lucreative
·Hi OF knowledge-filled collective. I have an interesting dilemma for a "birth decade" AP watch of mine. It is an Audemars Piguet Huitieme 18K Chronograph that was made in the 1980's. Unfortunately, I "lightly" dropped it and the time/chronograph stopped working. However, it was already 30secs to 1min off per day, which meant it needed service anyways. I sent it to AP in Clearwater, FL for a full maintenance service request and they stated they no longer had parts for the caliber 2126/2840 (which was in the original ROO). Instead, AP would replace this caliber with the new caliber 2326/2840 for approx $700 more. The "normal" service request for an AP Chronograph is $1500. However, AP quoted $1900 for the new caliber and $270 for water resistance/partial service (not optional) for a total of $2200. This is not including tax.
I'm torn since I was already debating the high $1500 AP service vs. using my regular watchmaker that would charge approx $1000 to repair. However, knowing they no longer make parts for the watch I wonder how hard it would be for him to find replacement parts.
This piece does hold some sentimental value since it was made within a couple years of my birth year and I wanted to keep it as original as possible. So knowing they would replace this caliber is another issue. The 2126/2840 runs at 21600, but it was in the very first batch of Royal Oak Offshores. The 2226/2840 runs at 28800 and is much more stable, but no longer original to the watch.
The last option is to keep the watch, as is, not running, for historical purposes and invest in a ROO. Here is a pic of the watch below for reference. I think it's a beauty and a keeper.
Thanks in advance for all your help! This is a really hard decision for me.
I'm torn since I was already debating the high $1500 AP service vs. using my regular watchmaker that would charge approx $1000 to repair. However, knowing they no longer make parts for the watch I wonder how hard it would be for him to find replacement parts.
This piece does hold some sentimental value since it was made within a couple years of my birth year and I wanted to keep it as original as possible. So knowing they would replace this caliber is another issue. The 2126/2840 runs at 21600, but it was in the very first batch of Royal Oak Offshores. The 2226/2840 runs at 28800 and is much more stable, but no longer original to the watch.
The last option is to keep the watch, as is, not running, for historical purposes and invest in a ROO. Here is a pic of the watch below for reference. I think it's a beauty and a keeper.
Thanks in advance for all your help! This is a really hard decision for me.
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