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About to buy a Seamaster diver 300

  1. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    I decided I want a Seamaster diver 300m chronograph but I really know nothing about watch movements. I´ve found 2 models of this watch. One has the 1164 movement and the other has a 3330 movement. Which one is better?? I see the 3330 is a more recent movement with the Co-Axial technology which I´ve heard is not that impressive and makes the second marker move little slower. On the other hand, I´ve read the 1164 is a rugged durable movement.
    I hope you experts can point me in the right direction. As far as price comes I see a difference of around $800 between this 2 so it´s no big deal.
     
  2. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Sep 21, 2013

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  3. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    That´s the piece I read about the 1164 and has me thinking about getting the older model. Really want the watch but don´t want to regret it in the future.
     
  4. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Sep 21, 2013

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    Is it your first major watch purchase or an upgrade from a previous one?
     
  5. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    My parents gave me a Longines HydroConquest when I graduated from college about 6 years ago. This is my first major purchase. I really like watches in general, but never really studied about movements and that stuff. I like to collect stuff and wanted to start a watch collection. I´ve lived with the idea for quite some time but every time I had the money for a watch ended up buying a rifle.
     
  6. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Sep 21, 2013

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    Ha, yea watches are interesting, you find you don't deal with buyers remorse much as long as you buy well.
     
  7. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    That´s what I´m trying to avoid ¨BUYERS REMORSE" jajajaja. It always happens when you spend over $2k on big boys toys.
     
  8. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 21, 2013

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  9. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 21, 2013

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    Both watches are based on the ETA 7750.

    The 1164 is a fairly standard version of the 7750 with a few tweaks to things like the shape of some bridges. Robust, reliable, and in my experience servicing them (and really any 7750) very accurate.

    The 3330 is also 7750 based, but has the added features of a column wheel for switching the chronograph on and off, instead of a cam like the 1164 has. In addition it has the 3 level co-axial escapement, which is "more reliable" than the 2 level co-axials are.

    Both watches have a beat rate of 28,800 A/h, so there will be no difference in how the hand moves between them.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers, Al
     
  10. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    Thanks for the input. I read somewhere that the Co-Axial don´t run at the stated 28,800 BPH, that they run at around 25,000 so it translates to 7 BPS instead of 8.
    I like the looks of the new one a little better. The bezel is more appealing. I have around 10 days to think this through. The Planet Ocean is tempting me but the price difference is keeping me off it.
     
  11. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Sep 21, 2013

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    The ones we're talking about are the 1152/1164 SMPC and the later but now also outdated 3313 SMPC, I don't think he's looking at the new 3330 version as its about double the price of the other two

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 21, 2013

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    Well I'm not sure what you are talking about - I'm responding to what he wrote and asked about, which was the 3330...

    Cheers, Al
     
  13. dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Sep 21, 2013

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    Oh, I just went back and re-read the initial post I must have been dyslexic or something, you're absolutely right :confused:

    When I wrote that review the 3330 didn't exist yet it was just the 3313 and the 1164 so I had that in my mind and read the numbers the way I expected them to appear
     
  14. Prieto9000 Sep 21, 2013

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    I´m really confused right now. For what I can see the 1164 has the inside markers aligned vertically on the opposite side of the crown. When I went to the store the salesman showed me one that had the markers on the bottom like the one on dsio´s picture and told me it was the newest version of the seamaster diver 300. Taking a closer look at the picture of the 3330 on Omega´s website I can see that in one of the markers it says Co-Axial Chronograph.
    What is the MSRP for the 3330??
     
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  15. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 21, 2013

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    No worries from me mate it's all good.

    As an aside I'm finding there is a lot of misinformation on the 3330 out there (the idea persists that it is a modular chronograph, and clearly it's not) so when I see a question about it I'm trying to give people the facts.

    It seems every watch "journalist" is quoting a single source for the 3330 technical data (not Omega), and that source is incorrect.

    Cheers, Al
     
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  16. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 21, 2013

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    Maybe you need to contact the store and get the reference number of the watch you were looking at to be sure which version it is.

    The 3330 has the small constant seconds at 9 o'clock, the hour counter at 6 o'clock, and the minute counter at 3 o'clock.

    The 1164 has the constant seconds at 9, the hour counter at 6, and the minute counter at 12.

    On the 3330, Omega has done some jigging of the minute counter on the dial side with some intermediate wheels to relocate it from 12 to 3, so with the layout changed it has confused quite a few people.

    No idea what MSRP is where you live...

    Cheers, Al
     
  17. GrouchoM Sep 22, 2013

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    Other new "features" of the 3330 model: ceramic bezel, Si14 (antimagnetic) balance spring, free sprung balance, lumed hands on the subdials, lacquered face instead of the wave pattern, 4 year warranty instead of the 2 year, continuous (non jump) minute counter. These may or may not be improvements; it's subjective.
    By the way, the 3330 lists for $6k.