I recently picked up a Great White SMP GMT PIC 2538.20 as it is one of the few SMP variants I haven't tried and I have always been intrigued by the dial. The quirkiness of the GW has always appealed to me in that it has a bespoke dial and bezel and possibly case, different in dimensions and finish to all other SMP models, including perhaps surprisingly the black dial GMT. It is hard to think it was worth the expense of tooling it up as they aren't exactly commonly seen vs the 2351 and 2254. It was launched in 2000, 2 years after the black dial version, perhaps to stimulate flagging sales of that iteration or perhaps SMP sales overall but they are seldom seen in the wild so it possibly wasn't a hugely successful plan if so.

I have been on the look out for the right one for a few years, I love the basic SMP design, especially the sword hands versions. In addition to several 3 hand SMPs, I previously owned the Black 50th Anniv GMT SMP and also, usefully for comparison, a black dial 40mm Rolex Exp-II too which is obviously a close competitor. Neither are still with me but between those two I preferred the Omega GMT interpretation overall, the lume on the Rolex was very poor and the plain gloss dial lacked character. I wonder if I would think the same with this vs a Polar EXP-II, quite probably.

Here it is, fresh from a full overhaul at STS who never fail to do a tidy job: it looks and feels brand new The cost of the service was eye wateringly expensive as the bezel and crystal were replaced but this does have the advantage that it is now truly mint. The fully brushed finish is very very impressive in the flesh. It is a trick Omega repeated with the Speedy Tuesday 1 and really adds to the tool watch aesthetic, though ironically a fully polished finish would be easier to maintain as a wipe with a Cape Cod can sort most things on a polished finish, not so here. The titanium models have a similar matt look and it does suit the sword hands (Blake) dial well. I don't think this finish would work at all well with the Bond dial though as that is a much blingier design.

On a very crip frosty morning:



Margo looks pretty unimpressed by it though:


One thing I hadn't figured before I got this is that the lume compound used on the GW isn't the same as that used on the other sword hands variants like the 2254 or 2255. Those, presumably using C3 or C5, look to a greater or lesser extent yellow-green or pale green under most conditions. Presumably for reasons of aesthetics, the GW seems to use a much whiter compound, C1 perhaps? It's a subtle thing but it does mean that the GW looks very different to the others in daylight, they both still glow green at night though.

Here is a side by side with a 2265 for comparison. Note how unbalanced the He valve makes the 3 hander look vs the GMT case, they really should have ditched that for all the Sword hands releases, imagine how good a 2254 would look sans wart:




Just a titanium one to try and that is pretty much the full SMP set done.

 

Wearing mine today!

 

Cool! I do like that NATO. Be careful it doesn't scratch up your case back tho.

 

Honestly, I have never had in issue with NATO's doing that! Just lucky I guess!

 

Nice personal review! The GW was my first 300M model, and I was really excited to find one in good condition locally. This has since piqued my interest and led me to purchase a couple of other 300M pieces (love the Sword hands!). Now, on the hunt for a Gerry Lopez version...

 

Cheers!

 

Nice review!! In the lume shot the GW case looks significantly larger than the 2265. Is that because it is taller so closer to the lens? I'll be shocked if it is THAT much taller tho... Would appreciate a comparison side shot to show the height difference between the 2!

 

That really interesting, what are the differences?

That's funny as I much prefer the case with the HE valve. I think it adds a sense of balance to the left/right proportions and while it is certainly not symmetrical, leaving it out messes with the aesthetics - I didn't realise that it was missing on the GMT!

Great review

 

The cases have the same diameter but the the GMT complication adds around 1.5mm to the overall depth, it wears more like the 2201.50 Planet Ocean than the 2254 or 2255 at around 12.5mm depth (PO ~13.5mm from memory). I am not 100% on the details and thanks to Al have learned to not speculate too wildly but I believe the GMT complication is effected by adding a plate on top of the 3 hand 1120 (eta 2892) movement, creating the 1128 movement. This is notable since ETA already have a purpose built GMT movement, the 2893 but that operates in the opposite way, ie the GMT hand jumps. Omega chose to take the hard route to making their GMT operate like the Rolex version, the hour hand jumps and the GMT is slaved, with the 2893 it is the opposite.

