AP has a rich history of watch making with their most popular being the Royal Oak collection. While that watch is a fine horological piece, I'm personally not a sports watch fan. The bruteness isn't refined in my opinion, especially the Royal Oak Offseas collection. I appreciate AP but none of their current watches speak to me.
Recently browsing my favorite reseller's website, I came across an AP that I've never seen before. The 25720PT with the guilloche dial immediately caught my eye. After doing a little bit of research, I learned this is a unique piece was made in the late 80s, early 90s. The major distinction is the wondering hours, a set of three disks that rotate, while rotating around a central wheel. Due to the overlall shape, it's aptly named the Starwheel. As the disks rotate, the hour sweeps past the minute markers at the top. It's easy to read, clean and an elegant design.
What also intrigued me is AP came out with this while in a time of struggle and looking for ways to redefine itself. Although the Starwheel was never a hit like the Royal Oak, it really shows how AP is capable of building unique pieces. Companies in struggle tend to take more risks and be bold. Rolex on the hand is at the top of the market and rarely take any chances. Why take risk when you're at the top? Also reminds me of how Apple was struggling and went all-in creating the iPhone. The risk worked out to say the least. Anyways, I digress.
I tried it on and I was taken back on how small the watch is at 36mm diameter. I am use to larger, 40mm cases and this simply looked puny. I was a bit disappointed at first as it didn't have wrist presence. After wearing it for a few days, I started to appreciate the size and realized that large, heavy watches isn't the only way to feel like you have something special on your wrist. If you're use to modern watches, you have to reset your conception of what an ideal size is. The size is great for small wrists. If you have large wrists, it may not be the watch for you. Try it on and judge for yourself before you come to a conclusion.
As far as I know, this is the first wondering hours complication like this in a wrist watch. Mix that with an beautiful design, vintage and rarity, it's a watch almost anyone can quickly appreciate. What do you like about this watch? Would you add it to your collection?
