Anybody notice?

[dauster]

I might be in the minority here but I actually really like the red strap and the red minute markers and the overall design of the watch. If I had the funds I would go for it...

I have no idea who the young kid is but good for him that he is rich and can spend 8 figures on watches

[conkers]

Some good comments there guys and also some less constructive ones. Pride of Conkers editions already exist - they are both very selfish runs though of one piece each! Maybe I can share the love a little with my next collaboration with AP!

[jschmidtdmd]

Originally Posted by conkers

Some good comments there guys and also some less constructive ones. Pride of Conkers editions already exist - they are both very selfish runs though of one piece each! Maybe I can share the love a little with my next collaboration with AP!

Lol

[T3F]

I have thoughts on the watch and thoughts on the collaboration, and the two don't really line up.

First, let's talk about the watch itself. I would 100% buy this watch were it offered to me. I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red -- a coloring philosophy reminiscent of the Daytona -- and I love the fact that it's titanium and will be incredibly light and wearable.

Unfortunately for me, and for likely hundreds of others that would be interested, this watch is exclusive to the Chinese market and is only going to be made in an edition of 88 pieces. AP's most incredible pieces -- the ceramic PCs and tourbillon, the ultra-thin perpetual, and even the 15202 -- are all very, very limited, and it gets frustrating when they push out piece after piece that non-VVIPs like me want and would buy but can't even dream of getting. It seems like they keep releasing limited edition/limited production watches to target the same group of a few hundred VVIPs and offer relatively little to those outside of that extremely exclusive group.

I also really don't like the direction AP seems to be going in their collaboration here. Of all potential ambassadors, AP chooses some early-20s wannabe influencer? I like his account, have followed it for a few years, and he seems like a nice guy, but his collection, while undeniably containing many great watches, is composed exclusively of pieces that are incredibly hyped up. I watched some interview he did (with Revolution Watches maybe?), and he appeared to have been totally sucked into the hype while not realizing it (this also happened to me, to some extent, so I'm not faulting him for it), and I don't remember him having really any interesting insights -- it was more along the lines of "yeah, this is cool" and "this is such a hot watch right now."

Outside of being a collector, it doesn't appear that he does/has done a lot. He's made vague references to selling a tech company when he was younger and now working in finance, but it appears that he's constantly traveling around to different watch events and I find both of those a little hard to believe. I remember like a year or two ago, he was in some NY Times article, and I googled his name to see what he's done. One of the first things that popped up was a legal filing where it appeared to me that his dad transferred him half of his holdings in some company (I want to say it was a hedge fund, but I can't remember). I can't find this link anymore -- perhaps it got taken down, and I'm sort of confused why it was ever in the public domain.

My point here is not to attack him -- again, he seems like a nice guy and I think a lot of us, maybe myself included, might be doing the exact same thing if we were in his position, and I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what he's doing. I also have no issue with his collecting philosophy; everyone likes watches for different reasons, all of which are valid. The issue I have is with AP choosing him and promoting him as an ambassador and representative of the brand. Rolex has done a phenomenal job choosing ambassadors -- you have Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, the two greatest golfers of all time, Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all time, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, two of the best directors ever, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, two amazing racing drivers, Ed Viesturs, the greatest American mountaineer ever, Sylvia Earl, a pioneering female explorer and advocate for the oceans, and the list goes on. All of these people have done phenomenal things in their fields and are aspirational, in a way -- you probably can't be like them, but damn, if you wouldn't like to be. In contrast, AP's choice of someone who's only notable at all for his instagram account and rather uninspired collection as a representative for the brand is honestly a little embarrassing and taints my image of the brand as a whole.

Salty rant over, and I'm sure the watch was already sold out before the public knew about it and the VVIPs will be thrilled and it'll be declared a great success and all (ok, maybe it wasn't quite over :)), but I wanted to voice my opinion. AP recently has continually disappointed me, both because practically all of their releases over the past two years have been impossible to get and because I've had a hard time getting anyone from AP to work with me, and it went from my favorite brand to one that I'm considering just moving on from out of spite. It seems that their strategy is working well at the moment and I know they couldn't care less right now about my resentment towards it. However, though I could be mistaken, I have a hard time believing that catering to the same ultra-exclusive group of customers over and over while making it exceedingly difficult for new customers to break in (as well as essentially icing many existing customers that aren't at the VVIP level) a strategy that will hold up in the long -- or even medium -- run, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[macrowatch]

All the origin comment aside (which are interesting, never knew that), the titanium case is so nice function wise. Would be interesting to have more RO in titanium case instead of SS IMO.

