Introducing: Omega Launches The Fourth Generation Seamaster 'Planet Ocean,' And It's A BIG Update (Live Pics)

What We Know

In a massive revamp to the Seamaster Planet Ocean lineup, on the 20th anniversary of the collection’s original launch, Omega has just announced the brand’s fourth-generation design. While dive watches have been core to Omega’s heritage since 1932, the Seamaster Planet Ocean line was a divergence from their more heritage-oriented designs, sportier than their Aqua Terra line and more robust than their Diver 300M line. Every generation has been a slight step away from the 1964-1970s Seamaster designs that apparently inspired the collection, but this is the biggest leap forward for the Planet Ocean.

The new, more angular-designed cases measure 42mm by 13.79mm—the flat sapphire crystal and new use of a titanium caseback is a massive improvement over the third generation’s 16.1mm thickness—and a 47.5mm lug-to-lug with a very truncated case that drops off severely where it meets the bracelet or rubber strap. The watches feature two-piece stainless steel cases with a titanium inner ring, capped with matte black dials that showcase white or matte orange varnished or rhodium-plated Arabic numerals. Those numerals have been reworked, with a bolder open design. Orange numerals are paired with an orange ceramic bezel, white on the blue ceramic, and rhodium plating on the black ceramic.

The dials feature the applied Omega name and logo, which are rhodium-plated, as are the indices and hands. The rest of the dial is printed in white on all models. The indices, hands, and bezel pip are all filled with Super-LumiNova X1, with the hour hand and indices in blue emission and the minute hand and dive bezel in green emission. You’ll see that the dials mention that the watches still feature the standard 600m water resistance.

The watch is powered by the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8912 with automatic bi-directional winding. In the movement is a Silicon “Si14” balance spring for Omega’s free-sprung balance, a Co-Axial Escapement, and two barrels mounted in series, providing the watch a 60-hour power reserve. That movement has already been featured in various versions of the Planet Ocean, including the Ultra Deep and O-Megasteel models, as well as the PloProf and the Seamaster 300 Master Chronometer models; now it is part of the Planet Ocean’s new core collection.

The biggest update for most buyers is probably the aesthetics. The case still retains a slight lyre lug twist from previous versions, but is much more angular, featuring sharp edges, polished chamfers, and brushed sides. The crown guard is more pronounced. But you know what isn’t pronounced? The second crown for the manual helium release. It’s so not pronounced that it’s completely gone. The slimmer flat link bracelet has also been redesigned, meeting the lugs at their 21mm width in a way that appears nearly completely integrated into the case. The bracelets (tapering to 16.5mm) are adjustable to six positions and are equipped with Omega’s extra diver extension.

As mentioned before, the titanium caseback ditches the display in favor of thinness and water resistance. It has a wave-edged design and is engraved with branding, including the hippocampus seahorse logo.

It’s a totally new look for the Seamaster Planet Ocean, and yet one that feels very familiar at the same time. The brand mentioned that orange ceramic is harder to produce, so it’s priced accordingly. Pricing starts at $8,600 on a rubber strap for the black and blue models, $8,900 on an orange or black rubber strap for the orange model, $9,200 on a bracelet for the black and blue models, and $9,500 on a bracelet for the orange.

What We Think

It took me some time to process how big a change this is for Omega. Part of that comes down to how at home the evolution looks. The other part is that I frankly never much considered a Planet Ocean for my personal collection, and I didn’t have a great grasp of the evolution over the last 20 years. After looking at the last generation and this one, it’s remarkable how different it really is. That’s putting aside the massive improvement in wearability by shedding almost 2.5mm in thickness and settling at a solid 42mm. Other touches, like the bracelet, are also incredibly well done. The watch now looks a bit more like a mini-PloProf in some ways. Stay tuned as James will have more in a full hands-on soon enough.

The Basics

Brand: Omega
Model: Seamaster Planet Ocean

Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 13.79mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.5mm
Case Material: Stainless steel, Grade 5 titanium with ceramic
Dial Color: Black matte dials with matte white or matte Orange varnished Arabic numerals
Indexes: Rhodium-plated indexes with white Super-LumiNova (blue emission), markings transfer printed in white
Lume: White Super-LumiNova, blue emission for the hour and seconds hands (matching the indexes), and green emission for the minute hand (matching the bezel pip)
Water Resistance: 600m
Strap/Bracelet: Bracelet: polished-brushed, OMEGA patented screw-and-pin bracelet with OMEGA’s patented extendable foldover rack-and-pusher with extra diver extension (21 mm between lugs, 16.5mm on clasp); Strap: black or orange rubber with polished-brushed stainless steel link to case & foldover clasp (21 mm between lugs, 18mm on clasp)

The Movement

Caliber: Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8912
Functions: Central hours, minutes, seconds
Diameter: 29mm
Power Reserve: 60 hours
Winding: Automatic, bi-directional
Frequency: 25,200
Jewels: 38
Chronometer Certified: METAS Master Chronometer Certified
Additional Details: Silicon “Si14” balance spring, Omega free-sprung balance; Co-Axial Escapement, 3 levels; 2 barrels mounted in series

Pricing & Availability

Price: Black and blue models, $9,200 on bracelet and $8,600 on rubber strap; Orange model $8,900 on a strap and $9,500 on a bracelet
Availability: Immediately
Limited Edition: No

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