AP Forum 2014 Year End Review

Dec 29, 2014,12:56 PM
 

Hello Friends!  Is it just me, or did 2014 really seem faster than previous years?  I hope it is just me; 2014 was the busiest year of my life and hence I hope yours did not go by so fast.  It seems like just a short while ago I reviewed 2013, which if you want to journey back you can find here:


ap.watchprosite.com w/

Many new friends "officially" joined our forum as AP owners.  As always, it does not matter on PuristSPro if you own a watch or not.   We remain focused on our passion for horology, and specifically on Audemars Piguet on this board.  As I have spent the past few hours reviewing our year together, I am proud to say our passion is evident.  It remains my utter pleasure to lead our forum, but really this space is about all of you.  Thank you all for another great year!

And so now let's recap together...

Anatol got us started early in January with his acquisition of the already hallowed 15202 Extra Thin Royal Oak:





AP quietly announced the new Doha Boutique and this special titanium and ceramic Offshore:





PuristS site founder and renowned AP enthusiast Thomas Mao shared his thoughts on these rather amazing racing themed watches, the Grand Prix and Rubens Barrichello II:





Kkchome acquired his first AP, the Royal Oak 15400:





Kiat55 joined Club 15202:





Noah checked in with his customized version of the carbon Grand Prix.  Sure looks good!





KKchome was back with an older Edward Piguet model:





Emijar3 grabbed a carbon and ceramic 44mm Royal Oak Offshore:





Thomas, Fx, and Oliver were on the ground at SIHH to share all of AP's new novelties with us:

















Ewdithen's Royal Oak Dual Time:





Poopup's Safari:





Fx lead a new charge to battle the trend of large watches smile





"The Italian" by Fernando.  I sure love this special edition of the 15300 Royal Oak:





A rather unique photo here by Guillaume140:




Luis6 grabbed a new Royal Oak Dual Time:





I wore my RBII to my best friend's 40th Brithday party:





Nicolas reminded us of lost loves.  Here, his old City of Sails Royal Oak Chronograph:





Thomas was back with a rather bold declaration about his beautiful petite et grande sonnerie:





Passetemps acquired his 15202 Extra Thin:





Orangedial shared a wonderful photo set of his rare Royal Oak.  His photos are always drool worthy, but this shot of the smooth dial on the glassy reflective surface was quite memorable:





Thomas dropped our collective jaw with this skeletonized caliber 2003 Royal Oak:





A new Royal Oak 15450 for Richard N:





Wayne was back at it with superb thoughts and photos of his 26300:





And Mr. Gold around these parts, JerryW, made the inevitable acquisition of the pink gold 15202:





AbuLayan grabbed a 15305:





ED209 declared his ongoing love for his openworked perpetual calendar and took us through the date change process from February 28 - March 1st.  He added some great photos, but I have chosen this one which exemplifies the great finishing accomplished by AP in Le Brassus:





Mark in Paris was the first to show the new QEII Royal Oak Offshore Diver on the forum.  Yes, I learned about this watch at the same time as everyone else!  Nonetheless, Mark's post caused me many sleepless nights...





I made a brief visit to Miami to attend AP's "Go Offshore" event in which the new 42mm Royal Oak Offshore collection was officially presented in the United States:













And upon returning I celebrated a personal milestone of hitting 40 years myself.  Needless to say, I would never mark such an occasion without an AP on my wrist, and for this event, I had just the right companion:





Nicolas posted a new photo of his 5402.  Mama mia!





Easter arrived...





Texex91 grabbed this all ceramic 44mm Royal Oak Offshore:




And Mercman made his visit to the holy land, AP's manufacture in the Vallée de Joux...





Sam Kumar acquired a grail:





Leo Messi visited the AP Manufacture:





Ken brought us details of the Ginza Boutique relocation:





Conkers grabbed this awesome platinum Schumacher Offshore:





Brandon1 was the winner of our Go Offshore book giveaway:





Oliver gave us a hands on review of the white ceramic Diver:





Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland:





Ancienne Le Brassus caught this unique shot in Rome:





CWYJeff shared some amazing collection shots:





DRMW celebrated the 4th of July in South Dakota:





Victor checked in with his Orchard Road Offshore:





Giulio Papi... this guy always has something awesome going on!





