Hi, I registered here quite a while ago now but have been lurking rather than posting. I currently own a 2500 PO, Speedmaster Pro, Speedmaster Pro TinTin and a Speedmaster MkII with decimal scale.
I have been considering the new PO since it was announced, I was in London on Monday and had the chance to visit the Regent St Boutique. The following was posted on TZ-UK where I post quite frequently (although with very little substance):

I commented on this thread yesterday that I would be visiting the Omega Boutique in Regent St today to try and see the new Planet Oceans:

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?375528-2016-Basel-Omega-planet-ocean

So after a few hours talking to a client about kidnapping response and preparedness (sometimes my job can be interesting, this is one of those occasions), I made my way to the boutique hoping that they would have the 39.5mm version I had been reading about on the train:

https://monochrome-watches.com/smal...the-39-5mm-omega-seamaster-planet-ocean-600m/

I own a first generation Planet Ocean and have mentioned on this forum a few times that I believe it to be superior to the (previous generations of) Submariner in most ways. Bracelet and clasp more substantial and feel tougher, timekeeping on my PO roughly -1 per day, very bright lume. It was one of the first premium watches which grabbed my attention, mainly because of the bright orange bezel and has now been in my collection for 8 years IIRC.






When the second generation of POs came out I decided that I wanted one, the previous chronograph had never interested me but I loved the look of the 9300 powered 2 register version, until I say how thick it was. Anyway, I tried on the (at this time) new three handers and was disappointed by the thickness of them, especially on the bracelet which seemed to exaggerate the size, especially on the 45.5mm version. Despite trying to buy one on several occaionsons, the thickness always put me off and I never ended up buying one.

45.5mm on rubber



42mm on rubber


45.5mm on bracelet



My opinion on the second generation of PO remains that they got the proportions wrong, for me at least.

So back to today. As soon as I got to the boutique I spotted a couple of the new POs in the window, caught the attention of the brick outhouse who was guarding the treasures within and asked to see some of the new models. Here are some brief thoughts.

Initially the following were brought out for my perusal:

43.5mm Black & Orange
http://www.omegawatches.com/watches...an-600m/omega-co-axial-435-mm/21530442101002/

They only had the bracelet version, which is a shame as I like the look of the rubber strap. The dial is gloriously shiny, whether that's a positive or negative is personal to wearer but I liked it. Much of the discussion about this particular model has been around the bezel, specifically, the orange section. The black section is ceramic, however, the orange section is to quote ablogtowatch 'silicon nitride rubber blended with ceramic', I was intrigued to see how it felt in comparison to the rest of the bezel. After much prodding with my finger nail, it seems that it feels like very hard rubber but not quite. Its very hard to explain, but, on the whole I like it. The colour is striking next to the rest of the ceramic bezel.

The watch is thick, very thick. It is hard to know how it would wear as this one was on an unsized bracelet. What I will say is that Omega have been very clever with the end links; they are similar in construction to an older Rolex bracelet in the way the last link fits into the endlink. The result of this is that the bracelet angles downwards closer to the case (see my 8500 bracelet pic above for what is now avoided) when pulled snug, or I assume when properly sized.




I also tried the blue version of the 43.5mm bracelet watch, more on colour below, but it seemed slightly smaller than the black/orange, a trick on the mind due to colour and lighting I suspect.

I then tried on the 39.5 in blue.
http://www.omegawatches.com/watches...ial-master-chronometer-395-mm/21530402003001/
Firstly the colour, its very very dark. In the shop lighting it seemed almost black, not the slightly metallic blue from the website. TBH I am not 100% on the blues that Omega use in ceramics, again its personal opinion, but I prefer a blue like the Hour Vision Orbis, more shimmering that flat.
I thought this would be the size I would prefer, however, I'm not sure. I had been wearing my 14060 which is 40mm, so .5mm larger. The PO felt a little porky, fat with a small face. It also seemed quite small when I tried it on.




Finally I tried on the GMT
http://www.omegawatches.com/watches...al-master-chronometer-gmt-435/21533442201001/
https://monochrome-watches.com/omega-seamster-planet-ocean-gmt-master-chronometer-live-pics-price/
I did not like the look of this when the Basel shots came out, however, in person I think it looked spectacular. The contrast on the bezel is great and the between the strap and case really popped.
Being on the strap and deployant clasp I was able to adjust it to fit snuggly to my wrist. To my surprise the 17.04mm (yes the all important .04mm) felt great and slid under my cuff with no problem. FYI I was wearing a CT slim fit shirt, so no baggy cuffs.
This was my favourite of the bunch on looks alone, but as I don't really travel abroad or need to track time zones, an extra £1K on an already expensive watch would be daft, but then again I currently own 11 watches so any purchase is a bit daft.




Some general points.

The bracelets now have micro adjustment, impossible to test without sizing the bracelet but similar to the 300 Master Co-Axial, which is a good thing.

The bezel action feels great on these, the previous version felt far to clicky, not smooth at all. All of the ones I looked at felt firm and very smooth. I'm not sure what they have changed but it's a big improvement.