And of course, this watch could always be swapped with an OEM black/gray rubber strap and look even more every day amazing rather than just CNY or Mr. Wonderful 'amazing'.

[Collector2019]

Originally Posted by T3F

I have thoughts on the watch and thoughts on the collaboration, and the two don't really line up.

First, let's talk about the watch itself. I would 100% buy this watch were it offered to me. I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red -- a coloring philosophy reminiscent of the Daytona -- and I love the fact that it's titanium and will be incredibly light and wearable.

Unfortunately for me, and for likely hundreds of others that would be interested, this watch is exclusive to the Chinese market and is only going to be made in an edition of 88 pieces. AP's most incredible pieces -- the ceramic PCs and tourbillon, the ultra-thin perpetual, and even the 15202 -- are all very, very limited, and it gets frustrating when they push out piece after piece that non-VVIPs like me want and would buy but can't even dream of getting. It seems like they keep releasing limited edition/limited production watches to target the same group of a few hundred VVIPs and offer relatively little to those outside of that extremely exclusive group.

I also really don't like the direction AP seems to be going in their collaboration here. Of all potential ambassadors, AP chooses some early-20s wannabe influencer? I like his account, have followed it for a few years, and he seems like a nice guy, but his collection, while undeniably containing many great watches, is composed exclusively of pieces that are incredibly hyped up. I watched some interview he did (with Revolution Watches maybe?), and he appeared to have been totally sucked into the hype while not realizing it (this also happened to me, to some extent, so I'm not faulting him for it), and I don't remember him having really any interesting insights -- it was more along the lines of "yeah, this is cool" and "this is such a hot watch right now."

Outside of being a collector, it doesn't appear that he does/has done a lot. He's made vague references to selling a tech company when he was younger and now working in finance, but it appears that he's constantly traveling around to different watch events and I find both of those a little hard to believe. I remember like a year or two ago, he was in some NY Times article, and I googled his name to see what he's done. One of the first things that popped up was a legal filing where it appeared to me that his dad transferred him half of his holdings in some company (I want to say it was a hedge fund, but I can't remember). I can't find this link anymore -- perhaps it got taken down, and I'm sort of confused why it was ever in the public domain.

My point here is not to attack him -- again, he seems like a nice guy and I think a lot of us, maybe myself included, might be doing the exact same thing if we were in his position, and I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what he's doing. I also have no issue with his collecting philosophy; everyone likes watches for different reasons, all of which are valid. The issue I have is with AP choosing him and promoting him as an ambassador and representative of the brand. Rolex has done a phenomenal job choosing ambassadors -- you have Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, the two greatest golfers of all time, Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all time, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, two of the best directors ever, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, two amazing racing drivers, Ed Viesturs, the greatest American mountaineer ever, Sylvia Earl, a pioneering female explorer and advocate for the oceans, and the list goes on. All of these people have done phenomenal things in their fields and are aspirational, in a way -- you probably can't be like them, but damn, if you wouldn't like to be. In contrast, AP's choice of someone who's only notable at all for his instagram account and rather uninspired collection as a representative for the brand is honestly a little embarrassing and taints my image of the brand as a whole.

Salty rant over, and I'm sure the watch was already sold out before the public knew about it and the VVIPs will be thrilled and it'll be declared a great success and all (ok, maybe it wasn't quite over :)), but I wanted to voice my opinion. AP recently has continually disappointed me, both because practically all of their releases over the past two years have been impossible to get and because I've had a hard time getting anyone from AP to work with me, and it went from my favorite brand to one that I'm considering just moving on from out of spite. It seems that their strategy is working well at the moment and I know they couldn't care less right now about my resentment towards it. However, though I could be mistaken, I have a hard time believing that catering to the same ultra-exclusive group of customers over and over while making it exceedingly difficult for new customers to break in (as well as essentially icing many existing customers that aren't at the VVIP level) a strategy that will hold up in the long -- or even medium -- run, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

This is a great post, you have changed the way I looked at it. Very interesting

[lllouisv1126]

Originally Posted by T3F

I have thoughts on the watch and thoughts on the collaboration, and the two don't really line up.

