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Omega Seamaster 300m Ceramic Black - A review (finally)


Guest khashayar

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the gen hands from a 2531.80 model (the earlier gen with printed dial) would be too short, however, if you go for the gen hands from a 2220.80 model seamaster (the gen with applied markers and red seamaster lettering) the hands would be correct length-when they updated the design in 2006 they made the hands longer. the 2220.80 and its black sister model were with the wave pattern dials, but the blue model had green lume and the black had blue lume...so... if you got a set from both, you could have a gen hour hand with blue lume and gen minute hand with green lume...

 

the case number for these is 168.1504 if you wanna look em up on ofrei/cousinsuk, problem is you would have fantastic lume on the hands and not so fantastic on the markers...you could get the dial relumed to match though...

 

I recently got 2 of these ceramic seamasters, one im using for parts for a planet ocean project, the other im gonna mod (aiming for a gen crystal from a 42mm planet ocean as its same diameter and some other bits and pieces...)

 

im snowed under with work right now, but I will do a thread on everything im up to in the next few weeks.

 

*a quick note on the bezel pearl...as seen the pearl sticks out too much, I took a small screwdriver with rubber handle, using the rubber end, apply pressue to the pearl and it will push it deeper into the insert and sit flush with it...just be careful not to push it too far...

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I installed a po crystal on my gen smp quartz, and ended up adding a po bezel aswell to make up the gap, the thread i made about it is on here somewhere...but as for the ceramic rep, its a totally different construction...the bezel ring is taller and the insert sits higher, side by side with my modded gen it looks like a perfect height...or at worse there will be a half mm lip...

Il have alot of free time the end of the month so will compile everything then...no rest for the wicked!

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Guest khashayar

the gen hands from a 2531.80 model (the earlier gen with printed dial) would be too short, however, if you go for the gen hands from a 2220.80 model seamaster (the gen with applied markers and red seamaster lettering) the hands would be correct length-when they updated the design in 2006 they made the hands longer. the 2220.80 and its black sister model were with the wave pattern dials, but the blue model had green lume and the black had blue lume...so... if you got a set from both, you could have a gen hour hand with blue lume and gen minute hand with green lume...

the case number for these is 168.1504 if you wanna look em up on ofrei/cousinsuk, problem is you would have fantastic lume on the hands and not so fantastic on the markers...you could get the dial relumed to match though...

I recently got 2 of these ceramic seamasters, one im using for parts for a planet ocean project, the other im gonna mod (aiming for a gen crystal from a 42mm planet ocean as its same diameter and some other bits and pieces...)

im snowed under with work right now, but I will do a thread on everything im up to in the next few weeks.

*a quick note on the bezel pearl...as seen the pearl sticks out too much, I took a small screwdriver with rubber handle, using the rubber end, apply pressue to the pearl and it will push it deeper into the insert and sit flush with it...just be careful not to push it too far...

I tried to do what you wrote about trying to push down the pearl and no luck. Logically speaking, if the hole that is drilled is for example 3 mm deep, and the whole pearl is 5 mm, it is bound to pop up 2 mm as it does on the pictures. I.e there is no place for the pearl to go down, as it is full.

Regarding the hands and all that, changing the hands to gen parts is great, but as you say there are no gen parts for the dial. Re-luming would be great, but something that is out of my experience zone unfortunately.

Even though I'm loving this rep, I don't know how much it is acutuallt worth to try to Franken it. Perhaps noob will release a better version in the near future, but I don't see what could be improved much more on the watch except for the lume. Have to think about this...

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totally agree, the watch is indeed perfect in my eyes...apart from better lume it really doesn't need anything done to it...I have a few parts knocking round so im seeing what could be done...

 

pushing the pearl down does work...ive removed the insert and its pretty thick, with plenty of room between bezel/pearl/insert for it to sit lower...heres a quick phone camera shot to show how it looks when done, its a big difference...quite abit of pressure is needed, but it will go...just watch it doesn't go below the bezel...

