Ceramic Planet Ocean Review (42mm and 45mm). Pic heavy

[cougar1]

I'm just going to give a 'small' review of the 42mm and 45mm Ceramic Planet Ocean reps. There is a lot to cover with these and I'm sure there will be comparisons next to the gen in the coming weeks. I'll let those who have lived with the gen for a while give a more thorough comparison and correct any errors here. Mainly I'll just give a rundown of the rep quality with some comparisons to gen, and also how is fits in with the current quality of reps and the old PO reps.

 

The Gens

45mm and 42mm. These don't need much of an introduction, anybody who has any interest in Planet Oceans will have heard all about them by now.

42mm Gen

45mm Gen



The Reps

45mm and 42mm Reps



45mm

42mm



42mm (next 6)













Down to the Details:

The Bezels:

The bezels themselves are pretty solid with good feedback on each click. The teeth are pretty accurate to gen. The gen finishing is probably a little more refined on the coin edge but these are pretty well replicated. The bezel inserts seem pretty good in colour and texture. Correct colour as gen. It's difficult to see in photos but the 45mm bezel seems to have a little more attention to detail in the numbers, with them being closer together and more compact as gen. The 42mm seems a little more spread out (bigger gap between the 4 and 0 for
instance) and the 5 in 50 just seems a little too big for the 0. It is minimal but it is there. It could be a little neater on the 42mm. We'll get onto the pearl later

42mm



45mm



The Dials:

Both dials are very nice, the 45mm has a little bit more attention to detail again in the logos and markers than the 42mm. There isn't much in the difference, but the 45mm has slightly cleaner and crisper cut to the hour markers. The hour markers on the gen have a slightly bevelled edging with the 45mm having a slightly steeper bevelling than the 42mm.
This is replicated pretty well on the reps, the 45mm has the edge in the slightly sharper cut markers and lume infill than the 42mm.

The dial itself on the gen is almost black grainy matte finish. The reps are matte black/charcoal, a little bit more drab than the gen, they lack that very slight pop that the heavier matte grain gives on the gen but again it's close.

Omega lettering is simply better on the 45mm rep, it has a much more accurate to gen shape and size, the 42mm seems to be a bit blocky/bulky with the bulkier O being the main standout. It's thicker than the gen or the 45mm rep. Why this is I do not know, since the gen 45mm and 42mm share the same logo/lettering size. They could've just used the logo from the 45mm rep!.... but again these are very small parts, nobody is going to really notice unless examining closely.

No happy feet this time on either, except for the odd one that escaped into the wild during QC. The hands seem accurate, it had been mentioned at one stage that the 42mm had a slightly too long hour hand. I'm not so sure, I've examined gen pics again and it is minimal if it is, certainly less than a mm. It isn't noticeable at all. The dial print quality is pretty good, with the 'Seamaster' lettering in red and the print of the other lettering being crisp and clear.

The Datewheel. The windows are accurate, with the 42mm having no chamfer and closer to the 3 marker, the 45mm has the correct chamfered edging and is spaced correctly. The date wheel itself is slightly off the gen. Font is correct, it is a touch too weak though and is white on black, the gen being a raised glossy silver on black. Not a massive difference but still could be better.

Gen dials:

Gen 45mm

Gen 42mm



Rep dials:

42mm Rep



45 mm Rep



45mm



42mm



42mm



45mm



42mm



The Case and Caseback:

The case on both 45mm and 42mm is pretty accurate, the brushing lines and polishing lines on the case are probably not as crisp cut as gen but not too much of a difference. The case sizes are pretty close to gen in height. I don’t have a calliper close by to measure but doing it the crude way the 42mm rep is about 16mm in height and the 45mm is 17mm in
height. The gens are 15.7mm and 16.5mm respectively. Just to note the 42mm wears fairly tall, this is a similar case to the gen which when comparing to the old PO is almost top heavy.

Gen Case and LHS



Rep Case and LHS



Gen Case and RHS



Rep Case and RHS



The crown/He are fairly accurately sized and finished this time. The 45mm crown being wider but less tall than the 42mm, as is the case on the gen. Also the markings on the He and crown are fairly accurate.

What is more concerning is while the 45mm crown screwdown felt really solid with about 8-10 half turns, both 42mm didn't, with about 2 half turns on the silver 42mm and 3 half turns on the red 42mm. Why is this something that could possibly be a concern later?? Well anyone who is familiar with the older PO's, specifically the 42mm V5 will be aware that the tubes were really prone to stripping. I certainly hope this isn't the case here, but these 42mm screwdowns have a striking resemblance in feel to the old version. Not the best, considering most
reps I've tried recently were substantially better in this regard.

