Most helpful client reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
If you may afford this watch, it’s worth the price…
By Darwin Tesla
If you are like me, then you receive pleasure from researching huge ticket items as much as the purchase. I can’t say that it does away with buyer’s regret but the hangover doesn’t last almost as long. I purchased the Omega Planet Ocean 6 months ago with a lot of trepidation because of the price and a bad experience that I once had with a Rolex. I was concerned in regards to the price because it cost substantially more than the Omega Seamaster. The Seamaster is likewise a diver’s watch and has a proven track record. In fact, the watch that James Bond* wore in Casino Royale was a special edition quartz Seamaster. In this review, I will try to answer the following questions:
Is it worth paying more cash for a Planet Ocean, than for it’s predecessor, the Seamaster?
How does the Planet Ocean stack up to more highpriced competitor, Rolex Sea Dweller?
*Note: James Bond wore the Planet Ocean in a Quantum of Solace.
While conducting this review, I’ll also undertake to educate the novice on the basic elements of a watch: bezel, movement, band, crystal, case, and the face (dial, marker, hands). Without understanding each of these components, you can not accurately compare watches. Of course, there are other constituents as well as intangibles to be taken into contemplation (warranty, prestige, price, etc.).
1. The crystal is the transparent cover that allows one to view the time while protecting the face of the watch from damage. The divergence in quality and price varies according to the scratch resistance (hardness) of the crystal and the anti-reflective coating that have become general on high end diver’s watches. Any watch costing more than $150 will in general have one of three crystals: Mineral, Sapphire, and Ceramic. All Rolex and Omega watches come with Sapphire or Ceramic. Ceramic (yttrium-stabilized zirconia) is the most recent and most technologically innovative material. For the sake of concision, the minor vantages of a ceramic bezel aren’t worth the premium price at this time.
The Planet Ocean and all of the competing diving watches in this class come with sapphire crystal. Sapphire crystal is aptly named because it’s in a literal sense a lab invented corundum. For those of you who are not gemologists, sapphires and rubies are imagination names for red and blue corundum! Corundum has a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale (diamond = 10). Ergo, not one thing beneath 9 on the Mohs hardness scale must effortlessly scratch it. I’m very hard on watches but still haven’t managed to scratch the P.O.’s sapphire crystal. The harder a substance, the more brittle it is, therefore, you’re be just as likely to shatter a sapphire crystal than scratch it. If the crystal is raised (i.e. Sea Dweller), the exposed edge is likewise susceptible to being chipped. Fortunately, this is not a problem with the Planet Ocean since the sapphire crystal sits flush with the stainless steel bezel (replaceable).
Besides the way the sapphire crystals are mounted, the chief deviations among diving watches implicate the anti-reflective coating, or lack thereof. The Omega Seamaster and the Rolex Sea Dweller both put the anti-reflective coating on the inside of the crystal while the Planet Ocean has translucent blue tinted anti-reflective coating on both the outside and inside of the crystal. Note: You may only see the ‘blue tint’ by tilting the watch at an angle. Before purchasing this watch, I read an novice review from a Sea Dweller owner who stated that Omega made a fault because the exterior anti-reflective coating leaves noticeable marks when scratched. I’ve found that criticism to be highly exaggerated. In fact, I wear this watch daily and have put galore scratches on the band but can not find any marks on the coating. If you are actually going to use this watch for it’s intended intent (scuba diving), then you will utterly want to have this exterior coating because it works much better than the interior coating alone! IMHO, I love the crystal’s signature bluish hue because it’s the simplest way to distinguish an authentic P.O. from a cheap forgery.
2. Movement is the ‘motor’ of the watch that keeps the time, date, etc. Each discerned mechanical function of a watch is called a ‘complication’. With premium watches, you in general have three selections when it comes to movement: Quartz, winding, and automatic. Quartz watches are more precise and less expensive, but require batteries. Question: Why would anybody with half a brain want an automatic watch then? Answer: Multiple reasons! While automatic and winding movements are less practical and in general require more maintenance over the long haul, the divergence is the artistry, ingenuity, and elegance of a mechanical movement. This is where the Omega Planet Ocean surpasses almost each other watch out there including the Rolex Sea Dweller. The Caliber 2500 motion is based on an ETA 2892-2 (ETA is owned by the same company, Swatch group that owns Omega). Several inventions make this 27 jewel motion extraordinary. Due to the ‘Co-Axial Displacement’ the self winding (automatic) motion has managed to substantially reduce friction, therefore requires much less lubrication than any other automatic movements fabricated today! What that means to you, my friend is that your new Planet Ocean watch will not require costly servicing for 10 YEARS! FYI, that’s twice as long as any Rolex. The drasti scaled down friction within the motion also doubles the lifetime of the watch! Additionally, Caliber 2500 motion has been equipped with a ‘free sprung balance’ that’s a ‘state of the art’ simplified regulating scheme which principally improves the COSC timing precision. In other words, this watch keeps specially exact time for a mechanical watch. In my experience, this watch has kept almost perfective time +/- 1 second a day and under 2 seconds a week. FYI: All mechanical watches tend to run fast by a few seconds per week for the duration of the firstborn 6 to 18 months because of the firstborn factory lubrication. As the lubrication thins and spreads, high end mechanical watches in general become more accurate. Since the P.O. doesn’t need as much lubrication, the accuracy out of the box is amazing. It’s the only mechanical watch that I’ve owned that’s lived up to it’s billing when it comes to keeping time.
