zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

The Case diameter is 36mm with an overall thickness of 11mm and the complete watch and bracelet weighs around 130 grams. The bracelet is 18mm wide and the case across the lugs is 42mm.
The Elapsed time bezel is unidirectional in rotation and the ratchet resolution is half minute.
The Case and Bracelet are very finely finished and a credit to Omega.
The finish is a mixture of brushed and polished Stainless Steel with a Blue anodised surface on the Bezel.

The Case has a Screw Back which is struck with the famous Seamaster logo and 'Wavy' pattern. The Back has 5 rather than the more common 6 tool engagement points and therefore will not accept the universal case opening tool. The Serial number is deep laser etched behind the seven o'clock lug and there are no engravings proclaiming any of the watch's virtues - it speaks for itself.
The Crown has the Logo and screws down snugly inside the protection lugs. The other screw down crown, at 10 o'clock is the 'Helium Release' valve and it also has the logo but no protection lugs - it would therefore be more vulnerable on the right wrist wearer.
The Bezel is quite stiff and will not be easily moved off its setting by accident.

The Helium Release valve is probably fitted as a tradition now as I am sure few people ever would need it. The reason is, that a diver undergoing decompression in a Helium atmosphere bell, is under great pressure which is slowly released. The Helium molecule is small enough to get through the watch seals and may cause a build up of pressure inside the watch which could 'blow' out the crystal. The valve is unscrewed and relieves this pressure but is one way so water should not enter. In normal day to day use the valve should be screwed down

The Crystal is Sapphire and has a slight curvature to the outer surface. The inner surface is treated with an anti reflective coating. This is a sensible compromise between legibility and not putting a coating on the outer surface as these coatings are not scratch resistant. The edge is a whisker above the rim of the bezel.

The Bracelet is a masterpiece of precision work. It incorporates a deployment clasp with no safety latch - there are two side button which must be pressed together to release the catch. There is also a quick action fold out extension to the bracelet to allow it to be worn over a wet suit - this extends the length by 30mm
The Bracelet does not have the usual fine adjustment of length in the clasp. The watch is delivered with 11 full links and 2 half links, and sizing is carried out by use of these. The full link has about 10mm and the half about 5mm of adjustment. The links are secured by an embedded pin which is set in bushes which are in turn set in the links. One bush per link engages in a groove in the pin to secure it from falling out. The pins can be removed with a punch of about 0.7mm diameter and 16mm long. Only skilled persons should tackle this job. If too thick a punch is used, it will beome wedged in the bush and may be impossible to get out without damaging the lot.
There do not appear to be any spring bars in the complete watch except for the Bracelet to Lugs attachment. The filler pieces between the lugs are solid rather than the usual stamped pieces.
The latch cover is deeply engraved with the Logo etc and also is machined from solid rather than a stamped sheet.

These images speak for themselves - when the watch is held and the bracelet moved in the fingers, the quality can be felt as well as seen. The use of bushes rather than the usual split pins gives the hinging action of the links a very smooth feel. The bracelet must account for a considerable part of the cost.

The Dial is very hard to photograph and do it justice. The curvature of the sapphire makes it impossible to avoid reflections. The dial surface is a matt blue/grey and has deposited on its surface the famous 'wavy' lines. These lines are of a more reflective finish than the dial surface and catch and reflect light in very subtle ways. The dial can appear dull flat blue or can sparkle with waves, depending on the angle of incident light. In my opinion this is a piece of genius by the designer and gives the watch an unmistakable character which changes all the time. Under intense jeweller shop display lighting, if the watch is just 'thrown' into the window, the dial can look terrible due to sparkle. However good displays usually set the watch crown up which avoids this effect. The blue anodised bezel with silver markings is a perfect frame for the dial.

The Hands are in 'skeleton' form and are polished steel and very clear. The tip of the second is rendered in bright red and is another

stroke of genius, by adding a sharp dash of warm colour to the cold blue / steel face.
The dial printings are all in white and the non tritium luminous material is excellent in the dark performance of the dial. The watch can still be read after 7 hours in the dark. There is another touch of genius in the fine lines of luminous material set into the hands which point to the ball and triangle markings at the ends.
The Date window is small but legible and wisely, Omega have not spoiled the face by the use of a cyclops magnifier.

The alignment of the seconds hand with the dial markings is very close over most of the 360 degrees of the dial - however I have seen more accurate registration in a Seiko Quartz I have.

There is little I can say about the Movement. The watch booklet gives no technical info here. I am told that it is an ETA 1538 thermo compensated 6 jewel mechanism with about a 3 years battery reserve. I expect it to be very accurate, in a week I cannot detect any error. I do not intend to enter into a discussion on the relative virtues of Quartz / Mechanical movements. I have all sorts of prime movers in my collection of watches and have a large enough legacy of automatic and handwind lever escapements for future servicing.

J Ian Ramsay

Scotland, UK

5th February 2000
In summary, I have an enormous respect for this jewel of a watch. It has a great market niche image although I dislike the association with certain personalities in the Omega advertising campaign. It is very finely crafted and makes a great statement without the need for these associations.

I considered the full size at 40mm but I have a 40mm Oris BC3, which I love but it is pushing the limits of my wrist size. I feel much more comfortable with the Mid size SMP and since it is a bigger investment I wanted to get the right size for me.

I am worried about one thing however - I may not want to wear any of my other watches again.