Looking Back at the Limited Edition Royal Oak Offshores

Coming up on the 20th anniversary of the release of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet decided that it was a great time to introduce a new version of the watch. Released in 1972, the Royal Oak was penned by legendary watch designer Gerald Genta. The Royal Oak was an integrated sports watch crafted out of stainless steel with nautical inspiration and an eight sided bezel reminiscent of a porthole.

For the new Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet chairman Stephen Urquhart called upon designer Emmanuel Gueit to be in charge of the design. The hope was to create a more modern and rugged take on the classic dressier Royal Oak. In 1992, the 20 year anniversary deadline was missed, but in 1993 Audemars Piguet released their Royal Oak Offshore.



The DNA of the Royal Oak was immediately evident in the new Royal Oak Offshore, including the integrated bracelet and eight sided bezel with visible screws. The design however was turned up to eleven. The case was now enlarged to 42 mm in diameter and 16 mm in thickness. The Offshore also went all in with the inclusion of rubber in the design. The crown, pushers and exposed bezel gasket where all crated in rubber and were a defining design element.

While the Royal Oak Offshore was a new take on the classic Royal Oak design, many including Gerald Genta and some inside of Audemars Piguet were not fans of the watch. Personally I love the Royal Oak Offshore, and along with the Big Pilot Series from IWC, are my two favorite watch series. In my opinion the Offshore really didn’t come into its own until Audemars Piguet started to make limited edition Offshores for their ambassadors and sponsorships.

People have called the Royal Oak the best blank canvas ever for watch design. I really don’t believe this mainly due to the fact that Audemars Piguet really hasn’t taken many chances with the Royal Oak design. Basically all they’ve done is changed dial colors, case materials and added some complications. The one real watch that stands out in the Royal Oak line that was a fresh and bold take was the City of Sails limited edition. The Royal Oak City of Sails was released in the early 2000s and in a common trend to come three metals were avaiable; stainless steel, rose gold and platinum. With the City of Sails, Audemars Piguet had some fun with the dial and added the Alinghi racing logo to the subdial at 9 o’clock. The watches also came on a rubber strap, which was very rare for Royal Oaks of that time. Besides the City of Sails, the Royal Oak line really wouldn’t see many more fun variants, this was where the Offshores stepped in.



You can’t really talk about limited edition Royal Oak Offshores and not bring up the End of Days. The End of Days was release in 1999 to coincide with the release of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie of the same name. Arnold wears this Offshore in the movie and would go on to be the biggest ambassador with the most watches made for him by Audemars Piguet. The 42 mm Offshore was crafted in stainless steel with a black PVD coating and came on a black fabric strap. The dial featured yellow numerals and hour and minute hands, giving the all black watch a great pop. This design language was continued on with future models like the bumblebee. This watch was such a hit for Audemars Piguet, that at one point it was commanding over six times its retail price on the grey market. In 2023 Audemars Piguet also acknowledged the success of the End of Days by releasing a new version of the watch in current Offshore guise.



Next up we have my favorite Royal Oak Offshore, and a model I own personally. In 2004 Audemars Piguet partnered up with Columbian F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya to release the Royal Oak Offshore Juan Pablo Montoya. This watch once again was released in three metals, titanium, rose gold and platinum. The watch was also co-designed by soon to be industry rock star Richard Mille. The case shape used on the Montoya would also be the shape used on the next generation of Offshores. The case featured raised pusher guards and rectangular pushers, instead of the small round pushers that were currently being used. The Montoya featured a carbon fiber bezel, racing flag dial motif and even used the material found on racers suits for the strap. Throughout the design, car elements were used such as vents, wheel nuts and even a brake rotor. The design of this watch was just so far ahead of its time.



You can’t talk about the Montoya and not bring up the Royal Oak Offshore Barrichello II as well. Audemars Piguet did three watches with the Brazilian F1 champ and the Barrichello II was by far our favorite. The Barrichello II was released in 2006 in the same titanium, rose gold and platinum versions as the Montoya. You can tell the Montoya and Barrichello II are cousins by the similar case shape and metals. The Barrichello II swapped out the carbon fiber bezel for one in ceramic. It also did not use the flag motif of the Montoya, instead going for a partially skeletonized dial, which was a bit ahead of its time.