First, let's talk about the watch itself. I would 100% buy this watch were it offered to me. I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red -- a coloring philosophy reminiscent of the Daytona -- and I love the fact that it's titanium and will be incredibly light and wearable.

Unfortunately for me, and for likely hundreds of others that would be interested, this watch is exclusive to the Chinese market and is only going to be made in an edition of 88 pieces. AP's most incredible pieces -- the ceramic PCs and tourbillon, the ultra-thin perpetual, and even the 15202 -- are all very, very limited, and it gets frustrating when they push out piece after piece that non-VVIPs like me want and would buy but can't even dream of getting. It seems like they keep releasing limited edition/limited production watches to target the same group of a few hundred VVIPs and offer relatively little to those outside of that extremely exclusive group.

I also really don't like the direction AP seems to be going in their collaboration here. Of all potential ambassadors, AP chooses some early-20s wannabe influencer? I like his account, have followed it for a few years, and he seems like a nice guy, but his collection, while undeniably containing many great watches, is composed exclusively of pieces that are incredibly hyped up. I watched some interview he did (with Revolution Watches maybe?), and he appeared to have been totally sucked into the hype while not realizing it (this also happened to me, to some extent, so I'm not faulting him for it), and I don't remember him having really any interesting insights -- it was more along the lines of "yeah, this is cool" and "this is such a hot watch right now."

Outside of being a collector, it doesn't appear that he does/has done a lot. He's made vague references to selling a tech company when he was younger and now working in finance, but it appears that he's constantly traveling around to different watch events and I find both of those a little hard to believe. I remember like a year or two ago, he was in some NY Times article, and I googled his name to see what he's done. One of the first things that popped up was a legal filing where it appeared to me that his dad transferred him half of his holdings in some company (I want to say it was a hedge fund, but I can't remember). I can't find this link anymore -- perhaps it got taken down, and I'm sort of confused why it was ever in the public domain.

My point here is not to attack him -- again, he seems like a nice guy and I think a lot of us, maybe myself included, might be doing the exact same thing if we were in his position, and I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what he's doing. I also have no issue with his collecting philosophy; everyone likes watches for different reasons, all of which are valid. The issue I have is with AP choosing him and promoting him as an ambassador and representative of the brand. Rolex has done a phenomenal job choosing ambassadors -- you have Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, the two greatest golfers of all time, Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all time, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, two of the best directors ever, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, two amazing racing drivers, Ed Viesturs, the greatest American mountaineer ever, Sylvia Earl, a pioneering female explorer and advocate for the oceans, and the list goes on. All of these people have done phenomenal things in their fields and are aspirational, in a way -- you probably can't be like them, but damn, if you wouldn't like to be. In contrast, AP's choice of someone who's only notable at all for his instagram account and rather uninspired collection as a representative for the brand is honestly a little embarrassing and taints my image of the brand as a whole.

Salty rant over, and I'm sure the watch was already sold out before the public knew about it and the VVIPs will be thrilled and it'll be declared a great success and all (ok, maybe it wasn't quite over :)), but I wanted to voice my opinion. AP recently has continually disappointed me, both because practically all of their releases over the past two years have been impossible to get and because I've had a hard time getting anyone from AP to work with me, and it went from my favorite brand to one that I'm considering just moving on from out of spite. It seems that their strategy is working well at the moment and I know they couldn't care less right now about my resentment towards it. However, though I could be mistaken, I have a hard time believing that catering to the same ultra-exclusive group of customers over and over while making it exceedingly difficult for new customers to break in (as well as essentially icing many existing customers that aren't at the VVIP level) a strategy that will hold up in the long -- or even medium -- run, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Very well said.

Patek wouldn’t do that and this “Collaboration” alone widens their gap in terms of brand prestige and long term value.

I’m happy for him but sad to see the brand I love and own going down this path.

[chiscott_29]

Originally Posted by T3F

I have thoughts on the watch and thoughts on the collaboration, and the two don't really line up.

First, let's talk about the watch itself. I would 100% buy this watch were it offered to me. I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red -- a coloring philosophy reminiscent of the Daytona -- and I love the fact that it's titanium and will be incredibly light and wearable.