3. Case: The Omega Planet Ocean’s case is beautiful, rugged, and well designed with twice the water resistance rating of the Seamaster at 600m/1200ft. While that’s half of the water resistance of the Rolex Sea Dweller, it’s a moot point since the diving depth record with a breathing apparatus is only 313m! To give you a reference point, the most innovative atomic submarine (US Sea Wolf class) has a greatest or most complete or best possible diving depth of 500 meters. Omega produced the helium release value that made watches better suitable for longer deeper dives. Without it, the pressure modify upon returning to the surface would pop out the crystal. On the Planet Ocean, the release value is manual and looks like another winding clasp but is inscribed ‘He’ (the scientific symbol for helium). FYI- the safety value doesn’t need to be deployed for normal swimming and diving.
Oh yeah, I closely forgot to mention the beauteous depiction of the Omega sea monster [hippokampoi] is on the case back. Not only is it attractive, but it’s the easiest way to determine if the watch is a authenti Planet Ocean. While counterfeit watches don’t seem to have trouble imitating the Rolex green hologram sticker, I’ve searched the internet and have never seen a convincing forgery of the Omega sea monster on the back case. If you don’t believe me, then go to the bogus watch internet sites on the internet and do a comparison. The counterfeiters know that most humans who buy counterfeit watches are only mesmerized in fooling passive onlookers.
4. On the Planet Ocean, the bezel is the black or orange ‘coin edged’ unidirectional rotating stainless steel ring that surrounds the crystal. The Omega Planet Ocean’s ‘easy grip’ bezel has 120 clicks (stopping points) stopping precisely on the markers. FYI: If you are diving with this watch, then the bezel is one of the most crucial features. For others who plainly receive pleasure from the styling and durability of a diving watch, the bezel provides a quick way to determine the quality, precision, and attention to detail that was put into the watch.
5. The band is the least important feature of a watch as far as I’m concerned. The band may be changed and will in all probability be substituted long before the watch dies of natural causes. Nevertheless, an pricey watch must come with a solid clasped high grade stainless steel, gold, or titanium band (I abhor leather and plastic). The Omega Planet Ocean’s band is introductory rate. I found the it to be very comfortable and secure with no sharp edges. The clasping mechanism works flawlessly. Being that it is a diving watch, the clasp has a clever mechanism that painlessly extends the band to concede it to fit over a diving suit (or jacket sleeve). Fortunately, the band is brushed stainless steel so it doesn’t show scratches like the polished case.
6. Face (dial, marker, hands)- The Planet Ocean’s hands and makers are coated with Superluminova resin. That means that when you turn out the lights, you do not have disturb making out the time for 30 minutes or so. The arrow tipped hands distinguish the Planet Ocean from the Sea Master and the Ocean Dweller. Another cool feature is that you may distinguish the hands from one another even at 12:00! The date does not require magnification. I’ve always felt that magnified dates aka cyclops interferes with the elegance of a watch. While this is a matter of personal preference, a great deal of humans ought to agree since Rolex does not include the cyclops on the Sea Dweller.
Finally, I ought to mention the size. The Planet Ocean is a comparatively huge watch at 45.5mm and weighs 9oz. I like larger watches but it’s a matter of taste. I’m a huge man (6’3″ 210lbs) so it fits me proportionally. For an individual with a littler frame or thinner wrists, Omega makes a somewhat diminutive version (42mm) of the standard PO. Whichever version you choose, the Plane Ocean will never be mistaken for a lady’s watch!
CONCLUSION: While the PO does cost more than the Seamaster, I believe that it’s well worth the extra price because of the bettered motion and styling. You are also paying $5000 less than the Sea Dweller. I love my Planet Ocean and highly commend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Great Value in Premium Watches
By Nimajneb
I have a couple of luxuriousness watches – a Girard Perregaux that I use for formal occasions and a Tag Heuer for daily use. The steel band on my Tag broke, and I employed that as an pardon to ultimately upgrade. I considered a Rolex, Cartier (Roadster), Breitling, Omega, or another GP. After prowling around lavishness watch forums/reviews, I settled on the Omega SPS as having the best value for the money. Rolex makes great watches, but they’re so ubiquitous with so a lot of fakes drifting around that it doesn’t feel “special”. Cartier seems to be widely panned by luxuriousness watch afficionados – apparently it is mechanism is so sensible that it must be sent in to Cartier for procedure maintenance each 3-5 years at a cost of $700 a pop!! The Breitling models I liked have monstrous sizes…they looked incongrous on my 7″ wrist. In the end, I settled on the Omega SPS – and I believe I made the right decision. It’s beauteous – it looks and feels substantitive without looking pretentious. The red/orange 6, 9, and 12 numbers on the dial catches the eye. I think this is a outstanding lavishness watch for daily use. It surely feels like it may take a lot of abuse.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
This is an aweinspiring watch
By P. S. Gifford- Horror author
I have owned this watch for a year and a half now and it is my favourite watch in my stable. I opted for the brown leather strap, which dresses it up a bit. It keeps outstanding time ( it sits in a watch winder when not being used.) It is a far classier option than a Rolex, in my opinion.
And what may I tell you- James Bond whers one!
PS Gifford
See all 6 client reviews…
