Saturday, 24 January 2015

Patek 3700 vs AP Royal Oak 15202 ... Patek Philippe Audemars Piguet Battle of the Jumbos! [The Sequel]

My first headsup between the AP and PP Jumbo, just a couple of posts down actually, is here LINK and from there I had posted a pic on instagram LINK and it was shared on my facebook too and Gerald, the boss at GR Luxury, was kind enough to offer letting me put the 3700 against the AP as i had mentioned that it might win in a head to head and so we come to a... 3 way high end steel sports watch GANG BANG! ;)


From left to right then: Vintage PP 3700, AP 15202, PP 5711 and a nod once again to 
Gerald Genta who is the designer responsible for both the Nautilus and Royal Oak
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 before we do a blow by blow... let's have a better look at the beautiful 3700... 
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some wonderful lines and nice brushed and polished finishes and bevelled finishes
on the case and bezel
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solid case! monocoque baby so lesser places for water to get in...
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Showdown time! Patek 3700 vs AP 15202... who is the king? 
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Timetapestry's Assessment [AP RO vs PP Nautilus 3700]: 
  • State of zen like calm: Both do not have the seconds hand needed and are better for it.
  • Case and bracelet: Both are wonderful! the different finishes and the design coming together perfectly.
  • Lume: Tritium has aged nicely on this Nautilus piece but there may be degradation in future with vintage tritium indices and a potential for it to flake off. This is true of all tritium applied lume. The newer lume used on the AP should be a type of superluminova and should maintain for a long time and i believe should not patina with age.
  • Price: This comes into the equation. As stated the RO is lows 20s in Sing Dollars and the for the Patek you are looking at high 40s or low 50s. basically costs double the AP and in this reviewer's eyes it's not twice the watch the AP is :) 
  • Aesthetics: Patek 3700 with it's distinct horizontal lines. these original dials did not have gradient dials as the 5711(darker on the ends of the dial and brighter in the middle) Nice old school font on the Patek. I prefer the AP dial with the date wheel the same color as the dial color. 
  • Movement: they essentially have the same base movement with just different ways of doing it up and making it their own.
  • What I said in my earlier vs battle holds true for the patek 3700 too of course. it will last and last well for a long long time to come.
  • And the winner? 15202 for me(please note no right or wrong but for me I just love the Royal Oak more!)
How about old vs new? The Patek Phillippe Nautilus 3700 vs 5711? Game On!

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Timetapestry's Assessment [PP 3700/1A vs PP 5711/1A] looking at the differences: 
  • State of zen like calm: 3700 without the seconds hand wins. Patek just has to drop the seconds hand in the next anniversary piece
  • Dial? both are good for different reasons. The older one has a more old school and very matte-ish look and looks the same which way you turn it. the new one is uhm... newer and shinier somewhat and looks different at different angles. it is a gradient dial as noted earlier vs non-gradient on the 3700
  • Print: Old school vs new style fonts. the positioning of the text on the dial is lower in the 3700 and is better for it. 
  • Lume: Tritium point as noted above is the same 
  • Indices & hands: Slim vs fatter... I prefer slim
  • Case: case has been upsized a little in the 5711. 42 to 43mm thereabouts and slightly thicker with the clear back 3 part construction. both are still sleek refined steel watches though and sit very flat on the wrist.
  • Price: 5711 is low 30s in SGD and 3700 is in the 40s or low 50s
  • And no winner here for me personally... i want a modern Nautilus with more of the 3700 cues (and a positive from the 15202) mashed up together perhaps :) wants:  [1] slimmer indices & hands [2] lower positioning of the text on the dial [3] date wheel same color as the dial similar to the 15202 [4] keep the gradient dial of the 5711 and the current case is fine. I like seeing the movement :) [5] No seconds hand for me
Monocoque Case and single deployant clasp and a fliplock on the clasp
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vs Sapphire case back and double deployant with flip lock too
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both are gorgeous in their own ways...
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and after it all i am left wondering... how do i afford me one of these? :) anyways if u be keen to pick this piece up it is for sale at gr luxury. let them know you saw it through this blog and get a slightly better price on it ;) cheers, raph 

“You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” 
Patek's wonderful ad slogan... I'd be happy looking after this one for sure :)
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful watches!
My personal favorite is AP!
Gerald Genta = The Godfather

Anonymous said...

Awesome comparison, Raph.

Just curious, are you saying that the movements in AP15202 and PP 3700 are the same?

raphael too said...

Thanks all.

2nd anonymous. yes the patek 3700 and the ap 15202 have the same base movement, the Jaeger LeCoultre 920. AP has called it the caliber AP2121 and in the 3700 it's the 28-255C. AP has bought the rights to manufacture and supply the movement.
If the watch was made in the later part of the 80s onwards then it may contain the 335SC, a Patek in-house movement.

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