My Watch: Robert-Jan Broer, AP Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’
Robert-Jan Broer, 33 years old and long time collector and admirer of fine timepieces. Although not professionally occupied in the watch industry, I know my way around pretty well and get things done for my dedicated blog (FratelloWatches) about fine watches.
My all time favorite watches are those designed by Gérald Genta in the 1970s. Why? Not because every self respected playboy was wearing one of these time pieces when relaxing in St Tropez or Monaco in those days, but because they reflected something new… something unheard of… a luxury stainless steel wrist watch for the price of a gold Patek Philippe Calatrava. Although only made in a limited number at first, demand soon outstripped supply.
I am, of course talking about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’, introduced in 1972.
Later on, Gérald Genta repeated the same with his design for the stainless steel Patek Philippe Nautilus timepiece and the IWC Ingenieur SL. Hysek followed with his ’222′ (now Overseas) model for Vacheron Constantin.
You either hate or love these watches at first sight (and start to learn loving them later on in your watch collecting career). I belong to the first category and ever since I learned about the Royal Oak, I promised myself to get one whenever possible.
Although the Royal Oak Off-Shore (introduced in 1993) and the Royal Oak Date which got a facelift in 2005 are timepieces that will fit the current standards for tough looking stainless steel sports watches a bit better than the original 1972 based model, I still decided to pursue the mother of all Royal Oak watches.
The Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’ by the reference of 15202ST is the one I bought last year December, the crown jewel of my modest collection. The Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 920 based movement, the AP 2121, has a height of just barely over 3 millimeters thanks to the clever rail-system for its rotor and the Gyromax balance wheel which makes my heart tick faster.
The hour and minute hand seems to float between the tapisserie dial and the flat sapphire crystal, the stainless steel octagonal bezel with eight bolts made out of white gold clearly demonstrating their difference in color when playing with (sun)light and the hand crafted bracelet with its amazingly razor-sharp satinized finish are proof of a well thought through design by its creators, Gérald Genta and Audemars Piguet.
Category: My Watch
Nice piece indeed, my friend
Thanks for sharing !
Nice article Robert-Jan! And a lovely watch. The Jumbo is such a beauty and more elegant than the newer 15300. Good choice
Thanks guys. I have no real preference towards the 15202 or 15300 other than I like the movement better in the 15202. There are pros and cons to either of them when comparing… I think I can solve this forever by adding a 26300 AP Royal Oak chronograph to the collection at some point. This way I do have the advantages of the 15300 in terms of the up-to-date bracelet design and thicker/tougher casing, while it is still a different (because chronograph!) from the 15202
Makes sense? Probably only for me 
RJ
Could not agree more with your thoughts on Genta designs of the AP RO and the PP Nautilus.
Two classic icons.
That being said I think the latest 15300 with center seconds and the recent PP 5711 also with center seconds hand are preferable over the original watches simply because the center seconds hand is simply nicer looking with its smooth sweep, as opposed to the plain dial with out seconds hand.
Just my opinion however, still both watches…AP RO and PPN are true classic Genta designs, and always will be.