Ti Electric Blue 2231.80 vs Non-AC 2230.50 SMP Poll

I'm not in any position to buy a watch any time soon and had to sell off a lot over the last couple of years to cover expenses but I still like to plan and at some point I really want to get the nice Seamaster Pro non-chronograph daily that I never had.

My top list has long been:

1: Seamaster Pro 300M Titanium Electric Blue Dial

2: Seamaster Pro 300M Non-AC

3: Seamaster Pro 300M Cal 2500D Blue Dial

4: Seamaster Pro 300M Cal 8800 Grey Dial Blue Hands

5: Seamaster Pro 300M No Time To Die

But the Non-AC and Electric Blue both are roughly equal. I'm curious as to what people think between this pairing.

I've actually written about both and held both many times, they're fantastic, but which is the favourite.

The Ti Electric Blue 2231.80: https://stories.omegaforums.net/sea...232-80-royal-navy-clearance-diver-ian-thorpe/



The Non-AC 2230.50: https://stories.omegaforums.net/the-omega-non-americas-cup-non-ac/

I'd go the Ti. I tried the whole range of SM300 heritage models at an event when they first came out years ago and it was the Ti that really stood out. The combination of style, Ti colour and weight was something really different and appealing.

I’ll try to be brief since I can talk for hours about these which are my chosen Omega subject and the rabbit hole down which I have delved the deepest. I’ve owned at some point an example of pretty much every 3 hand SMP variant, (the solid gold one the notable exception). None at all are a bad choice.

I’ve moved on many more than I have owned due to opportunities arising, downright fickleness and the financial impossibility of keeping them all. My keepers at present are the OG Bond 2531.80, the 2255.80 steel electric blue (for sentimental reasons as much as anything), the 2230.50 non-AC (spoiler, I think it peak SMP), the 2254.50 as a beater, and a quartz Gen 2 which is handy for grab and go and travel.

Ones I moved on, a quick and dirty justification: Firstly the titanium, like Lou mentioned above I found it too light (a little tinny in fact) and not all that truly toolish as a full brushed finish is harder to maintain than polished lugs in reality. The GMT which got fat and offered a function I never use and in the case of the Great White also had the brushed finish I mentioned before. The NTTD which despite having a nice aesthetic has an awful thick bracelet design and again the brushed finish. The current black dial gen 4: it has gotten too fat, wide and blingy. The Gen 2 auto - nice enough but thicker than Gen 1 for little gain. The Gen 3 auto (SMPc) - as above but no waves and the mixed blessing of ceramic.

TLDR: get the 2230.50 non-AC

ps if you do go titanium, for me it is better served by the Speedy style bracelet than the over fussy Bond version you show above. Speedy style for the Sword hands versions and Bond style for skeleton versions would be my scheme.

I do love the 2254.50 too, but the two options each have something a bit special and unique to offer, TI or the upgraded dial finishing.

Also I did have the 2225.80 and as much as I liked it, I was always worried about nicking the aluminium bezel insert and the height was a bit much.

I like how the metal bezels have that added bit of durability

For those that love the electric blue dial but not the titanium case, don't forget the steel 2255.80 model. Somehow everyone does forget this one next to the much more popular and as a result more common 2254.50. The pics are of the quartz version I once owned, I can't find a good pic of my current auto 2255 right now but you get the idea.

It’s a very subtle difference, that Planet Ocean second hand but it does look pretty nice, I think it suits any SMP better than the round lume hand.

Even the tail end matches the sword hand shape.

I think another factor might also be that the titanium electric blue is actually remarkably hard to find in nice condition as the Ti case and bracelet tend to look rough more easily while the Non-AC seems to have more examples on the market in general, and far more in nice shape.