zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: I don't own this watch, however recently I went
: into an authorized dealer that not only had
: a used white dial GMT with some minor scuffs
: on the clasp for a great price. I entered
: the store intending to walk home with the
: GMT on my wrist and I exited with my normal
: Speed Date on my wrist. (not a complaint!
: ;-) )

: I spent a good 10-15 minutes holding the watch
: and inspecting becuase the salesperson had
: to tend to other customers but I'm glad I
: got to spend that time with it. I noticed
: several weak points on the watch. This semi
: review will compare the GMT to a normal
: Seamaster Pro (particularly my Bond Mid.)

: When I picked it up the first thing I had to do
: was give it a wind, I gave it about 10 turns
: and it took about 3 seconds from the time I
: finished winding for the second and to jump
: to life. All my automatic watches do that so
: I'm not complaining, if I owned this watch
: it would never run down so not a problem.

: The next thing I had to do was inspect the
: unidirectional bezel, its a very cool
: feature and I don't understand why thy don't
: put it on regular divers watches? However on
: the GMT it felt very flimsy and there was
: very little friction required to rotate the
: bezel, I like it quite the opposite my SMP
: takes practice to turn I never have to worry
: about it turning unintentionally. The
: oversized painted 24 hour numerals make the
: watch look like a cheap fossil. I know
: pretty much all SMPs are painted numerals
: but its something about the silver paint on
: the insert they should have left it polished
: steel.

The bezel does indeed turn with very little friction if you grab it only by the sides. However, if your fingers slip, as the bezel is rather smooth, you tend to compensate by pushing the bezel onto the case, increasing friction to a multiple and making the bezel much harder to turn. Some water or oil under the bezel deminishes this effect.

And the inlay does not seem to be painted, as you cannot see or feel any contour on the bezel. It seems to be anodized aluminium, where the colour is within the porous aluminium oxide. The matte finish is typical for an anodized surface. It is also very scratch resistant, more than the surrounding steel.

: The dial is WHITE, not just creamy white, its
: WHITE!!! This must be an acuired taste I
: thought I'd like it but its too much for me.
: I'd prefer to get the black GMT but they
: give it the half silver/black bezel which is
: distracting in my opinion if I did buy it
: I'd exchange the bezel for a normal SMP 60
: minute bezel if thats possible... is it?

Which is, in my opinion, a good idea for two reasons: first, you could use it better for diving, and second, you'd still have two different time zones, the numbers are certainly not necessary, otherwise they'd be missing on the face as well.

: The case looks great but in my opinion the SMP
: looks naked without the helium escape, some
: hate the manual HE but I think its a nice
: touch and since I'd never use the manual or
: disguised its only real purpose is looks and
: it looks good in my eyes!

: I am a real perfectionist and cannot justify
: paying over $200 for a watch unless its
: PERFECT so this was my opinion. For those of
: you that own one you have a fine timepiece
: but I would not buy one unless I had more
: money than I knew what to do with.

: I would like to get your feedback on my review,
: anyone disagree with me? Agree? In that way
: I'm playing the Devil's advocate but I like
: a good discussion so here is the topic.

: Did I mention the thing is WHITE???

Which I personally like. However, the black one is much more legible, especially in low light conditions. The luminova enhances the contrast tremendously.