APS Factory Audemars Piguet 26420

#1 · July 29, 2025, 2:00 am

Quote from RepsGuide on July 29, 2025, 2:00 am

APS Factory published several models of the Audemars Piguet 26420 a few weeks ago. A reader asked me on my blog to do a review of this watch. Unfortunately, I can’t provide a detailed side-by-side comparison because I don’t have the genuine watch. However, I will share a brief review later.

Before that, here’s some bad news: Clean Factory was raided last week. I was going to announce this on my blog, but I assumed many of you already knew. Their warehouse was found, so it’s going to be very hard for them to continue operations. I don’t know if Clean will come back to this business—maybe not.

This situation is similar to what happened to Noob Factory several years ago; Noob never returned. Some say Clean will be back soon, and some dealers online claim Clean is accepting orders, but this is not true. At the moment, ordering from Clean is impossible. If they do come back, it will likely be in one or two months at the earliest.

Honestly, it would make perfect sense if they decided to exit the business—after all, they’ve already made plenty of money.

Back to the Audemars Piguet 26420 released by APS Factory. There are four models; you can see the pictures below. I only recommend buying the stainless steel version with the black dial and the rose gold model. The other two have major flaws:

The gradient dial model has an inaccurate dial color.

The blue watch is made from stainless steel, but the genuine version is titanium. This is a major mistake from APS Factory.

APS Factory is known for acting quickly, but lately, they haven’t been as careful as they used to be. For example, with their replica 15400 and 15500 models, many people initially preferred the ZF versions. However, APS made step-by-step improvements, and eventually their AP 15400 and 15500 replicas surpassed ZF’s quality and became some of the best in the industry. It’s surprising that such a large factory made an obvious error with the AP 26420.

Among the many factories in the market, Clean was the most meticulous. They usually perfected their watches from the start, needing no major upgrades later. This high level of craftsmanship is also why Clean was raided—they made Rolex replicas that were just too good.

APS Factory’s versions include:

Smoked Brown Dial

Rose Gold

Ceramic

Blue

In the past, AP Factory made this watch using a common Chinese chronograph movement, but the watch was too thick. APS Factory improved on this by:

Using a super clone 4401 movement

Making the watch with the correct case thickness (about 14mm)

Producing a 43mm case diameter

Using black ceramic for the bezel and chronograph pushers

Applying excellent brushed finishing on the case

Giving the ceramic bezel a brushed front and polished sides

Smoothing the ceramic crown’s edge with rounded polishing

The crystal on the APS 26420 has a noticeable blue anti-reflective coating, while on the genuine watch, the coating isn’t as visibly blue.

Looking at the dial, it features large grid patterns, each with fine vertical lines visible up close. At the corners of each grid is an “X” that connects seamlessly with the pattern, and there’s no burr on the edges even under close inspection. The axis of the hands looks slightly different from the genuine watch. On the authentic model, the solid axis pin is smaller and more pronounced.

The date window on the replica lacks the deep recess style seen on the genuine 26420.

The band is easy to remove thanks to a quick-release system. However, APS does not offer an extra leather strap—only a rubber band comes with the watch.

The movement powering this watch is APS’s super clone 4401, which is currently only used by APS Factory. It’s installed in both the AP 26240 and 26420 models. The previous version of the 4401 movement had some differences compared to the genuine AP 4401 Calibre, especially around the balance wheel:

The APS 4401 has a regulator but no weights

Rumors say an upgraded V2 4401 will remove the regulator and add weights to the balance wheel

This upgrade will bring it much closer to the genuine AP 4401 Calibre

One final note: the rose gold 26420 from APS Factory has a gold tone very close to the genuine watch, which is impressive.

APS Factory published several models of the Audemars Piguet 26420 a few weeks ago. A reader asked me on my blog to do a review of this watch. Unfortunately, I can’t provide a detailed side-by-side comparison because I don’t have the genuine watch. However, I will share a brief review later.

Before that, here’s some bad news: Clean Factory was raided last week. I was going to announce this on my blog, but I assumed many of you already knew. Their warehouse was found, so it’s going to be very hard for them to continue operations. I don’t know if Clean will come back to this business—maybe not.

This situation is similar to what happened to Noob Factory several years ago; Noob never returned. Some say Clean will be back soon, and some dealers online claim Clean is accepting orders, but this is not true. At the moment, ordering from Clean is impossible. If they do come back, it will likely be in one or two months at the earliest.

Honestly, it would make perfect sense if they decided to exit the business—after all, they’ve already made plenty of money.

Back to the Audemars Piguet 26420 released by APS Factory. There are four models; you can see the pictures below. I only recommend buying the stainless steel version with the black dial and the rose gold model. The other two have major flaws:

The gradient dial model has an inaccurate dial color.
The blue watch is made from stainless steel, but the genuine version is titanium. This is a major mistake from APS Factory.

APS Factory is known for acting quickly, but lately, they haven’t been as careful as they used to be. For example, with their replica 15400 and 15500 models, many people initially preferred the ZF versions. However, APS made step-by-step improvements, and eventually their AP 15400 and 15500 replicas surpassed ZF’s quality and became some of the best in the industry. It’s surprising that such a large factory made an obvious error with the AP 26420.

Among the many factories in the market, Clean was the most meticulous. They usually perfected their watches from the start, needing no major upgrades later. This high level of craftsmanship is also why Clean was raided—they made Rolex replicas that were just too good.

APS Factory’s versions include:

Smoked Brown Dial
Rose Gold
Ceramic
Blue

In the past, AP Factory made this watch using a common Chinese chronograph movement, but the watch was too thick. APS Factory improved on this by:

Using a super clone 4401 movement
Making the watch with the correct case thickness (about 14mm)
Producing a 43mm case diameter
Using black ceramic for the bezel and chronograph pushers
Applying excellent brushed finishing on the case
Giving the ceramic bezel a brushed front and polished sides
Smoothing the ceramic crown’s edge with rounded polishing

The crystal on the APS 26420 has a noticeable blue anti-reflective coating, while on the genuine watch, the coating isn’t as visibly blue.

Looking at the dial, it features large grid patterns, each with fine vertical lines visible up close. At the corners of each grid is an “X” that connects seamlessly with the pattern, and there’s no burr on the edges even under close inspection. The axis of the hands looks slightly different from the genuine watch. On the authentic model, the solid axis pin is smaller and more pronounced.

The date window on the replica lacks the deep recess style seen on the genuine 26420.

The band is easy to remove thanks to a quick-release system. However, APS does not offer an extra leather strap—only a rubber band comes with the watch.

The movement powering this watch is APS’s super clone 4401, which is currently only used by APS Factory. It’s installed in both the AP 26240 and 26420 models. The previous version of the 4401 movement had some differences compared to the genuine AP 4401 Calibre, especially around the balance wheel:

The APS 4401 has a regulator but no weights
Rumors say an upgraded V2 4401 will remove the regulator and add weights to the balance wheel
This upgrade will bring it much closer to the genuine AP 4401 Calibre

One final note: the rose gold 26420 from APS Factory has a gold tone very close to the genuine watch, which is impressive.