All are METAS certified. Similar to COSC but tested once cased with a tolerance of 0 to +5. The sales rep said that each watch can be traced via the METAS website to show you exactly how it performed during test.
http://www.omegawatches.com/planet-omega/watchmaking/the-worlds-first-master-chronometer/

Anyway, enough rambling. Conclusion I want one, which one I don't know. I would like to see the titanium version, even then, I suspect that the volume of choice may ultimately stop people from buying, after all, if you are going to spend over £4K you don't want to choose the wrong one. I am rambling again so I will leave it there. Hopefully someone will find this helpful.

 

impressive first post - welcome

 

You were in the running for Best First Post of 2016 until I saw a dive watch being worn with a suit.

Please feel free to ramble like that (ie: with plenty of watch pictures) any time you wish.

 

Welcome to the Forum @Phil h ! That was an excellent exposition and analysis -- thanks for taking the time to do that & sharing.

Since you already have a PO diver and since your future work might take you to different time zones (referencing your mention of kidnapping response), the GMT makes good sense to me. So far, it's the one Baselworld 2016 offering that has me intrigued.

 

No chance of me travelling abroad, I was consulting with a company who consult and respond to kidnapping, an interesting world to take a peek into but not one I am qualified to work in.

I also popped into the Boutique in the Bull Ring, Birmingham today; they didn't think they would see the new models for a couple of months. I wanted to try the 39.5mm again without the larger size nearby, I know deep down that 43.5mm with the height of the watch is probably too large for me for daily use. I think trying the large one on made the small one feel too small. A bit like putting a Submariner on after a Radiomir.

BTW Mods, thanks for my Punxatawnee Phil Avatar, Groundhog Day sums it up sometimes

 

I would have never imagined I'd encounter another person on this Forum who has had to discuss kidnap response as part of their job. I lived and worked in Colombia for several years and had to ascertain different companies' exposure to extortion and kidnapping by the marxist rebel groups that were in business at the time. I interviewed one geologist who had been kidnapped and ransomed twice while working for the same company. I myself have also been kidnapped (while working in SE Asia, not Colombia) but my abduction only lasted a few hours.

 

I got my 3313 POC when the 2nd gen came out. The case thickness on the 2nd gen was a major factor for me too. Thankfully I prefer 3 register chronos.

So the new 3rd gens are thinner? They look to be like the 2nd gens to me. Or did I misread you?

 

Thank you for this thorough and excellent summation of your experience trying these models on. It's interesting reading your impression of the new bezel and its feel. Did the sales personnel happen to speak at all regarding the rubber's durability?

 

We discussed it briefly, I was most interested in how it would feel. He mentioned that it had been subjected to testing equivalent to (IIRC) 10 years, how I don't know.

 

The new models are slimmer but only marginally. The real difference IMO will be how they wear because of the lug design, caseback and micro adjustment on the clasp

 

It was a top secret joint exercise so I can't tell you who was involved. Some of the official report wasn't redacted so I can tell you that one mod gave another the picture based on your name, and that second mod installed it along with adding that avatar message. The message was perfect since you stopped lurking, and there is that groundhog / shadow thing.

 

+1 couldn't have said it better

 

Glad you busy mods find the time to Squeeze in so much excitement between your polka lessons and those absorbing accordion classes...

 

Great post - our local AD expects these closer to Christmas. I still like the look of the orange and black 43.5 (or maybe the grey titanium version) and was hoping that they would not be too thick. Looking at the photos the black and white GMT seems substantially thicker than the 43.5, but fitted better because of the strap. Is that right or is the 43.5 as thick, or thicker than the GMT?
Still, of all your photos the first generation PO looks the best.

 

Hello all,

Newbie here as well! I was so happy to see this post b/c I'm torn between which PO should be my first purchase. I initially loved the black/white GMT model, and these pics from Phil h really make me want to pull the trigger. My second choice currently is the 43.5 Good Planet.

I live in New Jersey but will be traveling to London next month. I contacted a few local ADs and none have in stock yet. Does anyone know when they will be hitting stores in the U.S.? If not soon perhaps I wait to get while in London. Thanks for helping another new guy!

 

In the US the watches are on tour currently. No idea of when they hit stores.

 

I enjoyed your post very much. Welcome to the Forum!!

 

From memory of info released since Basel, the GMT is slightly thicker, maybe 16.25 vs 17.04 or something like that. I tried holding them up next to each other in the shop but there is very little (noticeable) difference.

 

Hi Phil. Great review and have been thinking about the 39.5mm...whilst the 14mm height is bearable, I can't find any revised of lug to lug anywhere. Would you remember if have an idea?
Appreciate it.

Mark.

 

Phil, superb informative first post, welcome to the forum. Very interesting wearability analysis on the 43.5mm vs 39.5mm, I had imagined that the 39.5mm might be too " chunky"... "Yorkie" choc size. 43.5mm is the probably the sweet spot on this new range. Personally I still prefer the SM300MC over any SS PO...have not seen the new ceramic ones in the flesh...will try to keep an open mind, but I don't think I am going to like them either...must be getting old