Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15510 ZF Factory Review

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 15510 model is produced by ZF Factory with a solid stainless steel case, standard case diameter and Miyota 9015 high frequency movement architecture. It is among the most successful 1:1 super clone watch reviews on the market, with its sapphire crystal AR coating glass, original case tolerances and detailed workmanship.

Which is better between APS Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 one-piece movement and ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 15510?

Answer: APS Factory 15510 is better. Let's talk about the ZF Factory 15510 first. In the paragraph above, we said that most of the ZF Factory models are products that are molded and branded by other factories; This ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 is one of them. Therefore, the mold for this watch was actually made by an unknown factory, then it was given to ZF Factory, its brand was printed and sold as a ZF Factory product. We can't call this a ZF Factory knockoff as it has ZF Factory's approval; However, in terms of quality, there is still a certain difference between the watches that are actually molded by ZF Factory. In terms of appearance, it lags behind the big factories. Moreover, the movement is not a real one-piece movement, but a bridge plate movement converted from the 9015 movement. That's why it has a certain difference from the real mechanism in appearance details; Compared to the one-piece mechanism, its difference is great and its cost is lower. But the sales price is the price of a single piece mechanism; because the name ZF Factory is big and ZF Factory should also be given a share from this watch, all these costs come out of the profit. Moreover, this manufacturing factory is behind the scenes. If ZF Factory ever stops working with it, after-sales support for this watch will likely disappear; Because ZF Factory cannot do anything about this after-sales support, after all, it is not their product. It is not clear how long the small factory will survive, so it is difficult to guarantee after-sales support.

Now let's talk about APS Factory. This factory is a name that shines later; Longines introduced the moon phase one-piece movement and Audemars Piguet one-piece movement (currently 3120 and 4302 one-piece movements). Because in today's high-end replica watch market, the mechanism is king; One-piece mechanisms are increasingly moving to a central position. This factory has also gained a solid place in the market thanks to its real one-piece mechanisms and largely matches its promotion. He did an extremely good job in appearance and workmanship details, benefiting from the experiences of his predecessors. Of course, using the high-cost one-piece mechanism, there is no need for it to stumble in appearance and affect sales; This is also inevitable. That's why APS Factory Audemars Piguet has received good feedback since its launch and has been greatly appreciated by watch enthusiasts. Its price is slightly more expensive than the previous model with JF Factory 9015 movement; but it is the same price as the ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 9015 movement model mentioned above. The APS Factory Audemars Piguet replica watch perfectly recreates the charm of the original, both in appearance and mechanism, and is the current top-end version.

The surface of sapphire glass is resistant to abrasion and scratching, and its hardness is very high. The watch's hour markers are longer; It is processed to form a curved surface, and its chamfers are finely crafted. It has a more retro feel compared to the 15500. The center shaft of the hour and minute hands is full; APS Factory has processed the hour and minute hands very finely, there is no burr on the edges, the lume filling is even and bright enough after absorbing light.

The most visual and easiest way to distinguish between APS Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 and ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 is to look at the movement. Since ZF Factory uses the 9015 caliber + bridge plate format, it has a fundamental difference from the real one-piece movement. We can look at the picture below: Underneath the ZF Factory 15510, there is actually the 9015 movement; The two small gears in the red circle in the picture are ornamental parts fixed to the bridge plate. These do not rotate when the rotor rotates, and these two gears are of such rough workmanship that they can be seen with the naked eye; because the bridge is fixed to the plate, not real gear. Likewise, the surrounding stones are ornaments on the bridge plate, fixed directly to the plate. By covering this plate over the 9015 movement, they bring the appearance closer to the original. APS Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 is a real 4302 one-piece movement. The two small gears in the red circle are the gears of the actual mechanism; They are finely crafted and rotate as the rotor rotates. The surrounding stones are also stones embedded in the real mechanism. There is no bridge plate here, each piece is a mechanism part. Watch enthusiasts can easily distinguish them by looking at the real shot photo below:

The images below show the APS Factory 4302 one-piece movement and the bridge plate movement converted from ZF Factory 9015, respectively.

