Recently I was going through some of my late grandfathers pictures and found one of him in the Pacific Theater in WW2 with a small, gold, unknown brand, dress watch on his wrist. The little gold watch looked great and did not seem out of place in a war zone despite the fact that it was a dress watch . I remember asking him about this watch when he had originally shown me this photo when I was a child. I was most interested in whether or not it was “waterproof,” how it had survived four years of war, and whether or not he still had it (and if so, whether or not I could wear it).
To the best of my recollection, he told me it was not waterproof, was not made for field use, and yet, had survived the war intact and in great working order. What’s more, he told me it continued to work well until he misplaced it in the 1960’s. He bought this watch when there were few choices available and this particular watch had the best reputation of the watches at the store that day. It was not a tool watch, it was a dress watch, and yet it had performed under some of the harshest conditions imaginable in the Pacific just like any tool watch would have.
Looking at this picture recently made me consider if a watch has to be made of stainless steel and designed to be beaten up to be used in the more rough and tumble parts of life. Clearly it doesn’t if I consider my grandfathers watch, but all things considered, having certain design elements does buy some peace of mind when using a watch in dirty and active environments.
I started to examine my proclivity for stainless steel sport watches and decided it was limiting my ability to enjoy a broader range of watches. There are watches that are designed and manufactured to be more elegant than many tool watches that can still function as well as any tool watch. And I set out to find them. After some research, I decided the Audemars Piguet [RE]MASTER01 topped the list for watches that I aspire to own that aren’t tool watches but will still work as tools.
The [RE]MASTER01 has already started churning the waters in the watch community for its approach on vintage inspired design. There are people who love it, there are those who don’t seem to care one way or another, and there are those who complain it is too expensive and a very weak design attempt by AP.
Some complain that it was only designed to house the new chronograph movement for the widely detested CODE 11:59 so that AP could get their investment money back for this new movement. None of these complaints really matter to me, I just want to experience the watch on its own merits. I will add that it is nice to see AP stretching their wings beyond the Royal Oak.
The [RE]MASTER01 is quite the opposite of what many would consider to be a watch used for long excursions into the mountains or other harsh conditions. I think it could be, though, and I keep thinking of my grandfathers watch when I consider what this watch might be capable of.
My grandfathers watch was not designed to be used in war, and it yet it did and survived. Why couldn’t this $53,000 watch survive a few hikes, some climbing, and maybe some off-road driving? I can guarantee that it would look much better out in the wild living life than it would sitting in a safe or parked at a computer all day.
Okay so it has 20 meters of water resistance, so that means I won’t go swimming with it on. Will it be able to keep the dust out? I don’t know, but why shouldn’t it? How well would the strap hold up? Hell if I know, but straps are replaceable. Is the movement durable? It sure seems like it, and as I won’t be using the watch to pound in tent stakes, I am sure that it will survive everything I subject it to just fine.
Would it be heartbreaking to scratch it? Of course, at least the first time. But watches look better when they have been used and I bet that the case would look really great with some scratches and dings in it. I think the champagne dial would look unbelievable under full sunlight with a thick coat of dust on the crystal. I wouldn’t worry about it surviving most anything that happens in civilized life.
I do really appreciate how the [RE]MASTER01 reminds me of a watch that one would find at a store during the 1940’s. It looks like a watch that one would buy and wear for the course of their life regardless of their profession and wear with confidence. I can imagine this watch with a canvas strap on the wrist of someone parachuting into the Moroccan Desert during WW2 just as easily as I can seeing someone wearing it to a dinner party now.
Audemars Piguet is doing a great job in exploring new designs that revisit the designs of their past. It is exciting to see the openness they have to expanding their catalog beyond the Royal Oak and addressing the complaints of those who think they have become a one watch company . The [RE]MASTER01 might not be perfect, but it is refreshing and exciting to see where AP goes in the future with this concept. I aspire to find one of these watches and learn what it is like to live with it and see how it performs in the world. I really hope to be able to take it to the top of a mountain and get a picture of it covered in dust and sweat.
I really love this watch and most of what Audemars Piguet is doing. Let me know what you think of this watch in the comments.
This post was not sponsored or endorsed by Audemars Piguet. I do not receive compensation in any form from Audemars Piguet for this article.
https://www.audemarspiguet.com/en/
EscapementSV 