whit
558
I read your post and the multitude of responses,
Apr 30, 2012,15:43 PM
all of which have merit for both watches.
I don't know how many on the forum are old enough to have had the experience of the evolution of either of these watches but I was lucky to have been around and still here, thank God, to see the success of both with a historical timeline.
I have never owned a Royal Oak, being a Patek dealer prevented that, but I was far more attracted to the RO than the Nautilus by a long shot. The recent (past 10 years or so) popularity of the Nautilus is amazing to me because for the previous 20 years, it was a very difficult watch to sell. And now, everyone wants a Nautilus. I certainly agree with the person who said that if the Nautilus was not a Patek, wonder if the desire would be different. And, I believe a lot of the Nautilus' sold were as a result of them being Patek Philippe's, which was really their only steel watch that met with a relative margin of success until very recently.
I remember when AP advertised their perpetual calender at a time when Patek was producing the 3450. The appearance of the AP was dramatically preferable to the 3450 (to me anyway) and when the 3940 was launched in 1985, it was much slimmer and had a remarkably similar appearance to AP's perpetual. I ordered a 3450 for myself (list price at the time was $15,500 which is for time reference only) and sold it when the 3940 appeared because of its looks. Looking back, a dumb move but I preferred the 3940 without question.
I mention the experience with the 3940 because it was at a time when the watches had to perform on their own merits without the benefit of all of the press from auction results creating this incredible demand we have witnesses over the past 25 years. I believe AP was the pioneer with many watches, the RO, the perpetual, the tourbillon, and I'm sure many more when Patek was not and AP's efforts had a significant influence on the other brands.
The RO has always struck me to be a "gutsy" appearing watch which always caught my attention when I saw someone wearing it. And has been offered for quite some time from simple to incredibly complex pieces, far ahead of the curve compared to other brands. including Patek.
I would not feel like I was taking a step back by getting the RO in the least. It is a watch which set in motion much of what we see in the market today. Now that I do not feel married to Patek, I have acquired many different brands and am having the time of my life. The quality of watches being produced today are incredible and the distinction of quality is becoming less of an issue with respect to performance.
Does wearing the RO speak any less than a Patek or wearing a Patek speak less than a Dufour? Big difference in money and maybe brand recognition by others, but aren't we just splitting hairs or are we showing off?
If it's a prestige issue, Patek vs. AP, then I would think most would say Patek has an edge but AP has the drive and daring (the guts) to do things which would cause others to hesitate. And that I admire.
Regardless, it's your watch and only has to do one thing ..... please you. If it's a Patek, like others have mentioned, don't compromise or rationalize yourself into buying something that you really don't want .
Best of luck with your decision. Most of us have probably experienced the same thing, I know I have.