New "omega" Smp 300m Chrono - Review

[stang]

I received my new "Omega" Seamaster Professional 300M Chronograph from Joshua (www.perfectclones.com) on Monday, following a very short 6-day wait from Western Union payment date.

Here are my impressions of the watch so far....

LIKES:

1) Styling. This watch looks awesome! One of the coolest looking designs ever IM(LTH)O. The replica is very faithful to the real SMP except for the already noted minor discrepancies (bezel insert alignment, bracelet screws, date font).

2) Bezel. The bezel turns butter-smooth, just terrific. One of the smoothest bezels I've ever tried. I find myself turning it all the time just because I like the way it feels. Very sweet.

3) Features. Has all the major goodies I like; chronograph, metal band, diver bezel, luminescent hands/markers, automatic winding, screw-down crown/He valve, sapphire crystal.

(Note, you can differentiate sapphire from mineral crystal two ways ... 1) sapphire has a pink hue to the edge when viewed sideways while mineral has a greenish hue. 2) a large drop of water will slide off almost completely leaving a few (very small, well rounded) drops remaining. Mineral will leave a large streak on the glass. Try it for yourself!)

4) Mechanical movement. The first I've ever owned. Smooth second hand(s) look cool as does the instant-reset chronograph.

DISLIKES:

1) Size. Just a bit too big for my tastes (particularly the thickness) and I prefer large/heavy watches. Still, I'm starting to get used to it already...

2) Pushers. I wish they were the screw-down type like my Invicta 9226 Pro Diver. Those pushers have "nuts" which screw down to hold the pushers *out* thus forming a submarine-tight seal. Still, WR seems to be very good anyway.

3) Simple chronograph function only. Probably just the way mechanical chronos are. I do like the elapsed, cumulative, intermediate & split timing features of the Inv 9226's ETA quartz movt.

4) Accessories. Watch came alone, wrapped in a bit of foam, inside an envelope. No Omega or other box and no instructions. (also, no fake warranty card or COSC certificate, but I didn't expect these)

4) Bracelet Screws!! Forget the looks ... it took me 2 hours to take a few links out!! Three screws came out w/ no problem but the last one got stuck and wouldn't come out to save my life. After 30 min with 3 sizes of jeweler screwdrivers ... then adding plyers ... then a vise, it just refused to come out. I was very careful & determined but no luck. I had to saw the $%@#& link off w/ a hacksaw and vise to remove the pin. :yucky: Took me 1.5 hours of very careful cutting to remove the link/screw. Afterwards, I had to drill out the hole(s) to get another pin to fit through the link's holes since it would not slide through. VERY POOR design and/or craftsmenship!! If anyone else has this problem, let me know and I'll try to walk you through the solution.

TO BE DETERMINED:

1) Timekeeping Accuracy & Adjustability. Now that I know how to wind it I can check the gain/loss per day. Hopefully, I can get it to within 5 sec/day on average since The ZigmeisterZumba says it's not good to frequently set the time on the Asian 7750's.

[crick0234]

I received my new "Omega" Seamaster Professional 300M Chronograph from Joshua (www.perfectclones.com) on Monday, following a very short 6-day wait from Western Union payment date.

Here are my impressions of the watch so far....

LIKES:

1) Styling. This watch looks awesome! One of the coolest looking designs ever IM(LTH)O. The replica is very faithful to the real SMP except for the already noted minor discrepancies (bezel insert alignment, bracelet screws, date font).

2) Bezel. The bezel turns butter-smooth, just terrific. One of the smoothest bezels I've ever tried. I find myself turning it all the time just because I like the way it feels. Very sweet.

3) Features. Has all the major goodies I like; chronograph, metal band, diver bezel, luminescent hands/markers, automatic winding, screw-down crown/He valve, sapphire crystal.

(Note, you can differentiate sapphire from mineral crystal two ways ... 1) sapphire has a pink hue to the edge when viewed sideways while mineral has a greenish hue. 2) a large drop of water will slide off almost completely leaving a few (very small, well rounded) drops remaining. Mineral will leave a large streak on the glass. Try it for yourself!)

4) Mechanical movement. The first I've ever owned. Smooth second hand(s) look cool as does the instant-reset chronograph.

DISLIKES:

1) Size. Just a bit too big for my tastes (particularly the thickness) and I prefer large/heavy watches. Still, I'm starting to get used to it already...

2) Pushers. I wish they were the screw-down type like my Invicta 9226 Pro Diver. Those pushers have "nuts" which screw down to hold the pushers *out* thus forming a submarine-tight seal. Still, WR seems to be very good anyway.

3) Simple chronograph function only. Probably just the way mechanical chronos are. I do like the elapsed, cumulative, intermediate & split timing features of the Inv 9226's ETA quartz movt.

4) Accessories. Watch came alone, wrapped in a bit of foam, inside an envelope. No Omega or other box and no instructions. (also, no fake warranty card or COSC certificate, but I didn't expect these)

4) Bracelet Screws!! Forget the looks ... it took me 2 hours to take a few links out!! Three screws came out w/ no problem but the last one got stuck and wouldn't come out to save my life. After 30 min with 3 sizes of jeweler screwdrivers ... then adding plyers ... then a vise, it just refused to come out. I was very careful & determined but no luck. I had to saw the $%@#& link off w/ a hacksaw and vise to remove the pin. :yucky: Took me 1.5 hours of very careful cutting to remove the link/screw. Afterwards, I had to drill out the hole(s) to get another pin to fit through the link's holes since it would not slide through. VERY POOR design and/or craftsmenship!! If anyone else has this problem, let me know and I'll try to walk you through the solution.

TO BE DETERMINED:

1) Timekeeping Accuracy & Adjustability. Now that I know how to wind it I can check the gain/loss per day. Hopefully, I can get it to within 5 sec/day on average since The ZigmeisterZumba says it's not good to frequently set the time on the Asian 7750's.

some things to keep in mind:

1) mechanical chronos are all like that. if you've seen the cuts of a mechanical chrono before, then you'll know it's much more complicated than a standard mechanical watch. Gears galore. If you need to get it serviced, it's more expensive than a regular non-chrono (we're talking ~200-300 dollars to service).

2) NO rep will ever come with a brand box and fake papers and instructions. These are separate purchases or might be included in a package. Of course it would be nice :? thought it was weird that you included in as a dislike considering all reps will come to you in this fashion.

other than that, cool beans! that's a nice watch you have with good resale wear it in good health.

edit: OOPS! didnt realize this is your first rep purchase. sorry bout that. yeah reps wont be coming with any accessories... soemtimes they come with QC issues too - as you've run into... and that's the typical sacrifice we make to buying counterfeit goods at the fraction of the cost of its gen counterpart.

Also you'll notice that higher end fine watches mostly come in mechanical. Though quartz will always have much more features than a standard mechanical, mechanical is... in a way... considered the traditional heart and soul of a watch.

Edited February 16, 2007 by crick0234

[chrgod]

thanks for the little review... The Omega Seamaster Chrono is one of the best reps around. Before we got the Chronograph version, the regular "Bond" Seamaster was considered an excellent replica.. It sometimes has a better bracelet, by the way.. And now we have the Ultimate Planet Ocean! The Replica makers like Omega!

I have a link to my SMP Chronograph review in my signature.