Unfortunately for me, and for likely hundreds of others that would be interested, this watch is exclusive to the Chinese market and is only going to be made in an edition of 88 pieces. AP's most incredible pieces -- the ceramic PCs and tourbillon, the ultra-thin perpetual, and even the 15202 -- are all very, very limited, and it gets frustrating when they push out piece after piece that non-VVIPs like me want and would buy but can't even dream of getting. It seems like they keep releasing limited edition/limited production watches to target the same group of a few hundred VVIPs and offer relatively little to those outside of that extremely exclusive group.

I also really don't like the direction AP seems to be going in their collaboration here. Of all potential ambassadors, AP chooses some early-20s wannabe influencer? I like his account, have followed it for a few years, and he seems like a nice guy, but his collection, while undeniably containing many great watches, is composed exclusively of pieces that are incredibly hyped up. I watched some interview he did (with Revolution Watches maybe?), and he appeared to have been totally sucked into the hype while not realizing it (this also happened to me, to some extent, so I'm not faulting him for it), and I don't remember him having really any interesting insights -- it was more along the lines of "yeah, this is cool" and "this is such a hot watch right now."

Outside of being a collector, it doesn't appear that he does/has done a lot. He's made vague references to selling a tech company when he was younger and now working in finance, but it appears that he's constantly traveling around to different watch events and I find both of those a little hard to believe. I remember like a year or two ago, he was in some NY Times article, and I googled his name to see what he's done. One of the first things that popped up was a legal filing where it appeared to me that his dad transferred him half of his holdings in some company (I want to say it was a hedge fund, but I can't remember). I can't find this link anymore -- perhaps it got taken down, and I'm sort of confused why it was ever in the public domain.

My point here is not to attack him -- again, he seems like a nice guy and I think a lot of us, maybe myself included, might be doing the exact same thing if we were in his position, and I don't think there's anything at all wrong with what he's doing. I also have no issue with his collecting philosophy; everyone likes watches for different reasons, all of which are valid. The issue I have is with AP choosing him and promoting him as an ambassador and representative of the brand. Rolex has done a phenomenal job choosing ambassadors -- you have Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, the two greatest golfers of all time, Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all time, Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, two of the best directors ever, Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, two amazing racing drivers, Ed Viesturs, the greatest American mountaineer ever, Sylvia Earl, a pioneering female explorer and advocate for the oceans, and the list goes on. All of these people have done phenomenal things in their fields and are aspirational, in a way -- you probably can't be like them, but damn, if you wouldn't like to be. In contrast, AP's choice of someone who's only notable at all for his instagram account and rather uninspired collection as a representative for the brand is honestly a little embarrassing and taints my image of the brand as a whole.

Salty rant over, and I'm sure the watch was already sold out before the public knew about it and the VVIPs will be thrilled and it'll be declared a great success and all (ok, maybe it wasn't quite over :)), but I wanted to voice my opinion. AP recently has continually disappointed me, both because practically all of their releases over the past two years have been impossible to get and because I've had a hard time getting anyone from AP to work with me, and it went from my favorite brand to one that I'm considering just moving on from out of spite. It seems that their strategy is working well at the moment and I know they couldn't care less right now about my resentment towards it. However, though I could be mistaken, I have a hard time believing that catering to the same ultra-exclusive group of customers over and over while making it exceedingly difficult for new customers to break in (as well as essentially icing many existing customers that aren't at the VVIP level) a strategy that will hold up in the long -- or even medium -- run, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Extraordinarily well stated. I couldn't agree more, except I do try and not judge Mr. Chu. Being honest, if I were in his position, I'd be doing the exact same thing and ultimately I just say that's capitalism and he understands how the hype machine works probably as good as anybody. Ultimately, yeah, I'm jealous...

Anyway, I have really come to respect the brand and admire their watches, and I don't see that changing unless they just radically go off in some other direction. I hope I am able to enjoy some of their beautiful watches via ownership and not vicariously through an IG feed. But, my patience will wear thin, along with the vast majority of others. I feel they're playing a very dangerous game right now, but they aren't knocking on my door asking for advice. Only they know how much further they want this to go, and whether VVIPs and above can support the company they want to be.