My main man Ovi got the 44mm platinum and ceramic Offshore... WOW!





And Michael Friedman's excitement while holding the 125th Anniversary Grande Sonnerie Cane Watch.  This photo epitomizes the passion found inside the walls at AP:





Hanke grabbed a new 42mm Royal Oak Offshore Safari.  I love this model:





Duf made his way to the Open Championship:





Security in Le Brassus remains tight with the T-800 roaming the halls...





Mercman's "Royal Oak at Sea":





Psychotic's Navy:





And a special milestone for Wayne... 18 years worth!





Good to see Fx back with a slightly more masculine wrist shot this time ;-)





Fabio is on board with a 15202:





A rather sensual capture of a Quantieme Perpetual D series by doobooloo:





More Wayne... can you blame me, look at this photo of the RB2:





Koen S with the Bartorelli Scuba... awesome watch here:





And an interesting photo from Alex83:





Robin gave us great coverage from Watches & Wonders... thanks again Robin!





Ancienne Le Brassus' "chameleon".  What a find!





And you think managing PuristSPro is easy?  Look at Anthony Tsai hard at work with AP:





Billy checked in at Halloween:





Exigesc's wonderful 26330:





Nicolas provided one of the finest shots of the Royal Oak Offshore Diver we have seen:





Cali Jed in da house:





AP teased the new Royal Oak Concept watch to be shown at SIHH2015:





The forum gained a new Queen:





Fx reminds us of one of AP's most special timepieces, the Millenary 4101:





A wonderful tale of friendship and generosity among PuristS:





Koen S with a pair of perpetuals, old and new...





AP at Art Basel Miami Beach:





And did Kari acquire one of the best AP Royal Oak references?  I do believe he did:





Special treasures courtesy of the AP Boutique in Bal Harbour:













Another incredible duo from Koen S:





Some trickery from Rustted:





Ernesto is back with a new 42mm Offshore on bracelet:





And perhaps a fitting conclusion to 2014 (at least with only 2 days remaining), a bookend 15202 from Arie:





It is impossible to capture every new watch or great post made on the forum my Friends.  I have tried to grab the spirit we shared in 2014.  It really is amazing to think all of these events happened over only 12 months!  From a personal standpoint, I value all of your contributions.  This forum is here for you and because of you smile

May God Bless you all in 2015.  Keep well my Friends!
This message has been edited by MichaelC on 2014-12-29 15:07:44


More posts: 152021530015305154505402Grand PrixLaptimer Michael SchumacherMillenaryNavy ChronographOpenworkedRBIIRoyal OakRoyal Oak ChronographRoyal Oak ConceptRoyal Oak JumboRoyal Oak OffshoreRoyal Oak Offshore DiverRoyal Oak Perpetual CalendarRubens BarrichelloSafari Chronograph

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Comments: view entire thread

 

Thanks 4Js! [nt]

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:46

Always adored your Year End Reviews

 
 By: Ares501 - Mr Green : December 29th, 2014-17:18
This year you surpassed yourself Indeed year that went by very quickly for me to (are we getting older?) ;) but for the better it was tough one Looking forward next year wishing you and all yours well dear Michael Sincerely Damjan

Appreciate the kind words Damjan

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:47
Wishing you a great 2015 :-)

An excellent job Michael!

 
 By: fernando : December 29th, 2014-20:08
Both in your year end review and as moderator of the AP forum. I thoroughly enjoyed everything that was post here and the passion and dedication was evident throughout. We saw some super watches and some Purist favourites such as the 15202 but best of all...  

YIKES AGAIN!!

 
 By: Ancienne Le Brassus : December 30th, 2014-01:37
That is such an amazing piece!!!!! I love it! Each picture you post is torture!!! ;) Thanks for sharing it! S

I'll torture you more...

 
 By: fernando : December 30th, 2014-01:56
with a wrist shot then :) :) Thanks for the compliment my friend! Best Fernando Best fernando ...  

Argh!!!! Just AWSOME!! Thanks for this one!!! Made my day!

