Does anyone know why Omega have changed the end links on the new 2016 Planet Ocean Seamaster Master Co Axial watches with ceramic dials? The first two pics are of the 2016 43.5mm watch. Third pic is of the outgoing 45.5mm watch with the more solid looking end links.

 

I believe it's an attempt to make it sit better on smaller wrists

 

The 3 generations of PO all have different bracelets due to the different case thicknesses.

 

To reduce the heft as the new ones will fall ( or hug) a wrist better...

Or given the watch size i should say the ankle.

 

I think it looks much better. I wish they had done this on the 300mc as the end link with the male end makes the lugs look longer than they really are.

 

Here it is.

 

So to confirm, had a chance to try on the new 43.5mm Planet Ocean and the redesigned end links do a MUCH better job of hugging watch to your wrist. While it's still plenty thick it no longer has the "hockey puck" feeling, and the clasp has a push-buttom ratcheting system like the SM300 MC so a perfect fit is assured.

Huge improvements in wearing comfort IMHO. That said, the crown seems a bit larger in both diameter and protrusion, so if anyone had issues with the crown digging into the back of their wrists this is something to note.

 

The watch is actually my brother's. He recently bought a brand new 45.5mm PO but it was hurting his wrist so although he loved the watch he couldn't wear it so had to sell it. He replaced it with a Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch but that had an issue discussed elsewhere on this site. He now has this latest version of the PO in 43.5 mm and much prefers the ceramic dial over the matt dial on the 45.5 mm watch and deeper black Liquid Metal Bezel. He finds it very comfortable to wear and loves the watch so all has worked out well.

 

Great improvement in my opinion!

 

Absolutely an improvement. They did this on the 9900 Speedmaster Racing and 8900-series Aqua Terra bracelets as well, with the endlinks pointing straight down rather than outward, yielding a shorter L2L on the wrist.

 

An actually considering adapting 21 MM end links from the 43.5mm PO bracelet model to use them on my 20 MM PO with a 19 MM / 39.5 MM PO bracelet !

 

I guess I'm in the minority who is pretty unhappy with the new endlinks. They make the bracelet look more separate from the watch, and on my larger wrists, it looks a lot worse.

 

Agree completely. I remember when trying it on at a boutique, I didn’t like how separate it looked. With that said, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if I wasn’t wearing my PO 8500 at the time.

 

On the 9900 speedy racing - I’m still trying to find out if that whole bracelet and clasp would fit on my 9300 speedy. Solves both my issues with:

- the end links making the watch even bigger
- the micro adjust

Anyone else tried this?

 

From the images it looks like a good call. I previously owned a PO 8500 45.5 (exact same as third image from OP) and when combined with the size, the endlinks had the effect of sitting out horizontally before the rest of the bracelet dropped across the wrist. Not a good look IMO...

 

Let’s hope they make this change with the SM300 MC. Could be a game changer.