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New PO 8500 - Lots of Pictures

  1. rob541

    rob541 Jan 19, 2012

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    This is a combo post from some other forums. I have been working on a new computer and all of my bookmarks have been lost. I won't forget to post here from now on! Sorry of this loads slowly, I added more images than usual. This is a very photogenic watch. Below starts the two posts, combined into one.

    Before I get started on this, let me just say I was a die hard 42mm fan. The dial was more proportionate, I liked the bezel better, and I liked the white numerals more than the orange.

    That being said...

    I stopped into the boutique at The Aventura Mall the other night. I wasn't expecting to buy anything. I wanted to see a few things - the two-register PO, the two-register Speedmaster and a few other things.

    And then I tried on the 45.5mm PO - the new one. I did not want what happened to happen - but it did. It looked better than the previous version of the 45.5. It had the same features I found aesthetically pleasing in the 42. The finish seems so much nicer than on the previous version.

    Here are some shots...

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    As you can see - the numerals are not painted, they are applied. And gorgeous. I would normally have opted for the white numerals - here is why I didn't. They are very shiny. The orange numerals are satin or bead blasted. And much more appealing than the shiny.

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    I don't know if it's me, but I think the lume markers are a little more faceted - maybe a little - I never really looked that closely at my previous version.

    On the 42, I also like the bezel cogs better - they were straight as opposed to scalloped. I like the smaller bezel better - and now the 45.5 looks like the former 42 (or maybe I never looked at the old). And the layout of the ceramic bezel is much more aesthetically pleasing as well - the matte finish looks so much nicer than the old shiny aluminum one.

    The crowns also have a more finished look - matte crown and polished logo and He lettering.

    The date wheel is also a little nicer on this one - the numbers seem raised and very nicely finished - almost a raised silver, but not quite applied.

    As for the movement, it is always nice to see a beautiful one. This is no exception. Polished and engraved beautifully.

    Another one of my favorite updates is the bracelet pin system. They are now hidden behind sturdier looking screws. The screw comes out and the pin gets pushed (I think). I will be adding the MESH to the lineup very, very soon.

    The lume is awesome, too - but I didn't try any shots of it yet. So here are some pictures of the rest of the watch. Sorry for the quality - I used to have Nikon and Hasselblad equipment, but I sold it all a couple years ago.

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    More photos to follow. Never thought I would love the 45.5 with orange - but I bought it anyway. I got some swag, too. I got the loupe (which has a mini bezel on it), I got some hats, I got a pen and some other stuff - I didn't even go through the bag. I dealt with Jennifer at the boutique and she was great.

    As for the POC - it was like wearing a hockey puck on my wrist - I love the look, but it is too think for me to wear - especially with all the sleeves I need in WNY in the winter. The Speedy is gorgeous, but I can't stand the little polished link spacers. It ruins the whole watch for me. If they had it on a different band, I may have spent some more time with it. But I threw it back because of the bracelet.
    Took a little side trip to Key West and took the new PO 8500 with me. It survived submersion in about 3 feet of water. Here are a few more shots.

    My girlfriend laughed when she caught me looking at my iPhone for the time after spending 15 minutes taking pictures of this watch. She knows that even though I was staring at it, I wasn't looking at the time. It is a beautiful watch.

    If anyone is on the fence - I hope these pictures help push you over.

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    All shot with a Lumix DMC-ZS1

    Rob
     
    dsio and Trev like this.
  2. ulackfocus

    ulackfocus Jan 19, 2012

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    BLACK & ORANGE rule!!!
     
  3. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    Its interesting how many subtle changes there are, the biggest one aside from the ceramic bezel is that clover style crown rather than the normal jagged edged crown. From the 12, 3, 6 and 9 markers it almost looks as if they've used orange anodised aluminium rather than paint for the applied pieces.

    And while they've modernised it into the 116610 Submariner Ceramic's biggest opponent, it still has its history written all over it:

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  4. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    The other question... did your Cal 8500 Planet Ocean get delivered by a half naked mermaid, or is this false marketing?

     
  5. rob541

    rob541 Jan 19, 2012

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    That is GORGEOUS!
     
