Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
It’s no secret that the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is one of the most iconic and sought after watches in the world. For some variations of the Royal Oak, it is difficult to buy the watch even if you have the full asking price in cash, purely due to the crazy demand for this particular design.
For people who don’t have $30k in cash, there are a lot of affordable alternatives to the Royal Oak. These vary in price and can be purchased for as little as $100. Not to mention, they have solid quartz movement, which will not impress you in terms of engineering, but will last at least 10 years.
Due to the popularity and craftsmanship behind the AP Royal Oak, it is a 5 figure watch, which can grow to 6 figures depending on the model. Thankfully, there are a good amount of affordable alternatives to the Royal Oak which are made by other brands. These homage watches do not have luxury Swiss movements inside them, but they do look very similar.
Table of Contents
Royal Oak History
Before Gerald Genta made history by designing the Royal Oak in 1972, the company was not in particularly good shape. Audemars Piguet was still a luxury Swiss brand but was certainly not the powerhouse that it is today. Furthermore, the quartz crisis had shaken the Swiss luxury watch industry to the core and mechanical watches were simply not selling anywhere near the amount that they once were. Even James Bond had turned his back on mechanical watches and was wearing a digital Pulsar.
It goes without saying then, that producing the world’s first luxury stainless steel sports watch was quite a gamble. This gamble paid off many times over and now the AP Royal Oak is one of the most recognizable watch designs in the world.
The Best Cheap Alternatives To The AP Royal Oak
Cadisen Royal Oak
Without a doubt, one of the best AP Royal Oak homage watches you can find. If you were to just glance at this watch, you would struggle to know it was a Chinese brand that is famous for making affordable alternatives to popular models.
In terms of aesthetics, Cadisen have done everything right. They have an 8-sided screwed down bezel, a decent case shape, and the same textured dial of the AP Royal Oak. Really this is the closest thing you will find to a real AP for approximately $100-$200 without question. Even the stainless steel bracelet is very close to the real thing.
The Cadisen Royal Oak also uses an automatic movement, but of course this is nowhere near the quality of the luxury Swiss brand. Of course, with Chinese movements, you’re always taking a chance, but for this price it’s worth the money.
Bulova
Bulova are a respectable brand in their own right and are not simply another Chinese watchmaker which is out to make homage pieces.
As you can see, Bulova has not just copied the Royal Oak design, but instead have made their own watch which happens to have a similar bezel shape. The screws on this piece are not equally distanced and diamante crystals are used as hour markers.
This is a solid choice for those who want something in the shape of an AP Royal Oak, but don’t want an exact copy. The shape is obviously very similar, but Bulova have put their own stamp on this design.
Pagani Royal Oak
Perhaps the best value for money Royal Oak homage watch is made by Pagani. This is a Chinese brand that is well known for copying various styles such as the Omega Seamaster and various Rolex models such as the Daytona.
Considering this watch is under $200, it is very good value when this number is put alongside the specifications. Pagani uses a Seiko NH35A movement, which is already not too bad for a budget automatic watch. The appearance and layout of the watch is also very consistent with a real AP, with not many changes at all. Lastly, sapphire glass is used to protect the dial, with many more expensive watches only using mineral glass as a direct comparison.
As you can see, visually, the Pagani also directly matches an AP Royal Oak. So in short, this is one of the best homage watches you will find and is not a cheap Chinese copy that will break as soon as you buy it.
Casio “Casioak” G-Shock
Casio G-Shock is likely not the first watch that you think of when Royal Oak is suggested. However, the brand does make a series of ana-digi watches which are made in the same shape as AP Royal Oak watches.
Despite their appearance, these watches are equally as tough as a regular G-Shock and offer all of the regular features such as alarm, light, and stopwatch. The case shape is clearly the same as an AP Royal Oak but is not made of stainless steel.
This watch is perfect for those who wanted something the same shape, but not a direct copy of the Royal Oak itself.
Forsining
The main selling point of this skeleton dial Royal Oak homage watch is that it looks a lot more expensive than it is. Admittedly, this watch is not built to a high specification, but costs under $50. It uses a cheap Chinese mechanical movement, which may have a tendency to be unreliable, but for the price you cannot really complain.
Forsining offers this watch in a variety of different colors, but the gold is the loudest and noticeable.
Once again, this watch is not a horological masterpiece but is of decent value for the price.
Perry Ellis
Not a very well known watch brand, Perry Ellis make a series of Royal Oak shaped watches in 6 different colors.
Two distinct differences between this and an AP Royal Oak are that Perry Ellis places the date window at 6 o’clock rather than 3 o’clock, as well as choosing to have a smooth bezel with no screws. Perry Ellis also uses a standard stainless steel link bracelet.
This watch is less than $100, which is pretty fair considering it is just a basic fashion timepiece. Overall, this is one of the cheapest alternatives to the Royal Oak you can buy.
D1 Milano P701
If you hadn’t already guessed, D1 Milano is an Italian brand that makes fashionable watches to a decent specification.
Their take on the AP Royal Oak is one of the most original since they use a slightly different bezel, as well as completely different colors to the original. This is not a homage watch, but D1 Milano using the same shape case in their own way.
For a start, D1 Milano uses gunmetal for both the case and bracelet, the shape of which match the AP Royal OAk perfectly. However, this watch does not feature any screws on the bezel so cannot really be considered a homage watch. It should also be noted that this watch contains a fairly solid automatic Miyota movement as well as sapphire crystal to protect the dial, so it is made to a good specification.
Festina F16757
The Festina F16757 features an 8-sided bezel, which is the same shape as an AP Royal Oak. In addition to this, the case shape is very similar since it doesn’t feature the standard curved lugs you will find on regular stainless steel sports watches.
This piece differs from a Royal Oak since instead of screws, Festina uses Roman numerals which are engraved into the bezel. As this watch uses a 41mm dial, it also makes sense that Festina chose to put 3 subdials and use a chronograph function.
You will also find chronographs are used on various AP Offshore models but are not too common compared to the classic design. Of course, these watches are even more expensive than a standard AP, whereas the Festina chronograph is not any more expensive than a regular quartz watch.