Will do a comparison pic when I can but am out at present. To be honest in isolation the GMT feels fine, it is just that the 1120 movement watches are sooo very thin vs other competitor divers. The quartz versions are thinner still.


Here is a strip down of a black dial SMP GMT 2534.50 by UK watchmaker Duncan Hewitt:

https://thewatchbloke.co.uk/2015/08/19/omega-seamaster-gmt-calibre-1128/

 

Al @Archer posted a great article on this which I will dig out and link to. The dial used on the Great White is actually significantly thicker than the black version used in the 50th Anni GMT SMP for some reason. This means that several parts are different to those used in the black dial watch and some (such as the dial) aren't directly interchangeable. I seems that Omega went out on a limb with these watches for some reason, perhaps they thought they would be volume sellers as they had added and extra complication over the 3 hander. If that was the case they were possibly disappointed as the GMTs, especially in GW form are much more seldom encountered than the 3 handers.

Here is a post discussing bezel and dial differences between the black and white dial versions inc Al's observations on dial thickness:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/great-white-bezel-on-a-50th-anniversary-gmt-disappointment.63155/

 

Had the 50th anniversary GMT but not the Great White, which think is a little more thick. Very nice watch!

 

Super review. Great photos. Cat seems rather unimpressed.

 

Nice review. Along with the missing He valve on the GMT version, I think it's interesting that the GMT cases seem to have a more substantial crown guard... seems to cover more of the crown, no? At least in the front? Makes me wonder why Omega didn't use this for all of their SMP models. Or the other way... why the GMT case didn't just mimic the non GMT cases. On my 2531.80 I've never felt like the crown was, um, 'unguarded' with what's there but I wonder why the differences between SMP and SMP GMT cases. Either way, a great looking watch.

 

That's cats for you!

 

On both GMT models, the added thickness of the GMT componentry causes the crown and stem to sit noticeably more towards the back the case than with the 3 hander models such as the 2531. Or perhaps more correctly the case and bezel extend further forward than with the 3 handers. This must have looked odd when they mocked up the design so have seemingly extended the crown guard round the front of the crown slightly to mask this, or so is my best guess. The cases aren’t as similar as you might assume. I’ll take sone more pics to demonstrate this and the overall thickness difference later.

 

Now that you mention it I can sort of see how the case and bezel extend further forward on the GMT - never noticed that before. Appreciate the offer of additional pictures when you have the chance.

 

Ok have now finally got round to taking some comparison pics. These shots below show the Great white side by side with both a 2255 and 2265 SMP. I have used both 3 hand SMP flavours since they are slightly different in thickness, contrary to what many may assume. It isn't all that apparent from these shots but the quartz SMP is about 0.5mm thinner still than the 1120 Auto model (seemingly all in the caseback), which is already very thin vs competitors and later models such as those powered by the 2500. The GMT is noticeably thicker than both. These are all flat on the surface from shot 2 onwards, in the first shot the GW is resting on its clasp so higher than the others.

LHS Great White GMT, Middle 2255 SMP Auto, RHS 2265 SMP Quartz:

View attachment 739875

 

Wow, ok, thank you... can definitely see the differences now. Before, I did think the cases were the same or very similar between GMT and non GMT. The GMT is more substantial, just seemingly all over. Even the bezel thickness looks to be greater. Easier to grip? I can see how the GMT might wear more like the 2201.50 Planet Ocean, as you mentioned above.

 

so much omega lol. is the white gmt have a rotating bezel or fixed? (uni-directional or bi-directional?)

 

Rotating. Bi-directional.