The caseback is a strange one, I'm very happy with the rotor, I'm not too fussed about the eta 2836 masquerading as an 8500. The 8500 is obviously a masterpiece of design and finishing. We have nothing in the rep world that can compete with it on any level.

The rep looks pretty good when viewing it through the display window, it's never going to pass for gen, but the rotor Geneve waves and engraving look pretty cool. The liquid metal on the 45mm caseback was a mistake, and adjuste dto fiye' on the movement holder was interesting, but again this is something which can barely be seen with the caseback on, and then only if you are really looking for it. In truth, these are minor issues, the front of the watch is much more important.

Gen Caseback





Rep


































The Bracelet and clasp:

The bracelet has some very good and very bad aspects. Good are the endlinks which are very nicely cut and fit snugly to the case. The screwed links are are great and feel pretty good quality surprisingly. I was sure I'd strip one or two during resizing but they actually screwed in pretty well and felt pretty close to those on my gen AT. Time will tell if the threads hold out and it might also be a good idea to use some threadlocker if using the bracelet long term.

The clasp doesn't jump out at me as being great quality, it's rather crudly cut and in some way almost feels cheaper than the rest of the bracelet. One of the 42mm clasps will not stay closed, the other 42mm is more solid and works fine. The 45mm clasp seems a little more solidly built.

Gen Bracelet:







Rep Bracelet:

























The clasp:

The clasp engravings aren’t the best. On the gen the 42mm is obviously a little thinner than on the 45mm. On the reps the engravings are a little shoddy, with the 45mm being engraved too deep, but still looks good. The 42mm is too shallow and not bold enough.

Gen 42mm Clasp:



Gen 45mm Clasp:



Rep clasps:
















The AR, Pearl and Lume:

The AR on the 42mm is unusually good for a rep, it’s actually pretty close to my old gen 2500 caliber PO. Maybe just a slight bit less transparent, but it is very low on reflections and it looks to be some of the best AR I’ve seen on a rep. The gen has a slightly more bluish tint but it is close. I’m not sure how durable the 42mm AR will be long term but it certainly looks the part.

This above makes it all the more perplexing as to why the 45mm then has no AR at all or very very minimal inner AR. I’m still trying to make out what it is! On some views it looks to have a very slight bluish tint on the inner part of the crystal. That could be just reflections from the gasket though. Either way, the 45mm AR is non existant. It is neither close to gen or even the 42mm rep. I’m not even going to speculate as to what happened in this case. I’m sure the details will come out in time but it is something that needs to be corrected.

Rep 42mm



Rep 45mm





Comparing AR





The pearl:

The pearl is better centred than it used to be, at least on the 45mm it is. On the 42mm it still has a tendency to be a little lowish in the triangle but they are both a huge improvement over old PO’s. It’s still a little too big in diameter vs gen and is more flush to bezel in some cases than others. The better placement itself just improves the look immensely.



The Lume:

The lume is pretty good actually, I’m sure the strenght on full charge is not as intense as the gen but they’ve done a pretty good job, with the correct lume colours in the right places. The addition of the good AR and superlume helps make the dial pop much better than the previous PO.

Gen Lume:



Rep Lume vs Old gen PO





Some thoughts and conclusions:
 
Overall this is a nice rep with some great features such as screwed links and good endlinks, AR and superlume, but it is let down by just a lack of attention to detail that could have made it a fantastic Omega rep. The missing AR on the 45mm and the clasps, and some dial/bezel details on the 42mm could have been improved prior to release.

It’s still a great purchase and no doubt many will be very happy with it. For the price it has a great deal of features that you’ll be hard pushed to find outside of the rep world. I guess the newer reps on release in the past year with finer attention to detail and better finishing have raised the bar significantly. This doesn’t quite reach those heights but is still good value for money and looks a quality piece on the wrist.

[Centurion]

Fantastic review ' thank you !

[Rolexman]

Wow. Great review! Thanks a lot!! Terrific pictures.

Weird how both 42 and 45 both have different flaws on similar parts. E.g. Clasp engraving, dial logo, AR etc. It sort of acknowledges the fact there are many sub contractors making parts for 1 rep.

[cougar1]

Thanks guys, hope it gives a better idea of the reps. ....absolutely Rolexman, so much stuff seems to be sub contracted and supplied from different sources we get a mishmash of really good, and not so good at the same time!

[Wooln]

Great summary, Cougar, I agree completely with the clasp action and also the slightly worrying feel to the crown tube in the 42mm, but love the majority of the way this model looks and feels.

Thanks for taking the time to put this excellent review together.

[cornerstone]

Great review.  Thank you so much.

[jcagara08]

Wow great review! You actually bought the three variant of reps dude? Can you be able to do a review of the blue titanium version? I am looking to buy that version of smp po ceramic Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[jcagara08]

So what would be the initial conclusion by then for this v1 PO? Is the 45mm better than the 42mm? Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[indywatchguy]

45mm all the way! Crystal is easy fix!

