Half the price of the obvious choice
By Priya Nair, Singapore ยท
At 14,800 to 15,800 dollars, the Alpine Eagle 41 costs roughly half what a steel Royal Oak 41 lists for, and unlike the AP you can usually have it the same week.
The 41 is the better-built of the two Alpine Eagles: the 01.01-C gives 60 hours, the blue dial has a deeper, richer texture, and at 9.7 mm thick it wears slimmer than the 36 in proportion. 23 mm lug width, 100 m, date, bracelet only.
What you give up is the resale and the recognition. Nobody at a party will clock it, and if you sell in five years you'll take a loss the Royal Oak owner won't. That's fine for someone who wears watches rather than trades them. On a man's wrist with a polo shirt it looks expensive and unshowy, which is more than I can say for half the steel sports watches in Marina Bay Sands.