Royal Oak Offshore, a signature model that was based on AP’s Royal Oak silhouette, was originally meant for Royal Oak 20th anniversary model. Unknown to many, the ROO was designed by a 22 years old designer.
It was Emmanuel Gueit, the young Swiss Designer that gave birth to one of the most influential, yet at the same time controversial, watch revamp of the 20th century. Watch brands often re-imagined their historically important models and re-introduced them to the current market with little-to-no changes at all, occasionally with a more “modern” touch or function.
At that time, Gueit was approached by Stephen Urquhart, the former CEO of AP. The brief was simple,to create a 20th anniversary model for Royal Oak and something that young men would want to wear. Gueit was bold. He was young and had nothing to lose. That specific mindset that led him to the birth of Offshore.
The Royal Oak was originally designed by Gerald Genta. In respect to the original designer, Gueit kept the core octagon-ish signature design language of Genta. To make it more appealing to the younger audience, Gueit added some bold makeovers.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 'Dark Knight' 42mm
Thicker case and bracelet alongside colourful thin layer of rubber on some parts, that includes the crown and pushers. Although the proposal looks strong and easily approved, the prototype was not so much.
The higher ups thought that the watch was too big and much larger that anything that AP had made. It was not until Gueit threw his friend’s Sea-Dweller (ref. 16600) to the table and say “If Rolex can sell this, we can sell the Offshore!” that later convinced the higher ups. Thus, it gave the birth of ROO when its first presented at the 1993 Basel Watch Fair.
Later on, Gueit also collaborated with Rolex and gave birth to the Cellini collection which debuted in 2014. Today, Gueit is currently working to revive Ikepod, a brand that was created by Marc Newson and was a fan-favourite in the 1990s.
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