Today we are taking a look at a very cool watch in my opinion! The watch we are taking a look at today is from a small Australian company called “Fleur De Lis” which from French translates as “Lily Flower”. The company was started by two close friends. The company right now has 3 models. But the one that stands out is the AL line which is a Patek Phillipe Nautilus and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak put together to make the watch we have here! I usually am not a big fan of these Royal Oak or Nautilus homages as no one can’t seem to do it right, but this watch is a perfect iteration of them both in my opinion! The watch we are looking at today comes in two dial colour variations: white and grey. I chose the grey dial version as I’m not a big fan of white dials.
The watch arrived in a very good looking box. I really had a feeling that I’m unboxing a Patek Phillipe. The rectangular box is made of wood with a window to see your watch and the whole box is really well made, one of the coolest unboxing experiences in a long time! Inside the box, you will find a hand-signed Certificate with warranty and of course the watch! The first impressions were just wow! You immediately notice the quality of manufacturing. The watch just feels like it costs 10 times more! I really like how well the Patek case style goes with the AP bezel style, I never thought that you could merge two similar designs together and make a watch that looks that good!
The case of the Fleur De Lis AL is made of 316L stainless steel. The case is very well manufactured with nice and sharp lines. The finishing on the case is satin brushed with some subtle polished edges. The case shape is octagon with integrated strap design similar to Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. The watch actually is pretty big at 45 in width, 50mm at length and 12mm in thickness The watch isn’t for small wrists but is meant for bigger wrists starting from middle-sized ones. Nonetheless, I think the watch on my middle sized wrist looks and feels good! The watch actually has some weight to it, but not in a way that your wrist would get tired. The watch is great for everyday wear! At the top, we have the octagonal bezel with 8 small screws and they all are angled just the right way, just like we see on the Royal Oak. I know that many watch companies who make these style of watches usually don’t even bother to align the screws. I also like how the angle of the bezel is polished, gives the watch more luxurious look! At 3 o’clock we have a push-pull crown which is guarded by the crown guards. The crown is very nicely signed with a flower logo and reminds me of the Ginault Ocean Rover flower on the crown. The crown is very easy to grab and to change the time. The screw in solid case back is engraved with these almost ancient Roman column looking structures with almost what seems to be a Versace weave design around it. The strap is held on the watch with these separate metal parts which are polished and are moving to give you extra comfort on the wrist.
The dial of the AL reminds me the Patek Phillipe Nautilus a lot with those horizontal lines. The dial is in this grey colour, but in some angles, it looks black. Around the dial, we have the seconds track printed in white. At 1 o’clock we have a text printed “No Guts No Glory” which is kind of a moto to Fleur De Lis company! The polished hour markers are applied and filled with lume. At 12 o’clock we have the Fleur De Lis flower logo also applied in polished silver colour. The index hour and minute hands are polished and filled with lume. Overall the dial is very simple, but not to the point where it is boring! Also, it is good that someone actually thought about not putting the date on the dial and I really like that clean and symmetrical look!
The movement that is inside the watch is the Swiss Made Ronda quartz one! Don’t know the particular one, but they all are good and very precise! You just can’t go wrong with Swiss made quartz movement, especially from Ronda. They are widely used in a ton of watches and no one has had a problem with them! The battery life is 2-3 years.
The strap that the watch comes on isn’t my favourite one. The strap is black leather with that crocodile pattern on top. The strap looks good on the watch, and I get why they chose to go with this style of strap, but the one thing that I don’t like is that it is very stiff. You need a bit of force to bend the strap so it wraps your writ nicely. It took about 2-3 weeks for the strap to wear in, and still, it is pretty stiff. The other thing is that due to the integrated strap design, it won’t be easy to get a new strap. Maybe you can get one from Fleur De Lis after some time, but if you want any different colour or material strap, you will need to custom order one from a strap maker of your choice. I wish companies that actually make these integrated strap designs, also would make a more than one strap options and also offer the strap straps separately for sale. The butterfly clasp actually is pretty good and it is signed with Fleur De Lis logo on top.
Overall I really like this watch! It is very well built, comes in a beautiful box, has a nice design that is somewhat homaging Royal Oak and Nautilus, but yet staying original! And when it comes to the price of 315$ I think it is very cheap for what it is! The only thing that I would change as I said would be the strap, otherwise, I think it is a solid option for those who love thee kind of watches or are fans of Royal Oak or Nautilus, but just don’t have the money!
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