Nice review and pics thanks!

[indywatchguy]

And don't forget it's genuine Swiss engine which makes it worth the price of admission

[sgtguk]

Good on ya for a great review of both reps mate     imo they both have their flaws but tbh they look bloody good don't they ! Let's see what comes up on the v2 of these, can't wait    

[indywatchguy]

V2 sarge????oooooh no will it ever end! My wallets shrinking help!

[sgtguk]

V2 sarge????oooooh no will it ever end! My wallets shrinking help!

 

You know it'll happen mate      

[davyboy]

Thanks for the fantastic writeup this is my next purchase so is great to find an indeph review like this with great pics also, now do i wait for a V2 or dive straight in for the 45mm.

[mbenz]

Great effort . Thanks for doing it for the community.

[cougar1]

Thanks guys. Overall it's a pretty critical review. I'm sure those who own the gen and have lived with it would point out a few more things I left out. I don't want to put people off the watches, they are great, but these days people seem to want a very critical breakdown of even the best reps. So I went with that....

It's a difficult watch to review, you could do several reviews of this...vs gen, vs old V5/UPO, 45mm vs 42mm, also Vs general higher end rep quality (AP diver, Laureus Ingy etc). Some things look much more pronounced in pics than on the wrist (e.g. red numerals looks almost dirty at times, this only comes across in blown up pics!, Movement looks a bit shoddy but it is really great when just viewing the watch.)

 

It was mentioned a couple of times but it just shows how the factories outsource and sub contract so many different parts from various suppliers we end up with things like good great AR on one and great lettering details the other . It's pretty clear some of the 42mm came from entirely different suppliers than the 45mm.

Just to clarify on the clasp, the issue was with one watch, but even though the other two were fine they didn't leave me inspired, they are by no means bad clasps its just they fall down when compared to gen and some of the better rep bracelets of the past year. i.e. TC V3, noob explorer II latest (which is great!), JLC NSD etc...It's most certainly a better bracelet than the old PO bracelet, the endlinks and screwlinks alone make it a better bracelet.

Also I've been wearing the 42mm on the old PO gen rubber for the past couple of days. It's really growing on me more and more and looks great.
I think both watches are quality reps for the price and look really good on the wrist, I think they will sell really well if minor things like the AR on the 45mm is sorted out. They will probably sell really well anyway!

[indywatchguy]

Thanks cougar! You tha MAN!

[indywatchguy]

Davyboy go for it! I don't see a V2 anytime soon cause its near perfect. Only thing I can see is a possible free upgrade to 45mm AR by factory(let's pray!)

[browngo1]

Great review, much appreciated.

 

I've ordered a 45 pumpkin, just awaiting the QC pics.

 

 

Interesting to see that, even on the gens, the logo on the crown and the clasp has "Happy feet", while the logo on the dial doesn't.

 

I would have thought Omega would have been a bit more particular with their corporate logo. 

Edited February 14, 2013 by browngo1

[Rolexman]

Clasp actually looks pretty good compared like this:

[cougar1]

Yep interesting comparison. The 45mm rep engraving is pretty deep and solid looking, not finished as well as gen but still not too bad. The 42mm lacks a fair bit though, shallow, spread out and not bold enough. Still, the feel of the 42mm clasp is mixed, the internal machining is crude and I wonder over time how reliable it will be. Still better than the old V5 clasp though.

 

Browngo1, yep all omega logos printed or engraved logos have happy feet afaik, except for modern raised dial logos.

Edited February 14, 2013 by cougar1

[indywatchguy]

Nice Rollie!

[indywatchguy]

Cougar what do you think of the HE valve? Mine is kinda flimsy I played with it a bit and it completely came off? I'm manage to get it back on but it doesn't seem to be as solid as my 007 Seamaster. What's your thoughts?

[jmarin.72]

One heck of a review there C

I had my eye on these puppies since day one but i still think that we are experiencing an UPO deja vu once again... same old story again until the ultimate V comes out

Thanks for the ultra enlightening report. your photos are awsome and quite revealing

Oh... and i really fancy the "ADJUSTE DTO FIYE POSITIONS"

Edited February 14, 2013 by jmarin.72

[cougar1]

Cougar what do you think of the HE valve? Mine is kinda flimsy I played with it a bit and it completely came off? I'm manage to get it back on but it doesn't seem to be as solid as my 007 Seamaster. What's your thoughts?

 

Agree Indy, very flimsy on the He, seems almost like a very thin cap, this part must seriously compromise water resistance. It's something that seriously needs to be glued in and sealed if water resistance is a priority. I probably should've mentioned the flimsy valve in the review.