On the hour of Royals

What is that thing before me? The altered lyrics of a Black Sabbath song could very well describe people’s initial reaction to the Royal Oak Offshore watch when it was first launched by Audemars Piguet in 1993. Those were different times — so trad, still conservative — in the luxury watch scene.

“They went, ‘What is that? So bold, so big.’ It was way ahead of its time,” explains Oliviero Bottinelli, Audemars Piguet (AP) managing director for Asia, about the watch that has become the brand’s most iconic model. “Nobody really liked it at first. The brand CEO at that time even said, ‘We’re going to create 100 limited-edition pieces and then that’s it.’ But it created a lot of noise.”

It plucked a historical note, striking the chimes of innovation. The Offshore became the pioneer of big watches, because, after that, other brands came out with their own bad boys of bigness.

Now, the watch lovingly called “Bumblebee,” “Panda” and even “Pounder” has reached iconic status. Jay-Z and King James would coolly agree.   

At the recent Geneva watch fair, AP launched the new 42-millimeter Offshore — six pieces (four in steel, two in gold) —  then popping up in cities such as Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne, and now in Manila. Lucerne, the exclusive distributor of Audemars Piguet in the Philippines, invited The STAR to the Royal Oak Offshore party at the Hyve to meet Bottinelli, a jovial and smartly dressed fellow, and to preview those game-changing AP timepieces.  

“We cannot change the Offshore, but we fine-tuned it a little bit. You will discover new pushers, new dials, new hands, the ceramics and finally an open back — so we can see the heart of this watch.” 

The design inspiration for the Offshore goes back to 1971 when Gérald Genta, a Swiss wristwatch designer, came up with the Royal Oak. “Just like the one I am wearing,” points out Bottinelli. Octagonal, made of stainless steel.

“Twenty-one years later, we designed the Offshore,” Bottinelli says. “The designer at that time decided to take the Royal Oak and inflate it a little bit (laughs) — just to see what will happen. It was great!”  

On a side note, Bottinelli says when they tried to explain the newer model to ladies, they use an analogy. “I tell them, ‘You know the Kelly by Hermès, of course. Nice and slim — like the Royal Oak. Then Hermès decided to do the Birkin — a bolder Kelly. Audemars Piguet did the same with the Royal Oak and the Offshore.’ The ladies go, ‘Oh, we understand perfectly.’”

Mechanical Magic in the Digital Age

In this age of digital watches and smartphones that tell time (even the weather, traffic and such), why are mechanical watches by Audemars Piguet and other luxury watch brands still highly valued and passionately collected?

“That’s a very good question. It’s a hot topic. You know, in the ’70s, the Swiss watch industry suffered because of the quartz.”

I read that the first quartz wristwatch was developed by the Swiss in 1967, but the watchmakers of Switzerland — stressed Bottinelli — didn’t believe in it.  “The Japanese took advantage of it and made millions of quartz watches. Suddenly the high-end Swiss timepieces didn’t make any sense to people — except for a certain few. But after a couple of years, people came back to earth (so to speak). Timepieces are very sentimental products. People wanted something genuine.”

He adds that digital watch models come out every day, attracting a horde of youngsters.

“But at one point they will be attracted to the real thing. It’s true, we don’t even wear watches purely to tell time anymore. It’s a sentimental thing. The watch has become part of the wardrobe.”

Bottinelli says people have two wrists, anyway. “If a person wants a watch that tells time, heartbeat rate and other pieces of information, or even make calls, he or she can wear a digital band. But there is still another wrist for a mechanical one.”

And, besides, digital watches, in terms of design, are not so hot after all.

But Audemars Piguet watches, particularly the Royal Oak Offshore pieces… they’re aesthetic and technical marvels.

“The brand was born in 1875 and it hasn’t stopped doing business — even during the two World Wars. The brand DNA centers on tradition and innovation, two opposite concepts but we use them. Audemars Piguet can make really audacious watches, but they are created the way watchmakers worked in the last century. The brand can make bold, crazy watches with a lot of audacity, and, yet, still create make them look classical and elegant.”

Remember the time

Bottinelli can never forget the first Audemars Piguet watch he ever wore, because — he confesses — “I stole it from my father (laughs).”

The then 16-year-old Bottinelli took it to boarding school in England. His friends even pranked him by hiding the watch during a football game. He went straight to the headmaster. “Oh, c’mon,” said the school official, “it’s just a watch.” “But sir,” said the student, who proceeded to tell the headmaster the price of the AP watch — a 1972 Royal Oak. Taken aback, the headmaster immediately picked up the phone.

“He then called the police (laughs).”

Bottinelli got the watch back, of course. And it would be eventually returned to the not-so-pleased father.

Now, the man works for Audemars Piguet. The universe works in mysterious ways.

“I like to say that I do everything for AP. The title on my card is not important. I tell people that I am the brand concierge. I like to help put the watches in showcase. I don’t mind cleaning window displays when they’re dirty.”

In actuality, the man represents AP within Asia. He has been based in Singapore for the past 18 years, visiting offices in Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai and Tokyo two to three times a year.

“I travel 70 percent of the time, and I love it!” says the man who was born in Geneva. His father is from the Italian side of Switzerland, Lugano; his mom is from the French side.

“I used to tell my wife that ‘I am half-French, half-Italian, made in Switzerland — very good,’ but my wife would counter, ‘I am half-Chinese, half-Indian, made in Singapore — also very good! (laughs). I cannot fight that.”   

   Bottinelli came to Asia when he was 23 years old, unsure of what he really wanted to do. “I wanted to get a working experience I planned on staying two or three months, but after 18 years I am still here.”

For Oliviero Bottinelli, that’s definitely time well spent.

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Audemars Piguet is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Lucerne, with shops at Greenbelt 5 and Shangri-La Plaza Mall. For information, visit www.audemarspiguet.com.