Therefore, APS Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 is slightly better than ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 and more worth buying.

New Audemars Piguet Ref. 15510ST retains the 1972 design; However, some minor changes have been made to the case, dial and strap. The chamfers on the top and bottom of the case have been enlarged, thus improving the overall proportions of the dial. On the other hand, the satin finishing of the hour and minute hands of the watch has also been improved; The contrast between polished and shiny surfaces is more pronounced. The workmanship of the steel bracelet is flawless; It is one level superior to the workmanship of every steel bracelet watch on the market. The tension of the "buffer zone" where the bracelet end rings meet the case body is exactly the same as the original. As for the strap details, the first four links of the APS Factory 15510's strap have been transformed from parallelogram to trapezoid; The width of the strap gradually decreases, adding a more fluid aesthetic to the lines, and the links are thinner and lighter when worn in the hand! The workmanship of the stainless steel bracelet is flawless; Better than any stainless steel bracelet on the market. The “buffer zone” connecting the head of the stainless steel bracelet to the case body is exactly the same as the original. Experience this fine detail, feel this difference!

The workmanship of the steel bracelet is flawless; It is one level superior to the workmanship of every steel bracelet watch on the market. The tension of the "buffer zone" where the bracelet end rings meet the case body is exactly the same as the original. The integrated steel bracelet design is full of classic elements of the original Royal Oak.

The buckle workmanship is fine; The AP engraving is spot on, perfectly recreating the original details.

On the movement side, APS uses the custom-made 4302 one-piece movement; The overall similarity rate of the mechanism is over 90%. At the same time, the rotor of this movement will use a carved (skeleton) rotor design like the "50th Year" model; This makes the mechanism more spectacular. Power reserve of up to 72 hours is more stable, better and more realistic. However, pay attention to this here: The APS Factory factory claims that this is “free-sprung”, whereas in fact a “regulator-based” adjustment method is used. What exactly is the difference between “without regulator” and “with regulator”? The “regulator-free” structure removes the speed adjustment needle (fast-slow) mechanism in the regulator structure; It changes the moment of inertia of the balance wheel by adjusting the eccentricity of the balance weights on the outer edge of the balance wheel, thereby changing the period of oscillation of the balance wheel-spring system and adjusting the error of the mechanism, that is, the daily deviation appearing on the adjusting device. The APS Factory 4302 movement still retains its "regulator" speed adjustment needle system. The exact working principle is this: by finely adjusting the speed adjustment needle, the effective length of the mainspring is changed, thus the oscillation frequency of the balance wheel-mainspring system changes and the error of the mechanism is adjusted. By comparison, regulator setting introduces isochronism error; The regulator-free structure does not require taking into account the effects of external factors such as gravity. In terms of repair, the traditional speed adjustment needle system is of course easier to handle. Due to cost, a mainspring without a regulator was not used in this mechanism; It is already difficult to compare the error of a replica watch with the original. Moreover, if it were used without a regulator, it would be extremely troublesome to adjust the error in the future. If the error leaving the factory is big, it remains big; if it is small, it remains small; In other words, those who buy a replica watch are left entirely to chance.

In summary, APS Factory and ZF Factory Audemars Piguet 15510 can be easily distinguished from the movement. Since the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak series is a popular model, many different factories have produced its molds, and many small factories too. However, if a small factory prints its brand through ZF and sells it at the price of a big factory, it is not worth buying. In this replica watch, currently only APS Factory uses the real one-piece movement, so it is very easy to recognize it from the movement. Guangzhou watchmaking has been renewed from generation to generation; Now ceiling level manufacturers have started to abandon bridge plate mechanisms. Those who do not have their own monolithic mechanism cannot be at the top of the industry. This is really attractive for us watch enthusiasts. I hope this article helps you. We will share more detailed parts disassembly, real shot review and real-replica comparison in the future.