It's been five days since I received my SMPc 212.30.41.20.03.001, and after three days straight of wearing this piece, I figured a mini-review couldn't hurt (and in light of the new 210.30.42.20.03.001 now hitting the market, it kind of make sense since the price of this outgoing Seamaster is going down; I imagine more people will be looking at this watch in the coming weeks).

Making No Waves
This is perhaps the most contentious aspect of the SMPc, especially for the blue dial variant. This being the Bond watch from Goldeneye, many considered it heresy that this watch omitted the wave pattern when it was released in 2013. I was actually one of them.



But when I finally got a chance to look at one in person, my view changed dramatically. Perhaps it's because of the deep lacquered finish, but the dial of the 212.30.41.20.03.001 looked just right without all the waves. In fact, in the right lighting conditions, the face of the watch takes on the appearance of a deepest blue water in a millpond state - it literally look like liquid lies beneath that sapphire crystal, with the applied markers and logo floating in that tiny little sea. As a bonus, it also shifts hues depending on the angle of the watch to whatever the lighting conditions may be. To me, this lends to increased contrast of the markers and hands, making legibility superb.

Solidly Out Of Sight

Beating underneath the solid caseback is the Omega 2500D, the latest and last version of this co-axial movement fitted to the SMPc. It's a far cry from the 8800 that powers the 2018 SMPc, and unlike in the new Seamaster, you can't see it. That one fact more than anything else gave me a moment of pause on the older SMPc - I would not have minded the eye candy of that 8800 lying under a display caseback. I wouldn't have minded one bit!



But after trying on the 212.30.41.20.03.001, I realized that eye candy did not trump fit. The slimmer 2500D coupled with the traditional solid caseback meant a thinner watch, about 13mm. And the 2500D has been running like a champ, losing all but about (maybe) half a second over a three day period! I have yet to test its endurance, but figures into the 50 hr mark are common.

Fit
The fit of the outgoing SMPc, FOR ME, is just shy of outstanding. For someone with wrists that are a shade under 6.5 inches, a watch's fit starts to be problematic for me when the case goes past 40mm. Fortunately, my SMPc, with it's shorter lugs, fits just as well as my 39.7mm FOIS!



That's half the equation, at least when it pertains to THIS particular watch. The other half depends largely on the outside temperature.

No, I'm not kidding.

The clasp on the 212.30.41.20.03.001 has a common complaint, with no micro adjustment available (either through the good ol' multiple pinholes along the side of the clasp or via of of those new micro adjustment clasps (like on (I believe) some of the new Planet Oceans). Because of this, there are quite a few owners that, when fiddling with the act of removing a full link or a half link from the bracelet, will find that their SMPc will be either a touch too tight, or a touch too loose. That's my situation - when it's colder, my SMPc fits PERFECTLY! When its hot... not so much; it gets a snug enough to where that logo on the caseback starts leaving its mirror image mark on my wrist.



It's not nearly bad enough to where it turns me off to this watch, but it is something that many will tell you they have addressed. I'm already beginning my search for my own micro adjustment clasp

Lume
Lume is what you'd expect of an Omega dive watch. in my few tests, it is outstanding for the first 30 minutes when the light goes away, then remains more than usable for another 60 minutes. Afterwards, it settles into a pause-n-squint-for-five-seconds level of illumination.



Price Break
As mentioned earlier, the incoming SMPc is already impacting the price of the outgoing one. Prices dropping below the $4000 mark are getting increasingly common, and I've seen more than a few beginning to approach the mid-$3000s... and that's through ADs. Gray market prices for brand new ones are about to hit the $3000-period in short order. That's in itself makes a helluva argument for considering adding one to your collection.

Special note: Check out the deals offered by our own OF sellers. Thanks again to @mdgrwl for the mad-deal on mine.

Overall
In the end, I am absolutely happy with the acquisition of my older SMPc. It looks great, it's reliable as hell, fits well (although it could be a bit better for us in betweeners) and is already a great deal that's only getting better.

 

Major congrats!
Classic design. This version looks more modern. I personally wish Omega would bring back the wave dial.

 

You’re in luck, sir. This is the new one I was referring to.

 

Thanks for the great review

 

Great review really enjoyed reading that, enjoy your new watch.

 

Beautiful! Nice review!

 

Hi. How's your watch this year?

 

congrats !!!

 

You don’t have to convince me of the merits of the 41mm SMPc. I bought mine in 2018 just as the new model was being introduced. Although the 8800 is technologically superior to the 2500d, the latter is no slouch. Mine has consistently run well within COSC standards and is usually +\- 2 SPD. As the OP points out, the no wave glossy dial is stunning (mine is black) and really elevates the appearance of this watch to the point where you can wear it as a dress piece. Compared to the current version, it’s also smaller, thinner, has a less obtrusive HE valve, an applied logo and that gorgeous larger Hippocampus engraving on the case back. To me, this version is the evolutionary design pinnacle of the Seamaster Professional Diver, at least so far. And in 2018, it was a ridiculously good bargain. Back then, I compared it to the incoming model and choosing the 41mm no waves version was a no brainer. Absolutely no regrets.