zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Hi,

: Im´m just about to buy my first Omega and I´m
: choosing between the Seamaster 300M and the
: Aqua Terra. The Aqua Terra is apparently
: more expensive than the 300M, what´s the
: reason for this?

The Aqua Terras are more expensive because they contain Omega's co-axial movement. This movement is Omega's best movement and is more expensive to manufacture, so all co-axial watches are more expensive. The Aqua Terra comes with a 3-year warranty because of this movement, whereas all other Omegas come with 2-year warranties. The co-axial movement can go twice as long between service intervals and provides greater long term accuracy due to less friction between the internal parts.

The Seamaster Professional 300M comes with an excellent movement (Omega 1120) which is a heavily modified ETA movement. It is cheaper to manufacture so watches containing it are less expensive. However, it is not poor by any means. I have two SMP 300M watches and both gain about 2 seconds per day. My co-axial model gains less than 1 second per day.

As far as other differences go, the Aqua Terra is a dressier watch and has no bezel, so if you plan to do any diving the SMP is the better choice. The Aqua Terra has a see-through sapphire caseback so you can see the co-axial movement, while the SMP does not. The Aqua Terra on a bracelet retails for $2795 vs. $1995 for an SMP.

If you aren't looking for a dress watch and don't need the sapphire caseback, you're better off saving some money and buying the SMP. I personally think the SMP is a bit more rugged if you plan to do a lot of outdoor activities. The bezel can also come in handy if you ever need to set a "reminder" to do something at a particular time.