Which white dial watch? SMPc or Exp II?

I am going to recommend the Great White 2538.20 (Omega Seamaster Professional GMT)

Who gives a crap about Rolex? They steal your parts and force you to upgrade whether you want to or not. At least Omega is a little less uptight.

You have divers covered, this is a therapeutic purchase, you’ve never had a Rolex, you like the explorer ii more. I think you should go that route. It can be your “when I have time to travel someday” watch

The SMP 300M dive IMHO is a superior watch than the Exp, the movement, the white dial’s subtle wave pattern makes it easier to see the time, the lume is extremely gorgeous on the SMP, that aside, the black chrome accents gives it a distinctive surreal LED digital feel to the watch, everything is soooo sharp and smooth on the watch honestly, not to mention the see through sapphire crystal on the back and the anti reflective coating inside and out makes it unique, I made the same choice and stuck with the SMP

As you have a GMT and Dive watch, I would add a bit more dress Rolex at a great price. The Rolex OP39 white. It goes well with my 911. I wear it daily when I work as the oyster case allow frequent washing off of body fluids and COVID particles.

Limited to your short list, I would choose Explorer but would consider a snowflake dial from Grand Seiko.

I did consider the snowflake and have a pic of it in my watches I want eventually google photo folder, it is a cool watch for sure. I don't have any GS dealers nearby and kind of feel like I'd need to see it in person. It may be a little dressy and doesn't seem to go well with straps (I like to mix it up). Although I did see one on Instagram recently with custom fitted blue leather which looked great. Also seen a couple used ones that were totally scratched to hell, worry a little about that with titanium.

The white OP is just a little too plain Jane for me personally but I do understand/appreciate it's appeal to others.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with either of the two you mentioned as I have them both. The Rolex is more of a sporty watch that can be worn with anything but I’ve seen the GS with different straps that look excellent.

Not my photo of GS on strap but I do have this setup and it’s beautiful.

I bought the omega recently and can not fault it. I have a friend who owns a jewellers and he let me wear the explorer overnight and I just didn't like it. If I had to buy a gmt I would pick the omega great white over the explorer.

As much as I covet Omegas, that Explorer gets my vote. It has much more of a no-nonsense tool watch vibe, and this is highly personal, but I never loved the busy-ness of the wave dial, and its exaggerated on the white version so seems distracting. The Rolex is a masterwork of industrial design and that 24-hr function with it's highlighted hand just seals the deal.
Either way, great problem to have. You have definitely earned some watch therapy!

Explorer II doesnt scream Rolex at all. Not sure what dial color looks better black or white.

The black is nice too, just have 3 black dial watches already and looking to add something different.

I am somewhat surprised at all the Exp II endorsements which seems to be the winner thus far. Being Omega forums, I expected the consensus to be the Omega is half the cost for a watch that is at least on par with, even arguably superior to, the Rolex. Which is, if I'm being honest, what my brain tells me. I didn't bother asking this on the other brand's forums as I know how that conversation would go.

Although the smp is something I'm sure I could be happy with, my heart seems to want the Explorer... with this sort of purchase that's probably more important. Following the heart rather than the head doesn't come easily to me though so it's nice to have people to bounce this off as opposed to my wife who just says get what you want I don't care (it's not such a bad answer really, just not all that helpful).

Happy to hear any further opinions...

Buy both!

The choice for me would be between the two exp ll's

have fun
kfw

So bit of an update. I was going to put myself down for an exp2 with the AD down the street when we went to visit my parents. They live about 500 miles away so don't get to see them too much. I had thought of one day getting my dad a nice watch and when I saw his Timex sitting on the counter at night I thought... What am I waiting for? Blame (or thank?) covid for a change in perspective on that.

Without going too much into what a good guy he is, suffice it to say he's earned it but would never get something like that for himself. I asked him if he'd want one and wear one and he said absolutely but I shouldn't spend too much on him. He wanted me to pick it out, so I changed my mind on the rolex order and the white dial became a blue dial for my dad + a far less pricey but still really nice green dial for me. Getting a green watch has also been on my watch list, I thought it was going to be Hulk (was supposedly on a waiting list) but I wasn't willing to pay much over msrp and obviously ship has sailed on that. I found a good deal on a gently worn green Alpinist with extra oem bracelet that I snatched up two weeks ago and the watch I requested for my dad took about 2 1/2 months to come in but arrived yesterday. The exp2 can wait a while although also have found myself daydreaming about the GS snowflake. Hopefully get a chance to see one in person.

For me the Explorer II. The sea master is a fine watch but..... the explorer is nicer to my eye.

the date just is also a fine piece in white.

That’s a really nice gestures mate. He will love it and the seiko is nice too.

Fantastic of you to gift that to your dad. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it and love wearing it.

My take on a white version (just mixing it up a bit), I like playing with Seamasters and changing things around.