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You see a lot of Royal Oaks in the wild. The 15202, the 15500, all those beautiful Jumbos with their integrated bracelets and thin profiles. Then there’s this thing. The AP 15710ST. At first glance, it looks like someone took the classic Gérald Genta design and put it on a serious dose of testosterone. But spend a week with it, and you realize it’s not a brute. It’s a different animal entirely.

Called the Royal Oak Offshore Diver, the 15710ST came out a few years after the bulkier Offshore Chronograph. Audemars Piguet needed something that could hold its own under water without looking like a hockey puck on the wrist. The result is a 42mm stainless steel case that somehow feels both massive and strangely refined. The 15703 had a solid caseback. This one, the 15710ST, shows you the movement. That small change matters more than you’d think.

The Case and the Crown That Bites Back

Let’s talk about the octagonal bezel. Eight hexagonal screws, white gold, visible from a mile away. They’re not just for show – they actually screw into the case. The finishing on the bezel is that classic AP combination of polished chamfers and vertical brushing. Run your finger over it. You feel the transition.

The case itself is a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. The sides are polished, which catches light like a mirror. The top and the lugs are brushed. Then there’s the crown. Big. Textured. And sharp. Not sharp as in cool – sharp as in it will dig into the back of your hand if you wear the watch too low on your wrist. I’ve had it leave marks after a long day of typing. You learn to wear it higher. The crown guards are massive, almost overkill for a 300m diver, but they give the watch that aggressive offshore character.

Things you notice immediately:

• The thickness is 14.1mm. It’s not slim by any standard.

• The helium escape valve at 10 o’clock is functional but let’s be honest – only three people wearing this watch will ever saturate dive.

• The screw-down crown has a nice, gritty feel when winding. No mushiness.

• The rubber strap is thick, curved at the lugs, and uses that fold-over buckle with the AP logo. No micro-adjustments though, which is a pain in summer.

The Dial – Why Some People Just Don’t Get It

Open the AP website and you’ll see the classic “Petite Tapisserie” pattern on Royal Oaks. The 15710ST uses the “Méga Tapisserie”. Bigger squares, deeper grooves. It changes the whole vibe. On the blue dial version (which I think is the best one), the pattern catches light in chunks. Not a uniform shimmer but almost a pixelated explosion of dark blue and black.

The hour markers are thick rectangles of white gold with luminescent coating. The hands are that classic Royal Oak shape – faceted, polished on one side, brushed on the other. But here’s the thing that bugs me: the date window at 3 o’clock. It’s small. The white date disc with black numerals sits inside a metal frame, but the frame is barely there. On a watch this size, they could have made the date window 20% larger without ruining the symmetry. You have to actually focus to read it.

Lume is good but not great. The hands and markers glow greenish-blue. After a full charge with a UV light, it lasts a few hours. Through the night? Dim by 3 AM. My Seiko Turtle does better. But you don’t buy this for lume.

The rotating inner bezel works via the crown at 10 o’clock. Unscrew it, turn it, screw it back. The action is crisp. No wobble. The clicks are soft but positive. Some people complain that the inner bezel doesn’t align perfectly at 12 on every unit. Mine is fine. Maybe I got lucky.

The Movement – Caliber 3120

Flip the watch over. The sapphire caseback shows you the caliber 3120. It’s not a new movement – AP introduced it in 2003 – but it’s reliable. 22k gold rotor engraved with the AP family crest and “Audemars Piguet”. The finishing is nice for a production movement: Côtes de Genève on the bridges, circular graining on the main plate, beveled edges. But look closer. The anglage is machine-done. You won’t find hand-polished internal angles like on a Patek or a Lange. That’s fine. This is a tool watch pretending to be dressy, not the other way around.

Power reserve is 60 hours. Not bad. Not great. You can take it off on Friday night and put it back on Monday morning without winding. The balance wheel beats at 21,600 vph (3 Hz). That’s old school. Most modern movements go for 28,800. The seconds hand doesn’t glide as smoothly as a high-beat Grand Seiko. But the lower frequency means less wear on the pallet fork. The 3120 has a reputation for being robust. I’ve heard stories of broken winding gears from people who hand-wind it aggressively every day. I just give it a few turns and let the rotor do the rest.

Wearing It Every Day

Here’s where opinions split. The 15710ST on the rubber strap is surprisingly comfortable. The strap is soft, curves perfectly, and doesn’t trap sweat. But the buckle – that big AP folding clasp – has sharp corners. Rest your wrist on a desk and you feel it. I swapped mine for a pin buckle from an aftermarket strap company. Lost some of that “look at my AP” energy but gained a lot of sanity.

On a steel bracelet? You can’t. The 15710ST only comes on rubber. Some people hunt down a bracelet from the older 15703 or the Offshore Chronograph. It fits. But then the watch becomes heavy – like 220 grams heavy. And the bracelet doesn’t have the same taper as the classic Royal Oak. Looks wrong to me.

The water resistance is genuine 300m. I’ve taken it snorkeling. Rinsed it under tap water after. No issues. The crown and helium valve screw down solidly. But here’s a warning: never operate the inner bezel crown underwater. It’s not designed for that. The manual says so, but people don’t read manuals.

Who Should Actually Buy One

This isn’t a first luxury watch. It’s too odd. Too thick. Too much of a conversation starter in a bad way if you’re wearing it with a suit. But for someone who already has a dress watch, a GMT, maybe a Speedmaster, the 15710ST fills a weird niche. It’s a diver that doesn’t look like a Submariner. It’s an Offshore that doesn’t look like a cartoon. The blue dial version with the white rubber strap (the “panda” look) is what the brand should have pushed more. Inflation, scarcity, all that. Is it worth it? Yes if you genuinely like the design. No if you just want people to see the octagonal bezel and think you have money. There are cheaper ways to signal wealth. This watch rewards owners who don’t mind scratches, who wear it to the beach and then to dinner, who understand that a 42mm steel diver with a sapphire caseback and a Geneva-striped movement doesn’t have to make sense. It just has to feel right on the wrist.

After two years of ownership, the only thing I’d change is the crown. Make it slightly smaller. Add half a millimeter to the date window. And for god’s sake, give us a micro-adjust clasp on the rubber strap. But then it wouldn’t be a Royal Oak Offshore. It would be something practical. And that’s not what this watch is about.