The first time I saw 1:1 fake Audemars Piguet‘s new Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in Sand Gold, I thought I was looking at stainless steel. AP had just announced the watch, a mix of materials to create a new gold alloy that’s a softer hue between pink and white. But in the bright blue lights of a convention hall, the luxury replica Audemars Piguet looked completely white. As it made its way around the circle of press at the event, only when I got it up close, under a bit of shadow, did the rosy tones start to come out of the case. For “just a new material,” it was pretty impressive. But I figured that it was a one-time experience, like learning how a magic trick was done.

The second time I saw cheap replica Audemars Piguet‘s new Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon in Sand Gold, I thought I was looking at stainless steel. I was at another press preview, this time in New York when I saw my friend Perri Dash working on a wrist roll in the shade. “It’s cool that they brought out the stainless steel version,” I thought to myself. Then I got closer. You know what they say, “Fool me once…”

Any other batch of releases and the new aaa quality fake Audemars Piguet 26735SG (for “Sand Gold”) would have easily been the watch that grabbed the most attention. It certainly caught my eye, but as someone who loves the Royal Oak, I’m never quite sure how the audience will react. This time, the watch was the “With Special Guest” to John Mayer’s top billing with his show-stopping top copy Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar, so I expected it to get overshadowed. Then there’s the fact that it’s easy to dismiss the watch – like I said before – as “just a new material.” That’s why I was, frankly, pleasantly surprised by the fact that the few photos I posted of the watch on Instagram seemed to really resonate.

So sure, the most important thing to note with the new best quality replica Audemars Piguet ref. 26735SG is the new sand gold material, but it’s not all just about color. When I wrote about the watch a few weeks ago, I missed a brief mention in the press release that AP’s new sand gold should be more color-fast and durable over time. While not many people (myself included) have to worry about the durability of rose gold, it’s particularly finicky and prone to fading when exposed to salt water or chlorine. Very few brands have solved that issue, Rolex and Omega being two of the notable exceptions.

And while it isn’t all about color, it certainly is a big selling point. Almost all gold used in watchmaking is 18k or 14k alloys, made harder and more durable by mixing other materials with pure gold. Choosing what materials you use can lend colorfastness, hardness, and shift color. While these mixes are now closely studied, tested, and checked for impurities that might impact the final product, back before the early to mid-1900s, this kind of gold mixing was wild and free. It’s not uncommon to see four-color gold cases (bonus point who can name the fourth color besides yellow, white, and rose), and often, if you see white gold cases (on Cartier, for instance) made before the 1950s, it’s actually rhodium-plated yellow gold.