Now this Offshore might not be one of the most popular or talked about limited Offshores, but with how big of a player Jay-Z is in today’s watch industry, it should be brought up. In 2006, Audemars Piguet released a set of three metal watches to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jay-Z in the music industry. The watch was released in stainless steel, rose gold and platinum. The quickest way to tell the Jay-Z limited edition from other Offshores is the diamond 10 o’clock marker. The 10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of Jay-Z’s career. The watch also came with a special Apple IPOD which was pre-loaded with Jay-Z’s music catalog.



We now go back to the world of limited edition Offshores to do with Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time we’re going big and talking about the Royal Oak Offshore T3 released in 2003. The T3 was released in tandem with the third Terminator movie, and was worn in the film by Arnold. The watch is a massive 48 mm not including the oversized pusher and crown guards. Although the watch was massive, it was crafted in titanium, making it a bit on the lighter side to wear. Unlike other Offshores, the T3 also had a strap design that didn’t flare out, so the strap wore straight down, making the 48 mm case more manageable. The T3 certainly looked like a watch the Terminator would wear.



The limited edition Offshores were a true test bed for Audemars Piguet and one of the things AP tested was the use of different materials. One of the materials Audemars Piguet tested in the limited edition Offshore line was forged carbon. The use of forged carbon first appeared in 2007 in the Royal Oak Offshore Team Alinghi line. These watches were released in rose gold and platinum with a forged carbon bezel and in a full forged carbon case. While extremely innovative, the forged carbon just didn’t hold up well to frequent wearing. The watch featured the Alinghi logo on the dial like the City of Sails, but this time at 3 o’clock. The Team Alinghi also featured a flyback chronograph and regatta timer.



In 2008, Audemars Piguet released their most out there limited edition Royal Oak Offshore in the Survivor. Although technically a 42 mm Offshore, the Survivor featured some of the largest pusher protectors seen on a watch, making the case size just enormous. The case was crafted in titanium with a black PVD coating and also used ceramic pieces and came on a thick black rubber strap. From the cutouts in the case to the skeleton hands, the Survivor just looks like a pure survival tool. It also showcased how AP could let their hair down and do something fun with watch design.



2012 saw the final limited edition Royal Oak Offshore done in cooperation with an F1 driver, with the Royal Oak Offshore Michael Schumacher. The seven time F1 champion had a lot of input in the design of this limited release, again coming in titanium, rose gold and platinum. Like the Montoya and Barrichello before, the Schumacher used high tech material such as titanium and ceramic and had many design elements that tied into auto racing. The Schumacher was the culmination of all of APs previous racing inspired Offshores.



In 2011 Audemars Piguet released the last Royal Oak Offshore honoring long time brand ambassador Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the Royal Oak Offshore Arnold the Legacy. This once again huge 48 mm Offshore was crafted fully in black ceramic with a rose gold crown, pushers, hands and hour markers. The large and imposing strap was even crafted out of bulletproof Kevlar. Like the T3 in titanium, the use of ceramic in the Legacy made the watch somewhat light on the wrist. The dramatic Legacy is a stunning watch and a true send off to the limited edition Offshores created for Arnold.



The final limited edition Royal Oak Offshore that we’ll talk about is the Royal Oak Offshore Music Edition. The release of limited edition Royal Oak Offshores had almost come to a complete halt until Audemars Piguet released the Music Edition and “End of Days” tribute recently. While the “End of Days” was more of a tribute watch made out of modern materials and design language, the Music Edition is a whole new design. This limited edition Offshore comes in various sizes and case materials, including ceramic. The real standout of the Music Edition is the colorful dial meant to mimic a VU meter and crown guards that evoke a mixer’s faders. There is even a model with gem set VU meter colors. If anything, the Music Edition shows what Audemars Piguet can do when they want to have some fun with a limited edition watch.



We would like to believe that with the recent release of two limited edition Royal Oak Offshores, that Audemars Piguet is on a trajectory to release limited Offshores much more frequently. Also with the release of the “End of Days” tribute, maybe AP will re-release more tribute limited editions, maybe even a tribute to the Montoya. We just love the limited edition Offshores, and it would be a shame if AP stopped having fun with them and just released different dial colors in the Offshore like they do with the Royal Oak.