The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore reference 25721ST, launched in 1993 and known as “the Beast”, is a large steel automatic chronograph. It has a case of about 42 mm, much bigger than the 1972 Royal Oak, with a thick octagonal bezel, rubber-clad crown and pushers and a “Méga Tapisserie” dial with a coarse waffle pattern. The movement is an automatic chronograph that sources describe as based on a Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre with an AP chronograph module; the exact calibre designation varies between sources.

It was designed by Emmanuel Gueit, then a young designer at AP, as a more muscular sibling to the Royal Oak. The first reaction in the trade was hostile, because the watch looked so far from the slim Genta original, and AP produced it in small numbers at first. The nickname “Beast” came later from collectors.

The Offshore turned out to be one of the most influential watches of the 1990s and opened the way for the oversized luxury sports watch. The community now regards the 25721ST as a landmark, and early examples with correct dials and straps are sought after. The original reference is long out of production, but the Royal Oak Offshore line continues in AP’s catalogue.