AP Royal Oak 15400 from Trusty - review

[lollandster 0]

The time has come to review my first replica watch. It is an AP Royal Oak from trusty time (AP087B).

 

Some pictures are very big if click on them (not mobile friendly).

 

I will focus mainly on the negative sides because it is easier and more informative than documenting the positive sides.

I did buy a new camera the same day the AP arrived, but I don’t have a macro lens for it so the close ups are not very detailed. Sorry about that.

 

When I received the package, I was amazed of how it was packaged. As I knew already it was somewhat concealed, but it was done in a way that anyone would notice foul play upon inspection. I am sure no concealment would have been better than this.

 

First impression after unwrapping the watch was how heavy it was. I don’t know how heavy the genuine AP is, but this replica certainly has some weight to it.

 

In the QC pictures, I noticed that the top rubber gasket was protruding a little. Andrew reassured me that it was only a shadow I saw and not the rubber gasket. It turned out to be the rubber gasket though.

 

As I have seen with several other replicas on the forum the “swiss made” print is misaligned slightly. You can see from the picture below where I compare it against a picture of a gen pulled off ebay.

 

One less noticeable thing I did notice is that one of the links connecting the bracelet to the case it not flush with the case.

 

The date is not center in the date window. This is not something that is easy to notice. I only noticed it while reviewing some of the pictures I took of the watch.

The Bezel doesn’t look perfectly aligned with the case. Either that or the bezel isn’t perfectly sized. If you look at the watch from the side, you can see that the edges do not align.

 

The screws in the bezel isn’t perfectly matched to the holes. One of the holes is messed up somehow. Some of the holes are perfectly sized for the screws, so it must be a tolerance problem.

 

The print on the inside of the clasp is messed up.

 

First day of wearing this watch I managed to unintentionally open the clasp several times. It seems that the bracelet is too wide for my small wrist and that mechanical force to the bracelet is easily transferred to the clasp, forcing it to open. I think this could be fixed by a small correction to the design. I will try to do this fix and if it works, I’ll post it on this forum. I made a youtube video that shows the clasp problem.

 

The crown on this watch is very hard to screw down. This is my first mechanical watch so I might be wrong, but it seems unnaturally hard to get the threads to engage. Unscrewing the crown is no problem.

I did notice a rough edge and a dent on the self-winding weight. It was somewhat hard to photograph, but after opening the case, I got it.

 

Opening the case was an interesting experience. The screws that holds the case back also holds the case front. Although I did know this already, I still managed to lose all the screws down on the table. Getting them back in the right way was a challenge (the screwdriver slots needs to be parallel to the tangent line of the crystal). I tried to get the case back and the bezel better aligned with the case, but it settled back to where it was when I tightened the screws.

Here is a few pictures of the watch with the case open:

 

I hope this review was informative.

[Steve AKA Creamedcage 0]

Great review. More informative than mine. :suck:

 

"The crown on this watch is very hard to screw down" - I have found this to be quite common.. i try to avoid unscrewing if I can for the fear that I won't be able to re-screw. I'm looking for a automatic watch winder box which I hope will help. I have to point out though my watches are at the cheep end.

 

How much was the watch?

 

Steve

[wolfwood 5]

Thanks for the review. Not very honest of Andrew telling you that flaw is a shadow and not the rubber gasket sticking out.

[fatarms 8,718]

Pretty impressive and thorough review for a guy who's only been here a few weeks now. Well done

[Jonnybaws 5,282]

Thanks for the review..

Was close to pulling the trigger on this (who know's may still do so)..

But this review has given me second thoughts

[lollandster 0]

Thanks for all kind words.

I did take some lume shots too but forgot to include them. I'll try to upload them on Monday.

[Steve AKA Creamedcage 0]

"In the QC pictures, I noticed that the top rubber gasket was protruding a little. Andrew reassured me that it was only a shadow I saw and not the rubber gasket. It turned out to be the rubber gasket though"

 

Is this just me but this comment has put me off buying from Andrew because he simply lied.

 

Steve

[Kwt 11]

Thanks for the review!

[Piccolo 722]

Great review - really useful info and good pics, thanks!

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this watch. To me, after looking at your high res photos, I would hazard a guess that you have mismatch of parts in your watch construction. The bezel and gasket are from another similar model I would say.

[sardonix 1]

Great review thanks for sharing.

Bad QC on clasp happens a lot with these, i would ask for new clasp this is hard to resolve/fix otherwise.

 

[Benoitch 0]

Nice review!

[goodman 0]

hell i was gonna order this. second thought now.

[hlodhi1 0]

Mine is at the post office a few blocks from my place, but no deliveries on a Sunday. Ah, so close, yet so far...

[ciceroyeah 0]

 

This is a BP Factory model released a year ago, when all of these flaws were widely discussed, including the clasp issue. Ten minutes of research on the forums will tell you what to expect. There have been 2 successive zFac versions since then (an A2824 and the superior Miyota), both of them with vastly better bracelets, and fixing most of the other flaws.

[thepianoplaya 0]

How would you go about removing a link?

Is there a special screw driver?