Skagen describes this dial as 'layered Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba 15701ST.OO.D002CA.02 Mens Watch charcoal', which seems appropriate. The outside portion is glossy black, and the center section is sunburst-finished with a lovely dove grey color. The four screws are decorative but attractive, and the etched minute markers add function.I quite like the 'big date' complication. Unlike normal dates, which are simply sequential numbers 1-31 on rotating disc, big date uses two overlapping discs, one for each digit. This yields a larger and more readable date, at the expense of having a seam down the middle and slight oddness of differing heights. I much prefer this to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba 15701ST.OO.D002CA.02 Mens Watch glued-on-magnifier (aka cyclops), as seen on Rolexes.
Our second Skagen review today is of the 697XLMLMB. It's a quartz men's dress watch with a style a bit more daring than most of their line. Specifications:35g in weight with strap.42.5mm across with crown, 40.2mm without, 49mm lug to lug.8.5mm thick.Black ion plated stainless steel case with polished snap-on caseback.Integral black calfskin leather strap with thorn buckle bearing Skagen logo.'Super hardened' mineral crystal.Miyota quartz movement with 'big date' complication.Decorative dual-layer dial, with center metal section with etched indices and screws.Matching ion plated crown, non-screw-down type, with Skagen logo.30m (100ft) water resistant.Lumed hands and indices.As with the Skagen 233XXLSLB, the 697 is clearly a Skagen Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Scuba 15701ST.OO.D002CA.02 Mens Watch in style, but look closely and the differences are pronounced.
