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  1. jets Mar 14, 2018

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    If you don't agree with modding Omegas press back on your browser now :)

    I have always liked the SMP since I first saw it the 2254.50. I have to say the watch took on a new life when the Blake treatment was given to the hands and dial in lieu of the bond model counterparts. It was actually the first luxury watch I ever bought and it was a great experience. I ended up gifting it to my older brother for his 40th...long WIS story there. I never did like the bond style 22XX's and it seemed sort of boring to me and even though people say the bond bracelet is very comfortable I can't get over the look of it. I think the speedy bracelet is one of my all time favorites. So fast forward a number of years to this January a SUPER deal came up for a 212.30.41.20.03.001 fitted with a nice speedy bracelet with micro-adjustable clasp. He even sold it with a PO rubber with Omega deployment buckle that fits very nice. On top of that I still had an Omega mesh bracelet I can use with it. I was feeling whimsy so I picked it up knowing I could unload it easily since I was getting it for such a deal. The new ceramic was a big improvement with the glossy dial, applied indicies and matching colored bezel. I really love the way the color changes in sunlight and in darker settings. I really liked the watch...aside from those awful skeleton hands. They're just not for me even though they have grown on me a little bit over two months.

    As far as my searches have taken me this is the first hand swap mod on a ceramic SMPc. I could not find one for reference. I started poking around the web for modded SMPc's and the most I found was a post where the hands and dial from a NON-AC 2230.50 were transplanted into a black SMPc case which was another mod I'd love to tackle someday. Everything I love about the 2254 with a modern case and ceramic bezel. Photos were dead links so I still wonder what that looks like. After more digging I found maybe two guys that have swapped the skeleton hands for 2254 type Blake hands on various SMP bond models and although it looked better to me the minute hand extends too far on this dial with round indies and looked odd. One user admitted the minute hand looked stretched after he did the mod. I even spit-balled the idea of those old Seamaster 300 (166.024) type sword hands but they won't fit. I thought against modding it a lot and thought maybe those sword or Blake hands may look out of place until I realized Rolex milsubs people go bananas for have a similar dial layout and with those sword hands they look killer. Steinhart's milsub looks wild but I don't do Steinhart. Aside from Omegas' pause button at 12 o'clock the dial layout is almost the same. Just a lot classier and less tool like. Then I found a post by Archer in this forum pointing out that Blake hands on the older mid sized watches were much closer in size to the skeleton hands found on 41mm SMP models. All those used 1120 movements that are essentially the same as the 2500 in the SMPc since the base for them is the ETA 2892. I tracked down part code 065PZ4140 which is the hour and minute hand set for a 2252.50. I considered changing the sweep seconds hand like most do with a PlanPro but in the end I decided against it for two reasons. First, there's only one PO that has a real red tip (that I can recall) and that is the limited edition 42mm 222.30.42.20.01.001 so getting it will be hard and take a while. Secondly, there are a lot of round shapes on the dial and that original sweep hand with the round lume dot on it ties it all together visually for me anyway. I ordered them a week ago and went to my watch maker today to do the swap. I have to say that in my eyes it is a huge improvement! Totally stoked with this watch now.

    The only sticking point I was concerned about initially was about the color of the lume and if it would match in daylight. I do know that the sword hands from the 2252.50 illuminate green but I don't really mind since Omega already mixes and matches lume color on some watches. On this SMPc for example the minute hand and 12 o'clock lume dot are green. I actually prefer the hour and minute hands green in the dark against a background of blue hour markers. In daylight the whitish color of the hands and markers are very very close and only look slightly different at certain angles which I find acceptable. The new hour hand just stops short of the date window and looks perfect while the hour hands tip reaches the center of the hour markers which looks great. In the dark the pointed tip can be seen exactly where it rests in the center of the hour markers blue lume dot. In contrast the skeleton minute hand extends past the marker dots and right where all the tiny painted minute markers line the outer perimeter of the dial.

    Here are the results. I geeked out and made an animated gif at the end of this post. Today was a dark and cloudy day so if anyone is interested I will take some photos on a nice sunny day and see if I can't get some deep brighter blue hues coming from the bezel and dial.Let me know what you think!

    Click on the photos for a much higher resolution...

    My SMPc with my brothers 2254.50:
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    Indoor after:
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    Daytime shots:
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    In this shot it almost looks like the black model.
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    Lume shot. Keep in mind it is hard to take a photo and in person the green doesn't stand out as much as it does here:
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    Before/After/Lume:
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    Cheers,
     
  2. nurseford25 Mar 14, 2018

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    I think it turned out nice. I wouldn’t have done it myself but I’m a purist. I’m glad you like it and are happy with it.
    Something about the round indices paired with the sword hands just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I’m just to used to seeing the sword hands on the 2254.
    I can’t wait to see what they do with the 300 next week at Basel World.
     
  3. texasmade Mar 14, 2018

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    Forget the sword hands. It looks much better on that bracelet.
     
    jets likes this.
  4. ostneb Mar 15, 2018

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    Great looking watch, bracelet complements it well!
     
  5. CPRwatch Mar 17, 2018

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    Great mod & post . I don't really know why Omega ditched the sword hands as they definitely enhanced the look of the 2254 , hopefully they will be re introduced next week at Basel .
     
    jets likes this.
  6. workahol Mar 17, 2018

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    Good on you for having the guts to commit to this! If you're happy with the results, that's the main thing.

    Rather than doing a full hand swap, I have sometimes thought about having the empty spaces of my SMPc's skeleton hands filled in with matching lume. Omega themselves even did this with the 2261, which I have to admit doesn't look half bad:

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    watchos and jets like this.
  7. jets Mar 17, 2018

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    Watch com
     
  8. jets Mar 17, 2018

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    Not really a matter of guts; it can always be returned to original with a quick visit to my watch maker. Consequence free in my mind.

    I have never thought of your idea. It actually looks much better to me than open skeleton hands. I didn't mention this before but the I find the hands a too busy and confusing to my eye trying to tell the time. This would solve that for sure.
     
  9. nurseford25 Mar 17, 2018

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    ??
     
  10. gpssti4 Mar 18, 2018

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    I actually prefer the original (sorry) but it’s your watch. I think the skeleton hands define the Seamaster Pro. Saying that I’m all for chopping and changing bits to get the look that I want: I have a Seamaster GMT with a black insert rather than the original night/day one. As long as you like it then all is good.
     
  11. jets Mar 23, 2018

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    Here's an update. A member on another forum gave me some info about these hands I wasn't aware of. Basically the hour hand needed to be broached in order to fit this movement. These were the one's I wanted originally and I am glad this worked out. The lume one these hands are slightly greener than the Blake 2252 set although in most instances the difference isn't noticeable. I like the look of MOD Sword hands better on it. To avoid reflections I usually have to tilt the watch a bit so I noticed the hour hand tends to look bigger than it is because of that in most shots. I have a new found respect for photographers. I was going to take better lume shots with my Canon but it's friday and can't be bothered. Click each for full size images.


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    And here he is with his two older twin brothers...

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  12. jud Mar 23, 2018

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    That looks great!
     
    jets likes this.