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by Collector2019

This is a great post, you have changed the way I looked at it. Very interesting

+1

Also take into account that AP never called it a collaboration or even mentioned his name officially that I saw. All the associations to Chu were from his PR and interviews, which he did a TON of. I was actually shocked when I read a few of them that he was even allowed to claim the edition was "his". AP seems to spin it as a "Chinese" edition and have yet to see them mention his name at all. I'm sure AP collabs with a wide variety of faces and many of them we never hear about. I'm just still a bit surprised Chu was permitted to promote the watch as "His" edition even with the family clout. Seems like a great guy as mentioned but far from "ambassador' calibur. Definitely a strange turn of events for sure.

[PPFANBOY]

1: The watch is decent, it's essentially a colour variant. Look at all the ROOs we have. Nothing new for AP.

2: AP know their target market, nothing wrong with releasing region specific pieces, again, something they have done in the past.

3: Horoloupe doesn't seem like an ambassador to me. He doesn't have a huge following and isn't famous in the general sense of the word. This is simply a collaboration aimed at the Chinese market. For that purpose, it will do well. The guy has nice watches, I don't really care about his age, what he does, how he can afford them etc. These questions mostly come from a place of jealousy and are therefore largely irrelevant.

[Ichiran]

This is a brilliant release! Titanium, red accents on a PC, and red strap!

What a watch!

"Hi ni hao, hao jiu bu jian? Shanghai tian qi leng ma? ke yi bang wo mai yi zhi AP shou biao ma?"
~ "Hi how are you? Is it cold in Shanghai? Please could you help me buy an AP?!!"

[GS93108]

Originally Posted by Gravity

+1

Also take into account that AP never called it a collaboration or even mentioned his name officially that I saw. All the associations to Chu were from his PR and interviews, which he did a TON of. I was actually shocked when I read a few of them that he was even allowed to claim the edition was "his". AP seems to spin it as a "Chinese" edition and have yet to see them mention his name at all. I'm sure AP collabs with a wide variety of faces and many of them we never hear about. I'm just still a bit surprised Chu was permitted to promote the watch as "His" edition even with the family clout. Seems like a great guy as mentioned but far from "ambassador' calibur. Definitely a strange turn of events for sure.

I haven't read anything 'official' from AP announcing any endorsement/ambassador relationship, so I doubt it's anything of that status. Equally I haven't seen any of the interviews that you refer to. I thought this was just a launch for a regional watch that had Horoloupe had collaborated on. Is he the next 'Extraordinary Relationship' ambassador (AP parlance), I doubt it, but maybe he and this are an indication of something completely new that AP are trying, it will be interesting to see.

I like the watch but personally wouldn't buy it even if I were offered one, as it doesn't fit my wants/needs/desires but I still like it.

Maybe we are in for an interesting 2020.

[conkers]

It makes me wonder whether if I announced a collaboration with them for a watch to be put on sale would people react the same way??!!

[m3jasper]

Originally Posted by Gravity

+1

Also take into account that AP never called it a collaboration or even mentioned his name officially that I saw. All the associations to Chu were from his PR and interviews, which he did a TON of. I was actually shocked when I read a few of them that he was even allowed to claim the edition was "his". AP seems to spin it as a "Chinese" edition and have yet to see them mention his name at all. I'm sure AP collabs with a wide variety of faces and many of them we never hear about. I'm just still a bit surprised Chu was permitted to promote the watch as "His" edition even with the family clout. Seems like a great guy as mentioned but far from "ambassador' calibur. Definitely a strange turn of events for sure.

I would consider it to be official when AP posts it on their IG account.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by conkers

It makes me wonder whether if I announced a collaboration with them for a watch to be put on sale would people react the same way??!!

Probably not, Roger. You’ve earned your 'stripes' over time, via different brands, and not just the “on-trend” models.
That experience is what’s missing in the young chap mentioned above and, rather than jealousy or envy, it’s that aspect which others are remarking upon.

[AshAP]

Originally Posted by conkers

It makes me wonder whether if I announced a collaboration with them for a watch to be put on sale would people react the same way??!!

As has been suggested earlier maybe jealousy is behind a few negative comments previously in this thread.

IMO a limited edition collaboration by someone who has such a long well documented association with AP would be difficult to criticise however it’s virtually guaranteed that some will do as that is sadly the nature of social media.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bearxj86]

I like it!

[conkers]

Originally Posted by PJ S

Probably not, Roger. You’ve earned your 'stripes' over time, via different brands, and not just the “on-trend” models.
That experience is what’s missing in the young chap mentioned above and, rather than jealousy or envy, it’s that aspect which others are remarking upon.

