zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Here are a few questions: (1) Is the
: dual-button release on the band sturdy
: enough? I think it's nice looking and easy
: to use. But I'm worried it might come loose
: unintentionally. Any problems with this?

Not at all. Mine has NEVER EVER come loose unintentionally. The only way to release it is to depress both buttons simultaneously, which is not likely to happen "accidentally".

: (2) The watch has a sapphire crystal back. I
: like the idea of being able to watch the
: innards at work. But are there any tradeoffs
: involved with this? Is the case as durable
: with the crystal back? Is the back crystal
: likely to get unattractively dirty or
: scratched from rubbing against the wrist?

A sapphire crystal is virtually scratch-proof and can be easily cleaned if it ever gets dirty (just like cleaning the crystal on the front of the watch). The ONLY downside to a sapphire crystal caseback is that it will shatter if dropped from a reasonable height onto a hard surface. However, you run the same risk with the front crystal of your watch, so this should be of no concern whatsoever.

: (3) While the blue dial with wave pattern is
: attractive, I find that it can be hard to
: read because of reflection (off the dial,
: not the crystal) in some lighting. I can't
: find the watch at the Omega web site in any
: color other than the blue. Is that the only
: option? Or is it possible to get the same
: watch with black dial and bezel?

The blue dial/blue bezel is the ONLY option. I have never had any glare problems with my standard SMP of the same color and wave pattern.

: (4) This is a much bigger watch than I'm used
: to. While trying the watch on at the store,
: I couldn't figure out where to wear it:
: outside the shirt cuff or under the shirt
: cuff (with the cuff buttoned). The former
: pushes the cuff up uncomfortably. The latter
: makes it hard to get at the watch. This is
: probably a dumb question, but how do you
: guys deal with this?

I live in Florida where I wear short sleeves most of the time. However, when I do wear long sleeves, I always wear them so that they are large enough to fit over the watch. It's a fashion sin to have the end of the shirt sleeve sitting on top of the watch (so that the watch is fully exposed because the sleeve won't fit OVER it). If you need to look at your watch, just pull your cuff up a bit. This is much better than looking like a geek by having your shirt cuff resting atop your watch.