Hello there everyone! Today I've been offered the chance to purchase a beautiful limited edition Audemars Piguet Frosted Gold in 41mm. I will be going to pick it up soon. However it does not come with papers and thusly I am suspicious as to if it's authentic or not. Since I'm not exactly an expert I've decided to post a few photos and let the Forum judge them. Thanks for the opinions in advanced, all replies are truly appreciated.
Do you have an Authorized reseller of AP's in your area, that may be your best bet, this is a hard judge due to the special nature of the piece. I have read a lot about the technique for the finishing on the gold. I wish you the best and hope to hear good news.
Have you got a movement shot? This sort of value if you're not 100% I'd walk away. The frosted gold effect looks off to me.
Indeed it truly is difficult isn't it, personally I would be quite surprised if it was fake since this model released quite recently. But you can never be too careful. There's a Watches of Switzerland 38 minutes away from the Starbucks I'm supposed to meet the seller at, I suppose we could swing by there to confirm the watch. The seller didn't send me a movement shot, however they have sent me 15+ photos of the watch's front. The watch is stored in a safe deposit box apparently so it isn't everyday the seller can take a photo of it. Why would you say the frosted effect looks off? Thanks!
What excuse have they given for a £40k newly purchased watch having no papers? If it's expensive enough to be kept in a safety deposit box you would expect them to take better care of the papers. I haven't seen a frosted in person but do own a 15202 OR. The frosting effect looks too deep to me.
They mentioned something along those lines... The seller is quite very friendly and responsive otherwise. They mentioned selling this to AP or a watch enthusiast if I didn't take it. Also they said that once we meet I can do any checks and etc on the watch and if I like it I could buy it. I thought the effect would have been pronounced as they apparently take a diamond needle or something along those lines to create the effect. However I'm not experienced in this and thusly I wholly trust your judgement. I'm honestly confused here but at the same time I don't want to pass up an opportunity to own this watch.
Compare the hands with the ones on this one: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-frosted-gold-41mm-introducing
ahh the old wedding ploy i got stung by that years ago on a rolex lost abit of cash ask to see the gold hallmarks as well
Yep, I had noticed the discrepancy in the hands just recently, however I thought that there would have been slight variation due to the fact that the rose gold one may have slightly different features. Overall this is looking rather shady. However their friendliness and insistence on allowing me to do checks and etc with the watch makes me believe that either they have no idea it's fake or that it's a scam of some kind. £15000, it doesn't fill me with much either.. Will do, I'm going to send this reply before any more replies come in. It's great to be part of such a knowledgeable forum!
I thought so too, until I read this from their website. "Without having the opportunity to examine your timepiece we cannot confirm its authencity through pictures, case numbers, reference…" https://www.audemarspiguet.com/en/service/faq/warranty/. Paragraph 07.
Officially no... but isn’t there a “my AP” section where you can input a serial number? Or am I confusing it with Hublot.
Ah, right. I'm going to assume the watch is a replica, due to the hands which ConElPueblo had pointed out as well as everyone's advice and opinions, it's great to be a part of this forum. It's a shame that I'm looking in the wrong places for my first watch since the Aventurine dial Omega isn't released yet. Thanks again everyone!
Great catch there, no one else managed to see that. Teaches me to really do some reading. Thanks very much for putting the final nail in the coffin, I'll confront the seller with that knowledge.