Omega SMP Chrono Review

[andreww]

Omega Seamaster Pro Chronograph

The Omega Seamaster Pro Chronograph Pro Chronograph was released more than a year ago and a lot has been written about it since then. Personally I have never been a big fan of the SMP line as I found them to be too thin, too dark and generally just bland looking. I think it is a classic design, just somewhat dated. The SMP Chrono on the other hand gives an old design a modern day appeal. From the day this rep was released it has been on my list of “must haves”. So, when a local member posted one for sale at a good price recently, I jumped at it.

My first impression of the SMP chrono was that it had a quality feel to it. It is heavy, but not overly heavy. This can be attributed to the fact that it is only 41.5 mm across the dial, small by today’s standards, but it makes the watch feel even thicker than it is. The bezel is nice and snug, not as tight as the UPO, but much easier to turn and with no slop whatsoever. It has 120 clicks and mine came with a perfectly aligned insert. Newcomers may not be aware that many of these watches come with the insert badly misaligned. Not that the pearl doesn’t sit properly at the 12:00 marker, but that the numbers on the insert didn’t line up with the pointy parts of the bezel, and actually faced the flat sections of the bezel. This can be a problem as the bezel on this watch is hard to remove without destroying it, and the glue on some versions was too good to use the “heat and twist” method.

Look at the difference in the insert alignment

The insert itself is a deep blue that mimics the gen nicely. However, the pearl is slightly too large and may be sitting a hair too low. Like the UPO the pearl touches the edge of the triangle shaped marker, and is probably the biggest tell on the watch. Unlike my UPOs the pearl arrived nicely installed. It sits level and the pearl crystal is installed properly.

The pearl should not touch the edges of the triangle

The dial on the watch features the classic SMP “wave” pattern printed on a deep blue face. I was impressed with this aspect of the dial as a lot of the SMP reps that I have seen seem to have had a subdued version of this detail. The SMP Chrono’s pattern is very nicely defined and on par with the gen. The markings are crisp and look accurate as well. The subdials are circled by fine chrome rings that, in my opinion, add dimension to an otherwise dark and dull dial. The chapter ring features fluorescent red, triangular shaped markers that add much needed color to the face of the watch. The tips of the subdial hands and second hand should match this fluorescent red color but are unfortunately more of an orange color. (I have read that some gens came with the same orange colored hands as the rep, but the gen that I personally compared my rep to definitely had florescent red hands) Otherwise the hands look pretty good when compared to the gen.

Notice the Orange hands and bright red markers

All in all, the added color and sparkle on the dial makes the SMP Chrono much more exciting than its bland looking little brother. Omega has taken this one step further with the new model adding a polished steel logo and lettering, changing “Seamaster” from white to red, and adding a chromed outline to the lume markers. It looks beautiful now and very current. Hopefully rep makers will produce a version with this new updated dial.

The newly designed SMP Chrono. Perfection!

The Crystal is sapphire and shows no distortion from even the most acute angles, but it suffers from its lack of AR. The newest gen is coated on the inside only but the old version that our rep was modeled on had no AR at all. I feel this watch would benefit greatly by a double coating of quality AR. The dark blue dial and depth of the face make this watch appear very dark and seems to amplify any reflection.

The caseback, although accurate, has a couple of weak points. The wave pattern does not seem to be shaped as nicely as the gen, and the sea monster does not look as polished on the rep. The five holes used for the Omega caseback opener appear to be slightly smaller than the original and I doubt that the actual tool would fit. The lug at 7:00 is stamped with a non-unique serial number.

Caseback comparison

The crown, pushers and He valve are all reproduced accurately. The crown on mine screws down nicely with about five full and solid turns. Unfortunately some owners haven’t had the same luck, as the internally threaded crown/tube assembly has been known to strip very easily. I don’t think it is as bad as with the UPO, but still something to look out for nonetheless. The polished pushers feature a faux locking collar that again adds some much needed sparkle to the outside of the case. There is no pusher locking mechanism on the gen either. The He valve screws down nicely and seems to stay tight.

