laid on a star-studded sky made of aventurine. Whatever aventurine may be. Gen moonphase above, don't get confused! So I decided to take apart my watch, design the disc, print it out and stick it on the existing disc. Simples. Or not. It took me a full day to figure out how to remove the watch stem. An embarrassing non-starter to an ambitious plan. @ROLIE was able to point it out to me in mere minutes Have a pop at figuring out where is the release! A shit version of Where's Wally. And the printing press goes live!!!!!!!!! I tried my best making the disc as detailed as the gen. Particularly pleased with the detail and colouring of the moons  Each star is 0.02mm across. Result!   Overall This version is the ultimate compromise between form and function. Date, day and month works and can be quickset. Instead of a moonphase, it has a day/night indicator. The year hand and week hand are fake and fixed to other hands. The advantage this version has over the JF version is the price, the presence of the year hand, the week hand is not moving obviously and the correct hand stack. The downside is that, out of the box, it has a very glaring day/night indicator. At least the JF version uses a disc that has a similar aesthetic to the gen, albeit still a day/night indicator. For some people, like @Glaude, the many faux complications is a huge faux pas. For others, this could be a cheaper alternative to the JF rep which has many compromises anyway.   Finally, this watch was purchased on Aliexpress. This is a non-TD and therefore mods cannot help you if things go south over there. It is not a recommended way to buy replicas, especially for newcomers. Your mileage may vary with these non-TD sellers and don't expect the same level of service there.  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Luxury-Brand-New-Men-Watch-Automatic-Mechanical-GMT-Moon-Phase-Sapphire-Full-Black-Luminous-Blue-Grey/32956404462.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.77c54c4dv7ysD3 Note that the seller rebrands all their watches as "Age Girl". But the watch itself should carry whatever brand name they were replicating.     Glamour shot! Funky wristcheck angle for a funky watch.   References https://www.revolution.watch/perpetual-high-the-perpetual-calendar-wristwatches-of-audemars-piguet/ Round o' tags @AskGinger @McGilli @Luxuracer @NCRich @Drfunsocks @repmaster1234 @paccbet @bdnica @Sanwich @RussP @Logixa@Thommo82 @Chixisigma @mattcraiganon @_DC_ @cugine @Hyjynx