In the nineties and the noughties the Royal Oak Offshore was the biggest, baddest luxury watch on the market, continuing to grow in size as the years progressed. But in the following decade tastes had begun to change slightly and downsizing began to occur. While the 44mm ROO was still a staple of the range, a new kid was about to scoot his way onto the block… That kid was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver. 

 This time and date only piece was released in a very sensible, wearable 42mm case with a thickness of 13.8mm’s, making it both smaller in diameter and thinner than the other models in the range. It certainly sang to me, and I’ve wanted to try one ever since they were released.

The version I ended up having some quality time with was the ROO Diver white dial with blue accent variant released in 2017. Featuring a white dial with blue accents on the dial, internal bezel and both crowns, it’s my favourite version released so far, next to the Forged Carbon.

So what’s it like on the wrist? Mega! The case dimensions are fantastic, the mega tapisserie dial beguiling, and the overall fit and finish is of the level you’d expect of AP. On the white strap it’s pretty hard to find a cooler Summer watch than this one.

Downsides? I’d like it with a ceramic bezel as the steel bezel is known to scratch extremely easily.

If there was ever a watch designed for desk diving in absolute style, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver would be the one. Though it absolutely has the credentials to be a proper dive watch, I’m not so sure a lot of people would actually use it as such. I’m no diver, but know that the internal bezel is probably not the most practical choice.

So to sum it up the ROO Diver is a mega Summer watch, with all the finishing and pedigree you expect from AP, while being a little different to the sea of RO’s getting around these days. I can definitely dig.