AP Royal Oak Offshore, The Easter Egg Finale: A special beast that only the truly skilled can uncover
After the first The Beast models became rare, challenging serious collectors to track them down, we discovered that some of these "beasts" feature unique variations. This sparked a frantic hunt for these special iterations. If you currently own a "The Beast," take a close look at it—it just might be a legendary Easter egg.
The D Series marks the origin of "The Beast," with a total production of 1,300 pieces between 1993 and 1998, divided into batches of 200, 100, 200, 300, 200, 100, and 200. This information helps visualize how to track each unique feature, starting with the first 100 watches that were engraved only with "Royal Oak" on the case back, lacking the "Offshore" designation. If you are hunting for "The Beast" and find one of these, you've hit the jackpot (but do check the reference number and other details carefully; the REF. for this model is 25721ST).
After the first 200 units, the D Series quietly switched movements from the CAL.2126/2840 to the CAL.2226/2840, which is another Easter egg discovered by collectors.
The next Easter egg, found in the D-E-F series, relates to the Tapisserie dial pattern. In the first 1,000 pieces, the square grid appears thicker and denser. Another quirk is the fading of the blue dial color that reveals the brass plate beneath, or in the case of the E Series, the blue fades to a point that fans refer to as "Tropical."
The bracelet also features distinct differences to hunt for: the original folding clasp was replaced with an open-worked buckle, and the special links were updated from having two locking screws on each side (total of four) to just one on each side (total of two). These two variations cannot be precisely attributed to a specific production number, but they are definitely key differences between the D and E Series.
The special link locking screws: the initial version with two screws per side (total of 4) (A) and the revised version with one screw per side (total of 2) (B).
Lastly, the watch box provided was changed from the D Series' leather box with a window to see the watch inside to a smaller box with a solid leather lid.
All these special details were published by the magazine "Watch Collecting Lifestyle," providing a roadmap for "The Beast" hunters to dive deeper and making this beast even more coveted. This is just a glimpse of the chaos caused by this time-disrupting beast. In the next part, we will reveal the journey of how "The Beast" revolutionized the watch world, leading to the wide variety of materials we have to choose from today.
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Reference information provided by
https://www.phillips.com
https://www.fratellowatches.com
https://watchbase.com/audemars-piguet
https://www.watchcollectinglifestyle.com
