Post by timelessluxwatches on Dec 2, 2016 15:32:15 GMT -6
Planet Ocean GMT Master Chronometer Review
This Planet Ocean GMT Master Chronometer is a particularly good looking member of a new generation of outstanding Omega dive watches.
The dive watch market has long been one of the most competitive in the luxury watch world and it has only gotten tougher to make it there. The Planet Ocean is one of the established leaders of the segment, along with pieces like the Submariner or the Fifty Fathoms, but with emerging competitors like the in-house Tudor Pelagos, Omega has refused, perhaps out of necessity, to sit still. I've never seen a watch brand that is so dedicated to setting itself apart by continual, year after year improvement, and this Planet Ocean GMT is a great example of that.
For starters, the Planet Ocean collection has incredible variety to it. There are literally dozens of different versions to choose from. One of the more interesting ones, however, is this one, thanks to its black and white bezel. In fact, Omega claims that this is the first ever polished bi-ceramic black and white bezel.
The reason for its unique coloration is that one half represents night and the other day in service of its GMT complication. An additional fourth hand, here pointing at 7:00, tracks a second time zone, making this watch a great choice for frequent travelers. Like most, if not all, GMT bezels, this is bi-directional, so there is a bit of conflict there with the traditional unidirectional bezel you'd find in most dedicated dive watches.
Ceramic is often used in the bezels of higher-end dive watches because it has impressive scratch resistant properties, but Omega has taken that a step further with a ceramic dial. It has a gorgeous mirror polish to it which almost gives it a sort of placid, liquid surface look to it. The markers and numerals kind of have a floating look to them, owing, I suspect, to their reflection in the dial.
The arrow-shaped hands have a sense of levity to them that gives the watch a more relaxed character than something all-business like your conventional stick hands. I like that Omega managed to include luminous markers for every hour but also made space for 3 applied Arabic numerals in the vein of watches like the Explorer.
Another fun-loving aspect of the watch is the use of two colors of lume instead of one. This also has a useful effect because the hour and minute hands are very similar in shape and therefore they might be confused at a glance. Making them different colors makes that impossible even in low light.
The Planet Ocean boasts 600 meters of water resistance, impressive even for dive watches. Naturally it retains the screw down crown and helium release valve of the POs that came before it.
The 43.5mm case is pretty much the ideal size for this watch. It's bigger than what I'd normally wear, but it's well within normal parameters and I think being a bit larger than normal is just fine for this style of watch. It's about 17mm thick, larger than I'd like, but seemingly par for the course in modern dive watches.
The movement is, of course, derived from the venerable 8500 family, long established as one of the finest movements in this segment. More specifically, this is the 8906, the GMT version of the Master Chronometer series, yet another improvement within Omega to set them apart in this increasingly crowded genre. The Master Chronometer status basically means the watch and movement are both the recipients of special, additional testing. This includes, most notably, magnetic resistance, on which this movement and Omega generally are world leaders, but also things like power reserve duration and water resistance. Naturally, it’s a highly accurate chronometer and features Daniels' famous co-axial escapement. Like all true GMTs, and almost all 8500s in general, it has an independent hour hand, again lending itself to frequent travelers, but also simplifying daylight savings time.
There's really no way around it: the Planet Ocean is simply my favorite dive watch in the world. Other watches have come close to threatening that status for me, namely the Pelagos, but I think it's both the Omega's more playful character and its incredible diversity that have kept it out in front. You can have the Planet Ocean in so many different colors and complications that there is, practically speaking, something for everyone. This black and white model is only one more layer to the collection's diversity, but it, and the Master Chronometers generally, also symbolize this hyper-aggressive company's ambition. Many other brands rest on their laurels, sometimes going a decade or more before revitalizing a model, either visually or hologically, but not Omega, and as a result, we get really cool additions like this black and white 215.30.44.22.01.001.
LOL - never been a fan of the cyclops either. 
. As I brought my hand up from under the marble topped table at the coffee house today, and banged my watch, I was secretly glad that I do not own a watch with a ceramic bezel.