 

994232_342150555918691_736397651_n.jpg

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Good work bamcky, looks great, it was similar to the old PO V5 when they first came out, protruding pearls etc, some can be more stubborn and glued more stubbornly than others but they all push down flush. Getting the bezel off gives more control, but that itself can be a bugger for someone not used to removing omega bezels. Definitely worth doing.

Interested in seeing this blue one when it arrives madmex, keep us posted.

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I second that on the blue! will be great to see real world pics, the dial looks good, but as said before I dunno if the bezel insert will be glossy enough as it looks too matte on the TD's videos and example qc pics...the black is unbelievably close to gen, I have a mate who works in a local AD and he gave me 2 minutes with it next to the rep...honestly its been repped to almost perfect...the tone, colour, glossiness etc is spot on, if the blue matches this, these could be amongst the best out of the box omega reps ever produced...

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Guest khashayar

totally agree, the watch is indeed perfect in my eyes...apart from better lume it really doesn't need anything done to it...I have a few parts knocking round so im seeing what could be done...

pushing the pearl down does work...ive removed the insert and its pretty thick, with plenty of room between bezel/pearl/insert for it to sit lower...heres a quick phone camera shot to show how it looks when done, its a big difference...quite abit of pressure is needed, but it will go...just watch it doesn't go below the bezel...

994232_342150555918691_736397651_n.jpg

Keep us updated about the parts.

Ideal would be gen hands and a relume of the dial.

If one could source a gen 2500d movement would be really cool as well.

I've been trying to push down the damn pearl for 15 minutes now and it's not moving. I tried using the way you mentioned, but I'm not sure how much I can press on it before the bezel or something breaks.

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yea do be careful, the ceramic can crack...the grip end of the screwdriver I used is covered in a pretty hard rubber/plastic material, I tried using something softer at first but the pearl just left an imprint in the rubber ha! if its not working try something with a harder compound...go slow, the pearl is held in with minimal glue, so it will go in-and looks great when done.

 

you may find it easier too to remove the bracelet, lay the watch head on a flat surface (with towel etc under it to protect the caseback). that way the bracelet isn't in the way and you can "feel" it more if you get my drift...

 

once I have all the parts in place and have time to take proper pics i'll upload everything in one go...I have sod all free time right now which is annoying as im itching to get started on some new projects!

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just for a quick reference, heres my gen smp quartz that I modded myself...it has a crystal from a planet ocean, bezel ring from a planet ocean and the original smp insert...

had to use the po bezel to avoid the lip between bezel and crystal, however on the new smp-c, the bezel and ceramic insert are a lot taller than the older smp, so im hoping the crystal will be a straight swap height wise.

 

1000258_342215859245494_1505468064_n.jpg

 

1009810_342215762578837_866636267_n.jpg

 

check out the no crystal effect...even from relatively straight on...

 

644208_342215719245508_1909436311_n.jpg

 

1001919_342215942578819_959836828_n.jpg

 

you can see here the longer hands compared to the older model, so should look fine on the smp-c

 

549518_342215882578825_1924857849_n.jpg

 

954677_342215792578834_1509201251_n.jpg

 

and a final wrist shot...

 

1150929_342214612578952_1435588690_n.jpg

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Guest khashayar

yea do be careful, the ceramic can crack...the grip end of the screwdriver I used is covered in a pretty hard rubber/plastic material, I tried using something softer at first but the pearl just left an imprint in the rubber ha! if its not working try something with a harder compound...go slow, the pearl is held in with minimal glue, so it will go in-and looks great when done.

you may find it easier too to remove the bracelet, lay the watch head on a flat surface (with towel etc under it to protect the caseback). that way the bracelet isn't in the way and you can "feel" it more if you get my drift...

once I have all the parts in place and have time to take proper pics i'll upload everything in one go...I have sod all free time right now which is annoying as im itching to get started on some new projects!

Alright then, I'll try that tomorrow.

Regarding the gen hands... Couldn't find them on cousinuk, tried to search with the case number you gave me without any result.

Do you have a direct link perhaps?

Would be really cool if you have the spare parts available and perhaps do a relume on the dial and show us ;)

As you said, it's really a great rep out of the box.

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Alright then, I'll try that tomorrow.