CGs, Crown and Pushers are close to perfect

The bracelet is attractive and comfortable. Although the gen is held together with pins and the rep uses screws, I feel that this flaw is acceptable as screws are simply easier to work with. The tiny recessed screw heads are impossible to see when on the wrist anyway. I can’t really comment on the ease of adjustment, as mine just happened to come from its previous owner, adjusted perfectly to my wrist. One thing that worries me is the mix of brushed and polished surfaces. I am constantly refinishing my bracelets to keep them looking perfect, and it may be a challenge to keep the shiny parts shiny, while maintaining the brushed surface on the other pieces. Time will tell! The clasp is nice and solid with nicely engraved markings. From what I can see they are all fairly accurate, but there appear to be ever so light differences in logo and fonts. The clasp closes nicely with no gaps and the diver’s extension is nice and tight.

Notice the Omega logo and how low the “S” in Seamaster sits.

The SMP Chrono rep is powered by the Asian 7750 beating at 28k. This is a copy of the ETA 7750 that powers the genuine. Mine seems to be keeping excellent time but the power reserve seems to be lacking at about 24 hours. The rotor on this one seems to be fairly quite as well. The rep uses a steel movement holder and is protected by an anti-magnetic cover.

Overall I am very satisfied with this rep. The wrongly colored hands and a fleck of dust on the inside of the crystal are my only complaints. Any of my other gripes about this watch are more shortcomings of the genuine watch, than mistakes in replication.

This was a very difficult review to put together, simply because it was so hard to distinguish between replica and genuine photos. True, the pearl position is a dead giveaway, but as the insert can easily be replaced with a real one, it would be almost impossible to be sure, without detailed pics of the bracelet. IMO this can only be a good thing!

[DemonSlayer]

Fantastic review! A definite kick ass sports watch.

[Fidestro]

I thought that the bracelet on mine was very sharp on the inside part and rubbed my wrist. Mine was also of the later batch with the crappy numbering on the datewheel.

Maybe I got a bad one but I never could understand this watch as a super rep. It looks close enough but I always thought the fit and finish of it was way off, and oftentimes that is the biggest tell. Your average joe blow on the street won't know the smallest details that we do but they can tell when something feels cheap or poorly constructed.

Regardless, nice review.

[capice]

I have both the gen and the rep of this magnificent watch, awesome review Andreww

[Toadtorrent]

Good job Andrew.

It is a nice piece indeed...but like you said, unfortunately some (mine included) had a crown that strips easily. Mine didn't turn very many turns at all, and the crown was a bit loose on the stem. These flaws can be readily remedied by a replacement with an original crown and tube.

This has been discussed in other threads, but to those who are new to this, the gen tube does not fit as snugly as the rep tube (which is press fit)...and needs to be glued into the case after drilling out the old rep tube. The glue used by various members includes epoxy and Gorilla glue.

The parts for this mod are:

For Case Number 178.0514 made in Codes "ST" Stainless Steel, "DA" Steel & 18KT Gold, "SU" Steel & Aluminium Ring

Crown: 42154

Tube: 090 ST 1237

[orionz]

Thanks a lot for this review. This is really a nice looking watch worth writing a review about

[tanya]

Great review - Love to see a blown up pic of my gen next to the rep!!! Feel free to raid my pic from my Gen post

[mars08]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I ordered one of these reps from Ruby this week. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

[jasonz1000]

great review andreww !!!!

You just made me order one last night , thnx.

I was in doubt what would be my next rep., but you helped me cross the line

[andreww]

great review andreww !!!!

You just made me order one last night , thnx.

I was in doubt what would be my next rep., but you helped me cross the line

You'll really like this one

[Seadweller4000]

Thanks mate for another remarkable write-up.

You have examined this piece very thoroughgoingly and this review should definately be linked to the Omega guide, imo.

One thing though: the colour of the hands on the SMP chrono varies on genuine batches as well... ;-)

[jasonz1000]

You'll really like this one

'Will hope so, ordered one @ precious times....

Edited July 21, 2008 by jasonz1000