Originally Posted by AshAP

As has been suggested earlier maybe jealousy is behind a few negative comments previously in this thread.

IMO a limited edition collaboration by someone who has such a long well documented association with AP would be difficult to criticise however it’s virtually guaranteed that some will do as that is sadly the nature of social media.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

👍👍🙏🙏 I will have a word with FHB and see what can be done!

[maciej]

Originally Posted by conkers

👍👍🙏🙏 I will have a word with FHB and see what can be done!

I vaguely recall a conversation the last time I was in Le Brassus with a friend that they will do small batches of custom limited editions as long as you have a minimum quantity. I think the conversation popped up because there was a one of one piece that we had seen and were curious about the dynamics of it.

None the less, I see no reason to criticize the release considering it is an awesome piece and it continues to add diversity in terms of color and material to the line. It's not like this is exactly diluting the brand.

[AshAP]

Originally Posted by conkers

I will have a word with FHB and see what can be done!

Will this cause a spike in platinum value?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by maciej

I vaguely recall a conversation the last time I was in Le Brassus with a friend that they will do small batches of custom limited editions as long as you have a minimum quantity. I think the conversation popped up because there was a one of one piece that we had seen and were curious about the dynamics of it.

None the less, I see no reason to criticize the release considering it is an awesome piece and it continues to add diversity in terms of color and material to the line. It's not like this is exactly diluting the brand.

That would actually be pretty interesting. To be able to order a custom batch for your buddies and TRF'ers to one design. Might be cheaper than all gray premiums lined up. Then all said people can agree to never see each other again so they never have to see the watch on someone else's wrists! Wonder how many pieces it would cost to design your own AP.

[PJ S]

^
The problem would be that it can’t be referenced as a TRF LE, due to what the R stands for!
It would have to be done through the PuristS forum, which has a track record with both Chopard and Montblanc (if not one or two others I’m forgetting about).

[AshAP]

^ I remember the Purists forum doing this with an AP Jumbo special edition about 7/8 years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[roxobox]

Originally Posted by m3jasper

I would consider it to be official when AP posts it on their IG account.

This just seems like an excuse for him to tag all his friends on Instagram.

The thing is, everyone loves the watch, nobody could care less about this rich kid attached to it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am almost certain they would have sold all 88 pieces without any attachment to an IG influencer in China in the first month without issue. Probably with just a simple press release.

[T3F]

I think that I came in a little too hot yesterday, and though I stand by everything I said, I do regret delving into any personal details of Austen. I only did so to illustrate why I thought AP's choice of him as an ambassador (I'm using this term loosely -- both AP itself and all articles on this mentioned him as collaborating on this, so he is a "de facto" ambassador if not an "official" one with that title like the golfers, for instance, are), but I reread my post and it definitely came off as salty towards him and as a bit of a personal attack when that wasn't my intent. He genuinely seems nice, I would do the exact same thing if AP chose me to collaborate on a U.S. edition (though that would be a horrible choice on their part), and I have absolutely no issue with him at all. My issue is entirely with AP here.

I do think that there's sort of two groups of people that participate in the AP forum here: the "old guard" that has a great relationship with AP and is treated wonderfully, and relative newcomers like me that really like AP's watches but have had a tough experience breaking into the brand and are becoming frustrated. Overall, this release really isn't a big deal at all -- AP released a new version of a watch and worked with one of its clients on the design. This watch alone will hardly affect anything. I think a lot of you that fall into the "old guard" category have this view, which is absolutely fair. Additionally, from everything I've heard, it sounds like AP does an absolutely phenomenal job of taking care of VIPs, and because of this, it's probably hard for those of you that have such a great experience with the brand to understand or believe that if you're outside of "the circle," you're basically ignored, and it's not as simple as being nice or buying watches to break into it. For the record, I have nothing against you guys and I'm not attacking you at all -- I hope that I can get my relationship sorted out with AP and join "the circle", and I probably will, even if it takes a few years.

