Review Of The "ultimate" Planet Ocean 45mm

[By-Tor]

                         

 
 God only knows how many "generations" of Planet Oceans we've got already. I already thought the 4th Generation was the last model I had to buy, but I was wrong. The rep factories have "milked" the members many times with this watch. They had to make 3-4 attempts to finally get the bigger version right.

 Black 45mm Planet Ocean is the watch that Daniel Craig actually wears in "Casino Royale" (before he changes to the standard "Bond Seamaster" later in the movie). He's wearing his 45mm PO with a black rubber strap.  
 
 

 
 When I'm writing this review nobody has yet came out with a rep strap that goes with the "Ultimate", but I believe it's only a matter of time when they're out. Can't really think of a strap that has more sales potential.

How good is it?  

 The 4th Gen is excellent replica watch. But the "Ultimate" has finally fixed some of the minor shortcomings. Actually there was very little to fix with the 4th Gen. All the improvements belong to the detail department, but are definitely important for the accuracy freaks.

 1. The bracelet:
 If the 4th Gen had a serious shortcoming it was definitely the questionable bracelet and clasp quality. The SEL had too big gap between the last link. Also the clasp didn't lock up properly, felt loose and left annoying gap between the bracelet and clasp. All these have been fixed and the watch sits perfectly on the wrist. The clasp also has correct markings for the 45mm version: "OMEGA Seamaster PROFESSIONAL PLANET OCEAN".     
 
 

 
 2. The hands:
 4th Gen had too short hands (barely noticeable though). This flaw has been fixed for the "Ultimate". But now they introduced the wrongly shaped Omega ellipse logo. The feet are shaped a'la on the older Seamasters. Otherwise the dial is virtually perfect, and the pearl has been dramatically improved.
 
 

 
 3. The HE valve:
 I never really swallowed some members' claims that the HE valve was too low on the 4th Generation. I think it was perfectly placed on the rep, because on the smaller Planet Ocean the HE was significantly lower than on the standard Seamaster line. Either way, the HE valve has been raised a bit for the "Ultimate".

4. AR Coating:
 4th Gen had light AR coating, which has been improved for this model. It has similar blueish tint on the crystal as the genuine (in certain lighting), but unlike the genuine the crystal looks like it's coated only from inside. Because of this the tint isn't quite as strong. Still very impressive.
  
 

 
 5. Luminosity:
 When it comes to lume the 4th Generation is still the best replica watch I've ever seen. "Ultimate" has good lume for a rep, but not quite as good as the 4th Gen (at least my rep). The pearl has weak lume on the Ultimate, while it glows like a torch in the 4th Gen. But neither can be compared to the genuine, which is especially famous of its luminous abilities.

 "Ultimate" lume after "charging" the dial under a lamp for 30-40 seconds:
 
 

 
 
 I've done so many reviews of various really impressive reps lately 
 so it's difficult to impress me anymore. But the "Ultimate" still manages to do it. Besides the feet of the Omega logo on the dial and only one-sided AR coating it's virtually perfect (visually).

 I actually find it quite boring that there's nothing more to complain about this watch. It's almost like reviewing a genuine watch. You know... "it's just a Planet Ocean, you have all seen it before". 
 
 

 
 What was really surprising was how HUGE this watch feels. It dwarfs the 4th Generation, which is by no means a small watch. Needless to say it makes any Rolex look like a ladies' watch. It weighs amazing 230 grams!!! This is identical with the genuine, so it's definitely not for anorectic wrists. 

 Here you can see the comparison shot with some other famous Omega models. As you can see the 45mm Planet Ocean is humongous. 
 
 

 
 Ultimate 45mm Planet Ocean is without a doubt the best ever Planet Ocean, and perhaps even the best Omega rep ever. So my Guide definitely needs updating.

 This is hopefully the end of the Planet Ocean saga, which continued for over a year. The "Ultimate" ranks up there with the best replicas ever. But because of its size it's not for everybody. 

