I wanted to finally give my overall review of the Audemars Piguet AP 15400 Royal Oak, the V2 version from the TF factory.
I have been wearing this watch for a long time now, like 3-4 months since I initially made the video and now it is more like 9 months so I have a pretty good idea of this watch and the quirks of the watch.
This was my first replica watch purchase after delving and beginning to research replica watches and figuring things out. I documented my whole experience of getting the watch by doing an unboxing video and testing the power reserve of this watch to see how it compares with the original.
So let’s get right into it:
Movement
First thing’s first, let’s talk about the movement. The movement for this watch is the Miyota 9015 which is a solid movement that has a good smooth sweeping motion, is reputable, and on par with the ETA 2824-2.
The movement has a vph (vibrations per hour) of 28,800 which is pretty solid when talking about automatic watches. So the higher the vph, the more smooth the sweeping motion, however, the higher the number, the more complicated it is and the faster it will break down so there is a tradeoff between the higher numbers and 28,800 is a good middle ground.
Comparing this with the original AP 15400 Royal Oak, which has a vph of 21,600, that means this replica theoretically has a smoother sweeping motion than the actual AP. The difference between the two movements isn’t too substantial so around 99.9% of the people would not be able to tell the difference between the two vphs’.
Movement is a solid Miyota 9015 with a vph of 28,800 resulting in a smooth sweeping motion
Looks
Now let’s talk about a second really important factor: the looks and how it compares with the original.
In terms of the looks from afar, the watch seems to be on par with the original. It looks very close to the original design, the octagonal screws all seem to be looking nice, and best of all, the iconic AP bracelet makes its presence gleaming that shine ever so brightly.
The best part of this watch is definitely the bracelet as it has this amazing shine whenever any light (especially sunlight) hits it and it gives it this amazing effect! Check out my Instagram if you want to see some videos of the bracelet.
However, as you get closer, the details start to get a bit clearer and the flaws start creeping out.
One of the most noticeable flaws is that one of the markers on the 12 marker (one of the two “I”‘s) is on a different height and not properly placed. This might seem like a small flaw, but since the marker is white and sunshine or light easily reflects it, it makes it pretty obvious for anyone inspecting the watch. This is because the light bounces differently since the two markers are on different heights.
Another big flaw is that the AP logo on the crown is misaligned and not centered. This is also a pretty obvious flaw for anyone that checks the crown and is honestly just frustrating to look at whenever correcting the watch’s time.
Finally, the biggest flaw, is that after a month or so, one of the octagonal screws located in the 7 o clock position, came loose and now pops out a little bit and is not perpendicular to the center of the watch. As you probably know, each of the octagonal screws is supposed to be perpendicular to the center of the watch. This flaw is shown near the end of the video.
So overall, for looks, from afar it might not look too bad, but even from a reasonable distance you can see if one of the screws is not perpendicular to the watch or if it eventually goes missing (it hasn’t happened yet thankfully). Also, the other flaws such as the 12 marker being misaligned can also be seen easily since the light reflection can be seen easily. The final flaw of the AP logo being misalinged on the crown is only seen in close inspection, but it is pretty annoying.
May look good at a reasonable distance, but some big flaws such as the screw being loose and not perpendicular and the 12 marker being misaligned make it easy tells
Cost
I got this on sale at one of the trusted dealer sites for $200 without shipping so the total was around ~240-250 with shipping and transaction costs.
But because of the flaws that I saw, I do not recommend the dealer that I originally got it from because I noticed the misaligned logo on the crown and the misaligned 12 marker and complained to the dealer, but they said since QC pictures were sent and approved, he couldn’t do anything. However, in the pictures, it is very hard to tell and was kind of hidden so I felt like he was being a bit dishonest.
Would I get this specific watch again, I would definitely get the AP 15400 again, but I would only go for the V2J version or the V3 version from the JF factory.
Want to know where I get my watches from now? Check out this post
Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the watch and if you have an AP, feel free to give it a rating in the comments below.