 
 By: Ancienne Le Brassus : December 30th, 2014-05:29
Happy New Year to you and yours!! S :)

It is the kinship indeed.

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:49
We unite around AP on this particular forum, but it is the friendships that are always most special. Thanks for your continued participation Fernando!

What an amazing compilation.

 
 By: JerryW : December 29th, 2014-21:35
I has been a wonderful year watching our AP community grow, with so many more AP's and more PuristS friends out there to share their experiences. Thanks for the guidance MichaelC, it had been and very fast year. I look forward to see where the AP Forum he... 

Thanks Jerry.

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:50
It really is something to see all of the ground we cover each year. Hope you have a great 15 my Friend.

Wonderful Review!!

 
 By: emijar3 : December 29th, 2014-22:03
Thanks Michael always like the way you end the year with all the great threads PuristSPro posted... I hope you and all PuristSPro friends have a great 2015 and hope more surprise can come in this next year! Best friend! Ernesto.

Great review for Year End

 
 By: ED209 : December 29th, 2014-22:50
Nice compilation. And thank you Michael for moderating the AP forum and making it such a wonderful place to visit. Best wishes to you and your family for a great 2015! Happy Holidays! Regards, ED-209

Hope to rendezvous sometime in 2015 ED209

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:53
Maybe I can get Cali way later in the year!

Really a great review, makes me realize what a great place this is!

 
 By: Ancienne Le Brassus : December 30th, 2014-01:51
Thanks for this great post! And Happy New Year! S ...  

You all make it such a great forum

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-10:57
I'm excited to share 2015 and hope AP has some nice surprises for us. Keep well Sebastian!

Great idea to cover the year this way, my friend.

 
 By: amanico : December 30th, 2014-02:32
Which reflects in such a friendly way the richness of your forum. All my best wishes for the year to soon come, Michael, and for you and yours! Nicolas

Thank you Nicolas

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:00
I always appreciate and respect your many valuable contributions to the AP Forum!

A beautiful AP review to end the year

 
 By: Mark in Paris : December 30th, 2014-02:55
Thanks a lot for sharing Michael, it was a real pleasure to review watches and Purists in the mean time. Cheers, Mark

You got it Mark

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:02
Definitely my pleasure to share with all of you here.

Beautiful summary of a fruitful year :)

 
 By: orangedial : December 30th, 2014-06:29
Kudos, Michael! Thanks for your contribution as an excellent moderator who makes this growing community such a joy to hang around and share passion with. Congrats again on turning 40, an important milestone in life, and your new acquisitions in 2014. Let'... 

Appreciate your kind words Wayne

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:05
And many wonderful inputs. I particularly enjoy seeing AP events from other parts of the world and am grateful you take the time to share those with all of us. Congrats again on your wonderful milestone as well :-)

Great year end review

 
 By: njoy : December 30th, 2014-11:07
All the best to you and looking forward to more tantalizing pics and articles.

Hope to see you around some more Njoy.

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:06
Your contributions are always appreciated :-)

Excellen year end review!!!

 
 By: exigesc : December 30th, 2014-19:26
Excellent year end review! Always a pleasure to visit the AP PuristSPro!!! Thanks you Michael for keeping it real & the great effort & time spent!! Happy New year in advance to everyone!

I really love the photo of the 26330

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:07
Hope it is still treating you well. Feel free to post on it again! :-)

Fabulous post!

 
 By: M4 : December 31st, 2014-08:56
Now all it needs is to be set to music. Maybe Barbara Streisand's "Memories." Hahaha. Thanks for all your hard work MC. M4

LOL. I'm more of an Iron Maiden guy

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:09
Maybe "Somewhere in Time" is more appropriate ;-) Thanks M4, Happy 2015 to you!

Thank you Michael!

 
 By: Anatol : December 31st, 2014-10:31
Happy New Year and all the best for 2015 to all of you!

Certainly my pleasure! [nt]

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:09

Great Review Michael...

 
 By: Colin W : December 31st, 2014-12:06
time certainly seems to go faster as we get older, well it seems that way for me! Looking forward to 2015, all the best Colin

Thank you Colin

 
 By: MichaelC : January 1st, 2015-11:10
Always appreciate your inputs here my Friend!