 4th Gen is still excellent choice for people who don't want to wear huge watches. But now it's easier: buyers only need to choose between these two models. The "Ultimate" doesn't make the 4th Generation feel inferior by any means, it's only significantly better in the small details. For some, these details don't mean anything, for others they mean everything.

 Hopefully this review and my 4th Generation review
 answers all questions about the Planet Ocean reps to the newbies. When it comes to popularity the PO has become on par with Fiddy and Submariner. Perhaps recently even surpassed these two?

 
 
 
 

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[Bazz]

Another great review

I agree it has to be one of the best reps out there, I simply cant take mine off!

Thanks for the review and the nice pics.

[vaccum]

Just awsome! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Cheers,

vaccum

[coolfire]

Great review...And even greater pics to boot dude!!

I like how you mentioned that this version kinda sums up this year for reps....

[AMK000]

As Borat says ..... NICE

[offshore]

Thanks for that fabulous review BT!

It's posts like this, that make me wonder......... when we have newbs elsewhere, slating this forum as elitist!

Surely they must read other posts, or use the search facility?

But I suppose I can be taken to task for those remarks as well

Sorry to digress from the original point... great post... sharing your wonderful knowledge with your fellow forum members... I dips me lid!!

Offshore

[SBOB]

great review

I got my PO a couple of weeks back and its definatly solid though after a while the size doesnt worry me though my dad did comment on not wanting to swim with it incase it dragged me under

got the black face but orange 6/9&12 on the face...

very pretty

[Rolexman]

Great review as always!.... a wristshot would be nice.

[MAHLER]

Great review !!!

[space]

Great review as always!

I too would like to see a wristshot.

I'm currently waiting for the postman to show up at my door with an orange one! I hope it's not to big for me, as I have kind of a thin wrist, but I use my PAM and Cartier Santos 100 daily, so I hope I can pull it off.

Edited December 29, 2006 by space

[r11co]

Mine arrived yesterday, and I just canned my full review as By-Tor's nails it.

The lack of AR coating on the outer surface of the crystal is one that can be easily argued around as I've heard off-board that the usual watchmaker solution for repairing damage to outer AR coating is to polish it off as it is a pain in the [censored] anyway!!!

A useful bit of reference material for these reviews would be to indicate how the bracelet is linked together for sizing purposes. The 'ultimate' is praisworthy in this respect as it returns to the use of pins-and-sleeves as per the genuine (previous generations used screws for some bizarre reason), making one of these essential...

Edit: Also worth mentioning that this is the first Omega rep ever to have an internally threaded crown tube as per the genuine. Some people have mistaken this as a stripped outer thread....

[jonthebhoy]

Superb review By-Tor as always. We are not worthy!

JTB

[space]

Someone over at rwi wondered if you can swap the orange bezel with a black one or vice versa, and if a bezel can be purchased separately.

A very interesting thought. It would be nice having two watches in one!

(not to sound cheap, or anything... )

Edited December 29, 2006 by space

[By-Tor]

Thanks a lot for the nice comments all... appreciated.

I completely forgot about the wristshot. I'm at work and wearing my "Bond Seamaster" today... so I can't take one right now. But I'll post it asap.

Thanks again, glad you enjoyed it.

[haveblue]

thanks by-tor for the review and thanks r11co for the input about the bracelet and the ar coating.

i have been waiting for the changes to slow so i can buy a black PO 45.

your review indicates that time is here. it will be my next purchase.

(by-tor: the only review you will probably have to do next is review the black rubber strap when it is made available for the 45mm)

UPDATE -

has anyone seen one of the genuines in person?

before i ordered, i looked at the Omega site http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=9...&no_cache=1 i could swear that the end of the seconds hand at the center of the dial, there is a '007' in orange with the PPK bond pistol. are my eyes decieving me?!?!?!

Edited December 29, 2006 by haveblue

[techd]

A little bit sad that they got so many things right but botched the Omega logo...of all the details to screw up on that was probably one of the easiest to not screw up on.