For those of us that are frustrated with AP and are essentially not valued at all as customers, this was a frustrating release, as it's yet another watch that we have absolutely no chance of getting, and it seems like AP's taunting us. I've spent a solid chunk of change with them and can't even get them to return my calls for a steel or rose gold PC, which have been out for years and sell for under retail on the secondary market, let alone any of these new releases that are ultra-limited. It's annoying to me, and probably many others, that they chose to focus resources on developing this watch, which included the creation new tooling (the HODINKEE article said they would've had to in order to create this in full titanium), instead of simply expanding capacity on existing models and giving those of us that have been waiting forever an opportunity to buy something. They probably could've made 200 or so steel or gold PCs for the same effort that it took to manufacture 88 of these, and that likely would've ensured that everyone who currently wants one and has the money would get one. This frustration undoubtedly bled into my assessment of the watch and the collaboration, and again, while I do stand by everything I said, I know that I wouldn't have made such a big deal about it if I wasn't already annoyed with AP.

My point here is that the "truth" about this watch probably lies somewhere in between the two sides. I, and others on my side, overreacted in coming out with extreme vitriol. That being said, I still don't think this release was the greatest look for AP, and I hope that someone from AP is reading this post (I know you guys look at the forums) and at least sees and understands why some of us think that.

[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by AshAP

^ I remember the Purists forum doing this with an AP Jumbo special edition about 7/8 years ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Really? That's interesting. Do you know how many they had to order?

[maciej]

Originally Posted by macrowatch

Really? That's interesting. Do you know how many they had to order?

It's not as easy as that to have a minimum quantity, there needs to be a strong relationship with the brand and justification for it.

[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by T3F

I think that I came in a little too hot yesterday, and though I stand by everything I said, I do regret delving into any personal details of Austen. I only did so to illustrate why I thought AP's choice of him as an ambassador (I'm using this term loosely -- both AP itself and all articles on this mentioned him as collaborating on this, so he is a "de facto" ambassador if not an "official" one with that title like the golfers, for instance, are), but I reread my post and it definitely came off as salty towards him and as a bit of a personal attack when that wasn't my intent. He genuinely seems nice, I would do the exact same thing if AP chose me to collaborate on a U.S. edition (though that would be a horrible choice on their part), and I have absolutely no issue with him at all. My issue is entirely with AP here.

I do think that there's sort of two groups of people that participate in the AP forum here: the "old guard" that has a great relationship with AP and is treated wonderfully, and relative newcomers like me that really like AP's watches but have had a tough experience breaking into the brand and are becoming frustrated. Overall, this release really isn't a big deal at all -- AP released a new version of a watch and worked with one of its clients on the design. This watch alone will hardly affect anything. I think a lot of you that fall into the "old guard" category have this view, which is absolutely fair. Additionally, from everything I've heard, it sounds like AP does an absolutely phenomenal job of taking care of VIPs, and because of this, it's probably hard for those of you that have such a great experience with the brand to understand or believe that if you're outside of "the circle," you're basically ignored, and it's not as simple as being nice or buying watches to break into it. For the record, I have nothing against you guys and I'm not attacking you at all -- I hope that I can get my relationship sorted out with AP and join "the circle", and I probably will, even if it takes a few years.

For those of us that are frustrated with AP and are essentially not valued at all as customers, this was a frustrating release, as it's yet another watch that we have absolutely no chance of getting, and it seems like AP's taunting us. I've spent a solid chunk of change with them and can't even get them to return my calls for a steel or rose gold PC, which have been out for years and sell for under retail on the secondary market, let alone any of these new releases that are ultra-limited. It's annoying to me, and probably many others, that they chose to focus resources on developing this watch, which included the creation new tooling (the HODINKEE article said they would've had to in order to create this in full titanium), instead of simply expanding capacity on existing models and giving those of us that have been waiting forever an opportunity to buy something. They probably could've made 200 or so steel or gold PCs for the same effort that it took to manufacture 88 of these, and that likely would've ensured that everyone who currently wants one and has the money would get one. This frustration undoubtedly bled into my assessment of the watch and the collaboration, and again, while I do stand by everything I said, I know that I wouldn't have made such a big deal about it if I wasn't already annoyed with AP.

My point here is that the "truth" about this watch probably lies somewhere in between the two sides. I, and others on my side, overreacted in coming out with extreme vitriol. That being said, I still don't think this release was the greatest look for AP, and I hope that someone from AP is reading this post (I know you guys look at the forums) and at least sees and understands why some of us think that.

