@HiDive...… If life was all practical there would only be 5 types of car in one colour and we would all be driven by ergonomics...…. But the E word just keeps bumping into bloody aesthetics.....that is the word which keeps costing us money.... and why not :0)

 

Glad to hear they didn’t fail and the fact that there are 5 total dives makes total sense why Omega hasn’t started bragging yet. Very cool exploration mission and I will be following along to see how this turns out. Looks like you can kinda see a watch on a blue strap strapped to one of the arms in this photo. But here’s poof Omega is definitely sponsoring.

 

I tried to zoom in for you. Looks like a couple of watches (maybe).. ceramic ?? - well positioned for the cameras anyway :0)

 

I am not saying that all things need to be totally practical but there are some people that believe a diver could use a watch at these depths. And most people believe that a Commercial Diver needs a watch at the depths that they actually work at. As an Ex-Commercial Diver I can tell you that I rarely wore a watch while working even in the 1970's and 80's. Currently as a Diver at work I do not ever wear a watch, but recreationally I sometimes wear two. One would be a high end mechanical and the other is a Garmin Descent Dive computer, even though I rarely go below fifty feet.

 

At least two Speedmasters failed on lunar missions and that didn't stop them from spending a fortune on advertising to sell the things.

 

Not to go too much off topic but what specifically in diving do you do for work?

 

I hear you but I think that is a bit harsh when you consider all the missions over 14 years (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) + the rapidly changing environments – extremes of hot and cold, sea water, vacuums, radiation, vibration and shock, magnetism, dust, zero - low gravity + working in confined spaces. From the Apollo 1 tragedy to the near tragedy of Apollo 13 through to minors like the LEM instrument glass on Apollo 15 shattering, Space is very tough. So, two failures seem pretty good… plus astronauts are good at repairing stuff and the old Speedy keeps flying :0)

 

I worked as a commercial diver in the 1970's and 80's on offshore oilfields, underwater construction building piers, demolition, welding and Nuclear Power plants. I quit that work to get an Engineering degree and did that for another 25 years or so. Now, toward the end of my career I work for a Submarine tour company.

 

Don’t suppose you did anything with a company called Oceantech did you? Became a part of DSND in the 90’s.

 

Sorry never heard of them. Oceaneering International, Taylor diving and Salvage, Smit Tak and some small companies.

 

I got this info from a commercial diver friend of mine.

The watches were made from extra titanium that was left over from making the sphere for the diving sub. Omega strapped two to the outside of the sub, and one went on the lander that had gotten stuck in the mud. As can be expected, they're very thick, large dive watches which were tested previous to the dives at 1,500 atmospheres.

The watch is called the Ultra Deep (in blue lettering on the dial) and looks to be based on the planet ocean, but also seems to have a vintage Omega Grande look to it. On the case back is the depth 49,*** ft. In actuality though, 1500 ATM is 50K (the Rolex Deep Sea Challenge was also tested to 1500 ATM).

 

Thanks for the extra info. Looks like this is being kept well under wraps. I wonder how many Ultra Deep watches they made?

 

Looks like the official news is breaking on this:-

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/planet-omega/ocean/worldsdeepestdive

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/stories/as-deep-as-it-gets

https://www.fratellowatches.com/bre...il&utm_term=0_b515b4ef06-01a8c7a794-123605657

 

Its official …. Victor Vescovo: Adventurer reaches deepest ocean locations. Now all the dives are complete and the watches worked well there might be more publicity - Nice it is the same movement as the modern Ploprof.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49636756

That will give Omega a depth record and maybe a duration record - A Five Deeps Expedition scientific lander was stuck on bottom during the previous dive (#2) and was freed and recovered from 10,927 meters by direct action of the manned submersible....54 hours later – to rescue the lander. The watch recovered with it was still in perfect working condition.

These links give more background.

https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/omega-seamaster-ultra-deep-professional-11867640

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/stories/as-deep-as-it-gets

https://www.fratellowatches.com/breaking-news-omega-seamaster-planet-ocean-ultra-deep-professional/

 

Nice new video out from Omega covering this ongoing project in more detail ….

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https://perezcope.com/2024/02/24/the-usual-suspects-and-the-rolex-deep-sea-special-no-1-scheme/
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Again another interesting investigative researched article. Thus far I haven't found any good January 23, 1960 photographs showing the watch being attached to the "Trieste" bathyscaphe, it was probably attached to the upper part ?
As a side note, it's remarkle to see that in many 1948 to 1969 photographs, Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard was wearing two wrist watches !
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