  6. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    Check out the inner silver ring on the black bezel, and the identical font on the numbers, 1957-2012 and they've kept so much of its DNA.

    Then you see the twisted lugs and luminous dial markers on my 1967 remake SM300 and the gap from SM300 to PO gets filled. Best parts of both species combined with the latest technology.

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  7. Spy

    Spy You know my name. Jan 19, 2012

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    Congrats!

    I tried one on at the Omega store in Vancouver, B.C. Canada and loved it. Wish I could trade my PO in for the new one. The new one, aside from the caliber, has been perfected imo.
     
    dsio likes this.
  8. Demetrios Mirissis

    Demetrios Mirissis Jan 19, 2012

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    Great photos. I just ordered the exact watch 2 days ago. Cannot wait for delivery sometime in February! Rolex who?
     
  9. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    When the watch is designed to take on the Rolex Submariner Ceramic at a new price point, it really does have to be good. You really get the feeling Omega were looking at the Sub-C from the perspective of "How can we beat this in every area we can" from the bracelet adjustment, to the implementation of the ceramic bezel, to the lume, to the movement, to the feel of the crown and the solid feel of the clasp. Everything, just slightly better, the only thing is the lack of the micro adjust in the clasp that the Ploprof has, of all the systems, Submariner clasp, Deep Sea Sea-Dweller glide-lock and the Ploprof microadjust, the PP is IMO the best of the bunch, it'd be great if they'd move it into the PO line.

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  10. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    Incidentally, the Liquid Metal Planet Ocean Cal 8500 in Ti is pre-ordered out here in Brisbane for an unknown length of time, they can't even get a Cal 9300 or Cal 8500 LM PO to sit in the window at the boutique as deposits have already been taken well in advance of future shipments. Melbourne is the same apparently. While they're not limited editions per-se, they're limited production volume, much like the Rolex Daytona, and as a result there's a line to get one.
     
  11. Demetrios Mirissis

    Demetrios Mirissis Jan 19, 2012

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    I began my watch recon with the green dial/bezel Submariner, 116610LV. However, everyone claimed how unattainable it would be. Sort of like a Daytona. The only thing that it had going for it was the green unique color. But the few they get they "reserve" for their own special clients... That just annoyed me more to start looking elsewhere. So happy he told me that, LOL
     
  12. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    I do love the green Sub, and I've had a play with one at the local AD, it was actually sort of luck as I dropped in at 8AM just after opening and they were reloading the safe out back with the latest watches from their first shipment of Baselworld released watches, I asked the girl about the green Sub and she came right back out and handed me the first one in Queensland, even offered first crack at it. The price here though was $10,500 USD equivalent which is a lot to spend on a Submariner, especially since grey market dealers offer them for as low as $7,500 USD.
     
  13. Demetrios Mirissis

    Demetrios Mirissis Jan 19, 2012

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    For that kind of money I'd hold out for a SS white face Daytona...
     
  14. rob541

    rob541 Jan 19, 2012

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    There are so many things I love about that watch. And I love where Omega went with the Planet Ocean. Thats why I bought the first one. Still not sure why I sold it, but even with the doubling of the price and the orange markers (something I never thought I'd like) - I still went with the new one.
     
  15. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Jan 19, 2012

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    The SS Daytona is $14,000 USD here. Ironically, my older brother bought two Daytonas, one in about 2004 for $14,000 (white dial) and a second in about 2006 for $17,000 (black dial) but since then, the Australian dollar has soared against the USD and the CHF, which has dropped the retail back down to $14k, what it was 8 years ago, and lower than he paid in '06.

    Have to say though, because he and his wife work in the hospitality industry, those two Daytonas are almost destroyed now, deep dents all over the bezel from being bashed against bar stools, kegs, and wine bottles, chipped sapphire crystals, and because as a restauranteur, he spends half his life with a cigarette in his left hand dropping ash on the watch, the bracelet is so worn out after only 8 years on the black one that it droops almost 30 degrees when held by the clasp. A Daytona just isn't a strong watch, its a dress watch at best.