I think almost everything you've said has been on point. I do however, think Hodinkee's news release highlights a point of divergence, which is the full case of titanium is a big deal and maybe hints at more to come as we can see with the CE cases being expanded and entering the mainstay line now that they have the machinery tooled. I would totally by a RO in full titanium. Then all the 'how does the bezel' hold up threads go away because you go, doesn't matter, it's titanium. Throw in then ultra then movement and rose gold accented hands...one can dream right?

[AshAP]

Originally Posted by macrowatch

Really? That's interesting. Do you know how many they had to order?

I just searched for it, I was thinking that it was 40 or 50-unbelievably it was only 10!! See below


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GS93108]

Originally Posted by T3F

I think that I came in a little too hot yesterday, and though I stand by everything I said, I do regret delving into any personal details of Austen. I only did so to illustrate why I thought AP's choice of him as an ambassador (I'm using this term loosely -- both AP itself and all articles on this mentioned him as collaborating on this, so he is a "de facto" ambassador if not an "official" one with that title like the golfers, for instance, are), but I reread my post and it definitely came off as salty towards him and as a bit of a personal attack when that wasn't my intent. He genuinely seems nice, I would do the exact same thing if AP chose me to collaborate on a U.S. edition (though that would be a horrible choice on their part), and I have absolutely no issue with him at all. My issue is entirely with AP here.

I do think that there's sort of two groups of people that participate in the AP forum here: the "old guard" that has a great relationship with AP and is treated wonderfully, and relative newcomers like me that really like AP's watches but have had a tough experience breaking into the brand and are becoming frustrated. Overall, this release really isn't a big deal at all -- AP released a new version of a watch and worked with one of its clients on the design. This watch alone will hardly affect anything. I think a lot of you that fall into the "old guard" category have this view, which is absolutely fair. Additionally, from everything I've heard, it sounds like AP does an absolutely phenomenal job of taking care of VIPs, and because of this, it's probably hard for those of you that have such a great experience with the brand to understand or believe that if you're outside of "the circle," you're basically ignored, and it's not as simple as being nice or buying watches to break into it. For the record, I have nothing against you guys and I'm not attacking you at all -- I hope that I can get my relationship sorted out with AP and join "the circle", and I probably will, even if it takes a few years.

For those of us that are frustrated with AP and are essentially not valued at all as customers, this was a frustrating release, as it's yet another watch that we have absolutely no chance of getting, and it seems like AP's taunting us. I've spent a solid chunk of change with them and can't even get them to return my calls for a steel or rose gold PC, which have been out for years and sell for under retail on the secondary market, let alone any of these new releases that are ultra-limited. It's annoying to me, and probably many others, that they chose to focus resources on developing this watch, which included the creation new tooling (the HODINKEE article said they would've had to in order to create this in full titanium), instead of simply expanding capacity on existing models and giving those of us that have been waiting forever an opportunity to buy something. They probably could've made 200 or so steel or gold PCs for the same effort that it took to manufacture 88 of these, and that likely would've ensured that everyone who currently wants one and has the money would get one. This frustration undoubtedly bled into my assessment of the watch and the collaboration, and again, while I do stand by everything I said, I know that I wouldn't have made such a big deal about it if I wasn't already annoyed with AP.

My point here is that the "truth" about this watch probably lies somewhere in between the two sides. I, and others on my side, overreacted in coming out with extreme vitriol. That being said, I still don't think this release was the greatest look for AP, and I hope that someone from AP is reading this post (I know you guys look at the forums) and at least sees and understands why some of us think that.

Your first post may have been a tad harsh, but not to the point of petulance. If we now take both your first and second posts as one, then I think you are bang on and I applaud you for the qualification you just made.

I think there are definitely two groups, those 'in' and those 'not in' favour with AP. The 'in' aren't necessarily big spenders, but they have a relationship. The 'not in' may be big spenders but haven't built the relationship. It all comes down to the basic issue of how to build a relationship with AP, of which there are many different ways to attempt to skin that cat.

For some of you your location is an automatic negative, too many of you to too few AD's/Boutiques, and so creating a point of difference and being on AP's radar and call back list is the challenge.

To those of us in less densely populated areas with more AD's/Boutiques then I don't see anything more powerful than 'pressing the flesh' with AP. If they KNOW you and they TRUST you then you won't be overlooked, but you have to achieve BOTH.

Nice post. Thanks.