So I feel like any review of this watch has to address its price (nearly $42k US) and its mass (270 grams), as both are extremes.
I did not pay MSRP for this watch. I did not pay anywhere near MSRP for this watch. In all candor, I would not pay MSRP for this watch. If I'd wanted to do that, I would have gone directly to my AD and earned significant credit toward some hard-to-get piece in the bargain; I presume that's what the first owner of this watch did when he bought it in southern California a couple months ago. I purchased the watch preowned in new condition for just around half MSRP. That's still a lot of money for a watch, but when you consider what, say, full PM Rolexes sell for, it's a decent value proposition in today's market. It's a lot more watch (physically) than any of those, and there are only 60 others like it out there in the entire world. I feel like I paid what it's actually worth to me, and I'm confident that if I were ever to decide to sell it, I'd probably come out ok.
As to its mass: the watch calls no attention to itself, looking---even at very close range---like nothing more than a stainless steel sports watch: that's how I like it. I wanted a full PM braceleted watch because I like the heft and I'm a materials nerd, but I'm not a bling person at all. This watch satisfies that desire in the most extreme way, at least in my experience. The cognitive dissonance of seeing a 'steel watch' but then lifting it up and feeling the weight of about 2/3rds of a pound of 18k white gold is a sensation that does dissipate after several days but never really goes away, at least not a month in. I did remove one link (about 4 grams, as I recall), but this remains far and away the heaviest watch I've ever worn, by a considerable margin. (It may in fact be among the heaviest watches Omega has ever produced. The new Chrono Chime is far heavier, of course, but that's a half-million dollar piece; maybe the original PloProf? I don't believe anything else in their current catalog is heavier. Did they ever do anything in full platinum?)
Admittedly, heft is a rather stupid, emotional reason for liking a watch, but I'm not going to lie: it's a very big part of why I enjoy this piece. I have gotten used to it---it doesn't annoy me or constantly remind me of its presence. But I also always know it's there. This is not a watch for someone who wants one that disappears on the wrist.
That said, because the bracelet is full white gold, like the case, the watch is reasonably well balanced. No question the case outweighs the bracelet: I don't need to remove the bracelet to confirm that. But I wear the watch on the looser side (not super loose, but I could probably get away with removing one half-link if I wanted), and because of how balanced it is, it tends to stay in place. On occasion it may creep down on my wrist toward my palm, and the deployant trigger has, as a result, irritated skin on the underside of my wrist---I've sorted that by just being more conscientious. I don't fault the watch for this--it's how I choose to wear it.
As to its size. My wrist is somewhere between 6.75 and 7 inches, with a flat 52mm or so across the span. No question, this piece is right at the limit of what I can wear, and as I've long been a proponent of 36mm as the universal size for men's watches, I wear this beast knowing that I'm violating some of my own aesthetic principles. That said, I have a pretty massive forearm tapering to that wrist, so the look-in-the-mirror is right-on: the watch does not appear oversize on me at all. It fits quite easily under a cuff when I'm wearing a suit (as required) for work. Yes, it's 43mm and there's a lot of dial there, but because it has a smooth domed bezel rather than a rotating ceramic one, the watch wears much smaller, IMO, than a Rolex SD43 or even a Submariner. (I've worn both.)
Being an Aqua Terra, the watch looks at home with formal attire; it also looks appropriate with jeans and a t-shirt. It's my daily driver now; I only take it off to go to bed, shower, or if I'm doing something where I'd worry about damaging it (working out, yard-work, etc).
It performs well. I have not taken it underwater or tested the limits of the power reserve (as I wear it every day), but the calendar function (with bidirectional quick-set!---very nice) works perfectly, and it was fun watching it switch over on New Year's Eve. (Around 12:01:30, instantaneous.) Time-keeping is ever-so-slightly disappointing: it's losing about 6 seconds per day, and that seems to be the case no matter how I position it overnight. I'm guessing this specimen sat in the OB's case for over half a decade before it sold, and it's about due for a service, which I plan to have done sometime this year. 7 beats-per-second, by the way---25,200bph---is, to my eyes, noticeably "tickier" than the more customary 28,800. That probably seems like a ridiculous thing to say, but I swear it's true, and I can hear and see a difference in how the second hand moves. Even 28,800 isn't smooth like a spring-drive from GS, but it's appreciably closer than this---and that's a good thing, from my point of view. I like seeing the ever-so-slight stutter of the hand, as it reminds me of the mechanical work propelling it.
Winding is smooth--even though it's a double-barrel movement, it's not nearly as stiff to wind as other double-barrel ATs I've had. The crown stem is very sturdy---no wobble at all---and the clicks from winding to setting positions are very tidy. Although a service will undoubtedly change this, at present, when screwed in, the Omega logo on the crown is perfectly oriented, legs facing to 6.
Having had an ordeal with the SMP300 dive clasps before, I was a bit nervous about owning another double-trigger Omega clasp, and indeed the action on this one is a little choppy (I don't know how else to describe it), but it hasn't seized up on me, and when it's closed it's very secure: I don't worry about it opening up unbidden. (If anything, I worry about it seizing up closed while it's still on my wrist: that's what happened with my dive clasps.)
It's a great-looking watch: the black "teak" dial is truly special in bright daylight, but is also toned-down enough so that it calls no unwanted attention. I didn't think I could ever like two-tone, but the use of rose gold on this watch is so moderate that it just works. Lume is nice and bright and lasts until morning after a day of regular use/ambient, mostly indoor charging. I love that the calendar apertures match the color of the dial--that's a thoughtful touch. The fully brushed bracelet is wonderfully subdued: overall there are few polished surfaces, which is my preference. And the movement is magnificently finished---much finer than anything else I've seen from Omega (excluding some of their chronographs, of course). It's not Vacheron level or anything, but for this brand, it's damn good.
I've learned from experience never to say never when it comes to the subject of whether one would ever part with a watch. Would I sell this if I had a shot at a 5126G or a 5167A at MSRP? Probably. And there could be other scenarios that would pry it off my wrist. But for now, I'm calling it a keeper. It's special. It's as close to a unique piece as I'm ever likely to own. And, for now, it feels like a watch that really "gets me," better than anything else I've ever worn.
...probably nobody will ever bother reading this. But there it is, for the record.
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