Ah well, makes me feel better about my 4th gen...although I hate the stupid unusable piece of crap clasp.

[r11co]

UPDATE -

has anyone seen one of the genuines in person?

Today, in fact. Holding rep and gen side-by-side and I spotted ONE TINY FLAW in addition to the one already known about (ie. the tails on the logo, which in truth is almost impossible to spot unless under a loupe). I am going to keep quiet about it though.

before i ordered, i looked at the Omega site http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=9...&no_cache=1 i could swear that the end of the seconds hand at the center of the dial, there is a '007' in orange with the PPK bond pistol. are my eyes decieving me?!?!?!

That's the Casino Royale special edition. Different second hand and caseback, but otherwie the same watch for £100 more.

[chrgod]

Another marvelous review from you, By-Tor. Many thanks, even though it most likely will cost me about 200USD... I have escaped from the PO hype so far. But with this last version coming out, it is time to jump on the train.

I was wondering about the differences in caseback and stamped serial numbers on the 4th vs the "Ultimate". The Ultimate version has a S/N on one of the lugs, as the recent SMP Chronograps, but I assume the 4th generation lacks the S/Ns?

[haveblue]

.....That's the Casino Royale special edition. Different second hand and caseback, but otherwie the same watch for £100 more.

ah....thanks r11co.

i thought something was either wrong with my eyes or there were pixels dropping out of my monitor.

[Fireman_Fred]

Great review !! As an owner of the latest version of the 42.5mm PO I have been wondering whether to go for the 45mm "Ultimate". It was great to see the comparison shot of the other Omegas together (but I'm still undecided as the sheer size of the 45mm version looks fairly awesome !!).

[By-Tor]

Mine arrived yesterday, and I just canned my full review as By-Tor's nails it.

The lack of AR coating on the outer surface of the crystal is one that can be easily argued around as I've heard off-board that the usual watchmaker solution for repairing damage to outer AR coating is to polish it off as it is a pain in the arse anyway!!!

A useful bit of reference material for these reviews would be to indicate how the bracelet is linked together for sizing purposes. The 'ultimate' is praisworthy in this respect as it returns to the use of pins-and-sleeves as per the genuine (previous generations used screws for some bizarre reason), making one of these essential...

Edit: Also worth mentioning that this is the first Omega rep ever to have an internally threaded crown tube as per the genuine. Some people have mistaken this as a stripped outer thread....

Thanks r11co, excellent additions as usual. But my PO 4th definitely uses pins for resizing too. Or perhaps you're referring to previous generations of the 45mm versions?

I really had a hard time removing a link from the bracelet. They're extremely tight on the "Ultimate". But then I don't have the pin tool... just thick needles, pliers and a hammer.

[vaccum]

Do you know the size of the pin?

[By-Tor]

I was wondering about the differences in caseback and stamped serial numbers on the 4th vs the "Ultimate". The Ultimate version has a S/N on one of the lugs, as the recent SMP Chronograps, but I assume the 4th generation lacks the S/Ns?

Good observation. The "Ultimate" definitely has serial number engraved there. It's very tiny and can only be seen with a loupe. Not that it really matters, but nice little detail.

You're correct. The 4th Gen doesn't have that.

[By-Tor]

(by-tor: the only review you will probably have to do next is review the black rubber strap when it is made available for the 45mm)

I purchased a rubber strap from Joshua for my 4th Gen. But there was a slight problem. I snapped this dirty photo to explain it properly:

So... has anyone checked between the lugs of the "Ultimate"? Is there a hole drilled in the middle... for the strap?

[By-Tor]

Ok guys...here are the wristshots I promised. Excuse the pic quality...these have all been taken with a shit camera which doesn't have macro (my fiancee borrowed my camera!). I'm amazed how grainy and shitty pics this thing takes.

The clasp shuts nice and tight:

Standard shot:

Here's how it sits on my 8' wrist. This thing is huge.

I'll take better shots immediately when I get my damn camera back.