The Forged Carbon Diver (Diver Bee). 2.5 Months into ownership (a review)

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It’s been roughly two and a half months since I’ve come into owning the Forged Carbon Diver from Audemars Piguet. It’s usually at the two month mark that I feel like I’ve really gotten to know my watches so I’ve become accustomed to thinking about and writing about my pieces critically at this point in my ownership (although I needed the extra two weeks or so to get my ass around to writing). This particular watch, affectionately known as the “Diver Bee”, has become a favorite in my collection, and below I will explain why.
First, some background: This is actually my second Diver. I purchased my original Stainless Steel Diver in May of 2012. As many on this forum have come to find, it’s a particularly loveable watch. The Diver lineage is one of the finest in the Audemars Piguet family. Its versatility is simply unmatched in my humble belief. I wore my Stainless Diver everywhere, and it’s accumulated a few “love marks” in its first full year of ownership under my guise.
The Forged Carbon model was different enough in my eyes to be in the same collection as the Steel version without being repetitive. Sure, to the uninitiated it’d be easy to think, “you already have one Diver, why wouldn’t you get something different?” It’s pretty easy to see that while they may be the same watch on the inside, everything about the outside is different.



The Forged Carbon material and the Ceramic bezel was the draw for me. While the Steel version was my “go anywhere, do anything” watch, I was accumulating blemishes at an alarming rate. Coming from a Ceramic Rolex GMT-II, I got pretty spoiled with the durable ceramic bezel and the abuse it can withstand without showing wear.
My first foray into Forged Carbon was with my purchase of the ROO Ginza in August of 2012. When I got accustomed to how durable and light the watch was, I knew it wouldn’t be my last Forged Carbon piece. When I purchased the Ginza I thought “this is going to be my last purchase for a while…” and it was. At least 7 months had passed (for me, a long time) before I lusted after another watch.



I had the good fortune of coming into the Forged Carbon Diver somewhat by chance. I had decided with an upcoming trip to Tahiti that I wanted a durable Dive watch. I had seen that Audemars Piguet had created a Ceramic Diver and that particular piece really caught my eye. I dialed up Oscar (bodybump) to find a BNIB Submariner-Ceramic because for its intended purpose and from a price point perspective, it just made more sense to pursue the Submariner over another Audemars Piguet (collecting AP’s becomes quite expensive). I received the watch on a Wednesday, and was content enough (I admit, it wasn’t anything special, it was simply a tool watch for me), but on Thursday I got a frantic text. “Bro, I have a Forged Carbon Diver from AP for a great price”. Being weak to temptation and “enabling”, I asked if I could return the Submariner and wire him cash (the cost to benefit ratio of the AP vs Rolex clearly gone out the window).



Sight unseen (never handled a FC Diver at an AD) I had made a transaction that involved returning that fresh Submariner for full purchase price. Friday morning, FedEx delivered this Yellow beauty to my door. (by the way, if you haven’t done a deal with Oscar, you’re blowing it. Nicest guy, and he’s quick. Fair pricing, and will do what he can to make a deal happen for you comfortably). In a span of 48 hours, I had bought and returned a Submariner for another Audemars Piguet (a sick obsession). The best part about the deal was, I got the Forged Carbon Diver for a price that was similar enough to the Ceramic Diver’s. At the very least, if I didn’t like it, I could flip it for a profit I thought. (my justification, but I knew there was no way I wouldn’t love the watch).



The Yellow and Black contrast was very cool off the bat. I will admit though, I didn’t know how I could make yellow match the clothes I wore. I typically dress in very black or white fashion. Bright colors aren’t really my thing. But as the days passed, I grew fond of my black and yellow timepiece. It slowly became my everyday watch.


The titanium parts used on the watch are what make it more casual in my opinion. It adds some life to what would otherwise be a very “black looking” watch. Unlike my Ginza which is a very “black looking” watch, the Diver has more of a casual and sporty look. The yellow accents probably a big portion of why it has that certain aesthetic. It really disguises its price tag well. I get compliments for “how cool it looks” rather than “oh wow, that must be an expensive watch”. I love how under the radar it is, but still exudes a great deal of cool. I’ve always had a fascination with the original Chrono Bumble Bee ROO, but felt that it was too showy or “loud”. Perhaps something I could purchase when my collection was a bit more “complete”, but the yellow in this watch definitely gives it a bit more of a purposeful look as a dive watch without attracting the wrong kind of attention.



Every day that passed, when I looked down at my wrist, my grin just got bigger and bigger. I became less interested in making the watch “work” with a certain outfit or look. Quite honestly, this watch just looks good in general. No matter what I wore with it, the watch complimented the look. As a result, I’ve worn it everywhere. Concerts, Las Vegas, nice dinners, the beach, the post office, you name it, it’s been with me. It’s held up particularly well. The forged carbon and ceramic combination offers so much peace of mind that it’s worth its price tag and then some. We all love our watches, but let’s be honest, we are all a little worried about blemishing our wrist-wear. Forged Carbon and Ceramic eliminate those petty concerns. I’m an active person with an active lifestyle and I wouldn’t think twice to wear my Diver no matter what I’m going to be doing that particular day.

It just wears so comfortably. The tang buckle and Diver strap are my favorite. I’ve fitted my other watches with the same combination because the comfort just can’t be beat. Given how light the watch is, there isn’t one thing about the whole thing that is uncomfortable. It’s so light you forget it’s on your wrist. It just becomes a part of you. Due to the forged carbon case, the sound of the inner portion of the watch working can be heard. I think that’s pretty cool. I find it particularly amusing when I’m driving on the well paved roads of Los Angeles (yeah right) the vibrations of the road translate to the watch and you can hear the insides working and moving.



In full disclosure, it did take a trip to Clearwater, which I did post about some weeks ago. The 3120 movement found in this watch is the same as the Steel Diver and the ones found in the Royal Oak line. I had what AP calls a “rebanking” issue that needed to be rectified by putting in a weaker spring (I had been gaining time, about a minute and a few seconds a day while resting, and about two minutes if I had been wearing it). It was after the watch came back that I really developed a deeper appreciation for it (not to mention, it only gained half a second over the 5 day course of wearing it upon it’s return…it keeps as close to perfect time as it can get in my book)

In short, if you want to own a Forged Carbon piece that has a little bit of heritage, as well as a sporty aesthetic, I think the Forged Carbon Diver is a winner. It’s now my every day, do everything, go everywhere watch.