BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Omega has just dropped the fourth generation Seamaster Planet Ocean to mark 20 years of the name. While the Seamaster has been around in one form or another since 1948, making it their longest-running line, the Planet Ocean came about much later as a response to the watch world’s trend of making larger, more overt sports watches. This new piece draws inspiration from the Seamaster 300 from 1957.
It seems fitting then that, 20 years on, Omega once again uses the Seamaster Planet Ocean as a reflection of where it thinks the watch industry is at. The only thing is, upon first impressions, I don’t think they’ve done a great job.
The new cases are very angular, doing away entirely with the sweeping good looks of the previous models.
The sizing is better for most people now, though, with specs of 42mm x 13.79mm, the new Planet Oceans will be much more approachable for average buyers than the humongous beasts they were before. The old three-handed 43.5mm watch was over 16mm thick, and God help you if you wanted the 45.5mm Planet Ocean Chronograph and didn’t have Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wrists.
They’ve also done away with the helium escape valve, a classic feature of the Seamaster range, but thanks to the use of titanium in the watch’s construction, they can still provide the watch with 600m of water resistance. You get a choice of either a black, blue or orange ceramic bezel, which is nice. I can’t help but feel these new Planet Oceans look a little too much like the current Zenith Defy, though, from some angles, the cases and bracelets are quite similar.
Inside these new watches is the calibre 8912 Co-Axial Master Chronometer. It’s a self-winding calibre, as is traditional for Omega’s movements, and it beats at 3.5Hz for a total of 60 hours. It comes with the usual level of finishing for Omega’s calibres, which is pretty good considering they’re at the higher level of production for luxury watches. But, for reasons only Omega knows, they’ve decided to cover up their movement with a polished-brushed titanium caseback.
Apart from perhaps being a nod to the first-generation Planet Oceans, which also had closed casebacks, I see no reason for this. Omega’s movements look good, and watches that can go to 600m or more and still have an open caseback are rare, so they’re valued when they appear.
The new Seamaster Planet Ocean can be had on either a rubber strap with a folding clasp or their brand-new stainless steel bracelet, which features flatter links with a mix of brushing and polishing, which has a foldover clasp and micro adjustment (as well as a diver’s extension).
The price on a rubber strap is CHF6,700 before tax, and on a bracelet it’s CHF7,200, again before tax. Was this the hit you’ve been waiting for from the Seamaster Planet Ocean, or is this a bit of a rushed release? Let us know in the comments.
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