Today we are going to be looking at the Pagani Design “Royal Oak”. This is yet another in a seemingly endless space of Royal Oak homages. One thing to note about the Pagani Design brand name, is that it may also go by the name Pagrne Design. Just know that both these names refer to the same brand.
Anyway, these Royal Oak homages are made in the style of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak series of watches. Audemars Piguet is A Swiss luxury watch manufacturer. The Royal Oak in particular is perhaps their most popular timepiece to date.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak was one of the first luxury “sports” watches released into the market. It debuted in 1972 and became wildly popular over time. Other luxury watch brands followed in their footsteps. Patek Phillipe comes to mind with their “Nautilus”.
In any event, the Royal Oak has continued to capture the minds and hearts of both consumers and watch enthusiasts alike. It has a style and elegance of its own.
A genuine Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is prohibitively expensive, however. Prices can range in the thousands of dollars. Even a used Royal Oak can be in the upwards of $50,000. That is quite expensive for a watch! Homages provide an alternative to luxury watches that are affordable to the majority of consumers.
Pagani Design, as we’ve seen before, is a quality Chinese watch brand. We will be looking at this Pagani Design Royal Oak homage by examining the build quality, design, features, and pricing. Will this watch hold up to the same quality standards Pagani Design is already known for?
Pagani Design Royal Oak Review
Quick Look
- Seiko NH35A automatic movement
- Sapphire dial window
- exhibition case back
- date window
- luminous hands and markers
- water resistant 100 meters
Before we begin, let’s take a quick look at the specs.
Specs
- Display Type: It has an analog display
- Movement Type: This watch uses Seiko’s NH35A automatic movement
- Case Size: The case is 40mm in diameter and 12mm thick
- Band Size: The band is men’s standard length, and is 24mm wide
Next, we will start getting into more details about this watch, starting with the build quality.
Build Quality
Pagani Design is known for having exceptional quality for an inexpensive Chinese watch brand. That quality is on full display here. Both the case and band are made of stainless steel, which is the most commonly used material for watch cases.
However, Pagani Design stands out by using sapphire dial windows, as seen here. Sapphire dial windows are more commonly seen in luxury or high end watches. They are also more scratch resistant than the standard mineral crystal dial windows. Next is the movement.
The Pagani Design Royal Oak uses Seiko’s NH35A automatic movement. This movement is popular in less expensive watches because of its reliability and accuracy.
Finally, this watch is water resistant 100 meters. This level of water resistance is sufficient for swimming, snorkeling, and even scuba diving.
So all in all, for a low cost watch, as expected from Pagani Design, the build quality here is exceptional. Next let’s take a look at the actual design.
Design & Style
At first glance it would seem that very little creative liberties were taken here, as it appears to be almost a spitting image of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that as this is a homage. This particular model is completely silver in color with a silver dial. It does, however come in several different dial color variations.
The Pagani Design Royal Oak contains the signature octagonal shape that we all know and love. 8 “bolts” are positioned at each of the angles that surround the bezel. The band has that strong and solid armor like appearance just like the original.
Moving onto the dial, it has a the “waffle style” pattern. The Pagani design brand name and logo is positioned just under the 12 o’clock marker. The time markers are simple line shapes, and they fit well with the similarly shaped hour and minute hands. The seconds hand is very thin and needle-like.
This watch also has a date window positioned at the 3 o’clock position. Lastly, there is text on the lower portion of the dial signifying that the watch is “automatic”.
When looking at the back of the watch, you will notice that it features an exhibition case back. These are always pretty cool to look at, in my opinion. With this design choice, you get to see that Seiko NH35A movement in action.
Overall the design is solid and the polish is excellent. I especially like the all silver look of this one.
Features
When it comes to features, you won’t find too much going on here like you would in a digital watch ,for instance. Automatics are pretty simple as far as features go. And because this watch is automatic, it is powered by the natural motions of your arms. So if you wear it often there should be little or no need to manually wind it.
It has a day date window, as we mentioned before. And it also has luminous hands and markers which make it easier to read in the dark. That’s about really all there is to this watch in terms of features. Nothing too complicated.
Pricing
As is the case with homages, the Pagani Design Royal Oak stays within the mid tier pricing as far as affordability goes. While not a dirt cheap watch, it definitely couldn’t be classified as “expensive”. A watch of this price could easily fit into most people’s budgets.
As always, the prices will vary depending on where you purchase it from, but overall this is not an expensive watch. It is actually a great deal when you consider what you are getting for the price.
Final Thoughts
Once again Pagani Design lives up to their reputation by producing a quality Royal Oak homage at an affordable price. This is definitely one of the better, if not the best of the Royal Oak homages out there.
If I was going to recommend just one Royal Oak alternative, then this one would be it. That’s it for this review. For more articles just like this, then check out our luxury alternatives section.