Regarding the gen hands... Couldn't find them on cousinuk, tried to search with the case number you gave me without any result.

Do you have a direct link perhaps?

Would be really cool if you have the spare parts available and perhaps do a relume on the dial and show us ;)

As you said, it's really a great rep out of the box.

 

i'll log on to cousins tomorrow and find the exact ref. number for the hands, you need to either search on there under case parts or hands by calibre reference on the omega section...I've ordered them before, so i'll check my past order history and get all the info... I have a whole month off work from 28th august, so will get the builds done and try the stuff I have out, get it pictured, and get a thread going...done all the ground work, but no proper time to sit down a do a good job of it!

 

as for the relume, I did have the idea about getting a gen black wave dial which has blue lume, removing the applied markers, and applying them to the glossy rep dial, but as the gen dial is in excess of £254 before vat on cousins its simply not cost effective...a relume is a much cheaper option...

 

on a rep this good out of the box, you don't wanna go too mad on stuff that isn't really worth it...

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Khashayar, you could try popping off the bezel with a knife, once you have access to the inside it is very easy remove all pearl glue with a pin and just slide down the pearl and reglue flush.....however be really careful using the knife method, easy slip and ruin hands (your hands ;)) or case, tape up everything and go slow and work your way around creating a gap between bezel and case, as it gets bigger the whole bezel should pop off. Usual method is to use something like an exacto knife to get a slight gap then move up to something thicker until bezel pops off.

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in fact sod it, im wide awake so here you go... gen hands with green lume ref. x26524, gen hands with blue lume ref. x25159 just search these reference numbers on cousins, the green lume ones are out of stock til November though grrrr

 

the case number is 196.1504 for the blue seamaster and 196.1507 for black... 168 prefix is for the earlier model...got that wrong in my earlier post!

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yea removing the bezel and insert is a good way...but only if you feel confident...I removed the bezel on the one im using for parts, and believe me it was tighter than a gnats [censored]...

if the pearl seems stuck tight, try heating it gently with a hair drier then pushing it in...

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I like the Rep SMP 300.

 

But as with all reps, the dial indices (Hour Markers) are never quite perfect and is an instant tell for me.

The Gen Ceramic SMP 300 has flat hour markers and the rep has Bubbly Hour Markers.  

 

To me, this is an instant tell when I look at the face of a watch. 

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Guest khashayar

Khashayar, you could try popping off the bezel with a knife, once you have access to the inside it is very easy remove all pearl glue with a pin and just slide down the pearl and reglue flush.....however be really careful using the knife method, easy slip and ruin hands (your hands ;)) or case, tape up everything and go slow and work your way around creating a gap between bezel and case, as it gets bigger the whole bezel should pop off. Usual method is to use something like an exacto knife to get a slight gap then move up to something thicker until bezel pops off.

Thanks for the info coug.

I've watches some videos on YouTube where they remove the bezel, and it looks like too much of a risk, especially for someone who hasn't done it before. Perhaps a full mod with swapping for gen hands, reluming and fixing the issue above would be appropriate if I'd deem it worth for this particular rep.

I'm still interested in what noob has to offer on the crpo. I've got to say that I miss having a big watch sometimes...

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Guest khashayar

yea removing the bezel and insert is a good way...but only if you feel confident...I removed the bezel on the one im using for parts, and believe me it was tighter than a gnats [censored]...

if the pearl seems stuck tight, try heating it gently with a hair drier then pushing it in...

Haha, thanks for case numbers, tips and mostly the metaphor... ;)

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Guest khashayar

I like the Rep SMP 300.

But as with all reps, the dial indices (Hour Markers) are never quite perfect and is an instant tell for me.

The Gen Ceramic SMP 300 has flat hour markers and the rep has Bubbly Hour Markers.

To me, this is an instant tell when I look at the face of a watch.

I agree with you, to some extent.

The hour markers on the gen are more flat as you say. However, looking from above there is no difference at all, due to the perspective.

Looking from underneath, there is a small difference, though I must say it's barely noticeable (if noticeable at all).

Even though the markers aren't 100 % correct, they are far from an obvious giveaway.

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