Incoming!!! - 1st AP

[bpetty13]

Good afternoon everyone,

I first began considering an AP for the first time back in August 2012. The Diver had caught my eye and I began contemplating whether I should move any of my current pieces (Omega Planet Ocean, SubC, & Pam 312 at the time) for the Diver. I found the diver to be a rugged but also elegant piece if that makes sense at all. My reservations with the Diver was the fact that it was made from SS, especially the SS bezel which seemed to be a scratch magnet. Ive always owned SS watches (see above) and though I have never obsessed over small scratches and dings, I'd be lying if I said they didn't sometimes bother me when I'd look down upon my beautiful timepiece and notice them.

I decided to hold steady for the time being and was seriously considering moving my Omega PO and Pam 312 for the iconic white dialed Daytona to pair with my SubC. I thought that would make the perfect duo. A few months later I ventured back to AP and came upon forged carbon. Forged carbon seemed to check all of the boxes for me with it's extremely lightweight and scratch resistant properties, and with the way it changes in light. It's a very awesome material to say the least! So with that I began looking into the notorious Bumblebee as it was the most affordable FC. Don't get me wrong I really liked the black & yellow coupled with the arabic dial, but for me price is very important as well. Remember up until this point my most expensive watch was a SubC, and the Bumblebee's price was approx. 3x that. In the end I came to the conclusion that the Bumblebee was a little too vibrant for an only watch and everyday wearer. In my opinion I think it's probably best suited as a a 2nd watch or an addition to a collection where it can be worn sparingly or in rotation.

After that I was on the hunt again and began considering the 44 FC, 44 SS, and the Trulli. I initially had decided these pieces were out of my price range, but you know how that goes! I really liked the 44 SS with ceramic bezel a lot! I think it's colors work very well together and it just pops, but in end I had decided I wanted an FC. So then it came down to the 44 FC and the Trulli. I really liked both pieces for very different reasons. The Trulli's colors were unlike any other in the AP lineup I had seen and seemed appropriate for daily wear, not to mention the smaller size would undoubtedly better fit my rather small but flat 6.5" wrist. The 44 FC comes off to me as a very masculine and edgy piece. I love the depth of the dial and how the all black really flies under the radar. If you were ever going to get a blacked out watch this was surely the one to get. What really put me over the edge with this piece were the amazing pics by all of the members here on TRF. So with that even though I have never said two words (spoken or written) to most of you I have to say thanks in particular to Bogdan (seattle1978), EdChoi, Soly (Soly20), WAK4, TSW, and Texex91. I've been obsessing over all of your pics of this piece for the last few months and they are ultimately what caused me to get this amazing timepiece without me ever seeing or trying it on in real life as there are no ADs in Texas that I am aware of. I ended up having a great year at work (not just me, but my entire company) and my bonus turned out to be better than expected so there was only one way to celebrate! During my research process Jacob (Deephouse) contacted me and we worked out a partial trade of my SubC & Pam 312 + cash for the 44 FC! Jacob was terrific to deal with and very patient with all of my newb questions. I wouldn't hesitate to do another deal with him again!

I will definitely miss my SubC as it really was an awesome daily watch and I certainly see myself acquiring it again in the future. The Pam 312 was also a great watch, but was just too top heavy for me. The world of straps that comes with Pams is a madness all on it's own, and definitely something I will miss. In saying that, I am extremely excited and pleased to begin the next chapter and journey with my new 44 FC! Wish me luck as I try to be a 1 watch man! I look forward to chiming in and posting more often now that I'm officially a member of this awesome group here on TRF! Here are a few pics of the unboxing of the watch arriving yesterday. Please excuse the quality as they were taken with my iPhone. Hope you enjoy and sorry for the extremely long winded post. Also please note that I am on the lookout for a XS dive strap so that I can better enjoy this beauty!