The Breitling Watch Blog

My video review of the legendary Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. This is the version with the Plastic Hesalite crystal and manual movement just like the original. Hope you enjoy it!

Been a while since I posted a review.. been very busy with work but have still picked up a few pieces that I should have done some write-ups on. This is a watch a picked up some time ago but just never had the time to post… its a very sweet watch. I keep saying I feel like James Bond when I wear it…. It was introduced around the time the movie Spectre came out, and a Limited Edition Bond version was released with it, featuring a textile Nato strap.. very cool. This one is on leather but also came with the bracelet. The case measures a very nice 41mm in diameter, and a very healthy 14.65mm thick – perfect dimensions, IMO.

The dial is a matte black with antique lume indices that are inset into the dial. The indices are entirely made up of luminous material, there is no metal or anything. The watch is a re-issue of 1957 Seamaster 300, which you can see a neat comparison of the two side by side that Omega does on their marketing page whenever they re-issue vintage pieces. This piece features the Liquidmetal® ceramic bezel. This technology allows Omega to embed metal numerals into the ceramic bezel – the special metal fuses seamlessly with the Ceramic, and is harder than stainless steel.

Here’s a shot of the crown side of the case, with Omega’s characteristic brushed sides which continue on this Seamaster as well. As many of you know, this is one of those features that looks great, but the watch polishing place always charges extra to do it because its not as easy to touch up! The bezel has some grooves in it, making it much easier to turn than the regular Seamaster 300m Diver. The crown actually features matching sized grooves and gives the crown sort of a cog-like relationship with the bezel.

Tried to score a nice macro beauty shot of the dial, but the depth of field is a bit small.. still looks good though. The sapphire crystal is slightly curved and has anti-reflective coating inside only, and not on the outside. Usually this means you won’t see the blue tint that is on the crystal, but the crystal isn’t quite as anti-reflective as if it were on both sides. You can see the inset indices really well here, and what’s also pretty cool is while the antique lume looks sort of yellow in the light, it glows a neon blue in the dark. I forgot to take a lume-shot, but they are readily available on Google image search as well as Omega’s marketing page. Of note, the minute hand and lume-dot on the bezel are green lume, not blue lume like the rest of the watch.

The beautiful exhibition case back shows off the fantastic Omega Calibre 8400 that is the soul of the watch. This spectacular movement features Omega’s Co-Axial escapement, anti-magentic properties up to 15,000 gauss and two barrels providing up to 60hrs of power reserve. It is also a certified chronometer, like most of Omega’s movements. The movement rotor and bridges are finished simply, but nicely. I always like exhibition case backs, and am very happy that this one provides a nice wide view of the whole movement.

In conclusion, I am really happy with this timepiece. This is a great piece of Omega History, modernized for our hipster generation. I love the retro look of the 1957 re-issue, but with the new in-house Omega 8400 movement, ceramic bezel with Liquidmetal® numerals, and awesome anique lume that glows neon blue. Its just such a successful merging of old & new. Highly recommend this if it suits your tastes!

General Specs:
Case Diameter: 41mm
Case Thickness: 14.65mm
Material: Stainless Steel
Movement: Omega 8400
Power Reserve: 60 hours
Water Resistance: 300m

Been a bit busy with real-life lately, so haven’t had a chance to really post anything except some new models and updates to the Breitling line. But I have added a few watches to the herd, and the Omega Ploprof 1200m is one of them! This is one of the watches that I have hummed and hawed over for the past few years since it came out. I wasn’t sure if it was something I really wanted but I decided to finally pull the trigger on it, and ended up buying the white one too! So here she is…

There she is, the white-dialed beauty in all her vintage re-issued glory. I love re-issues of vintage pieces, mostly because I love vintage styled watches but I don’t like the maintenance and hassle of vintage pieces. A lot of people would call that character, and I agree, however life is already complicated enough for me! The name Ploprof is very odd, but has a simple meaning – it is short for Plongeur Professionnel, which means Professional Diver in French.

Here she is from another angle. The bezel features a sapphire crystal insert that lines up perfectly with the sapphire crystal over the watch dial which is pretty cool. Its a flat surface all the way across. I love the way the bezel looks sunken underneath the sapphire crystal. The lume is very solid on this model, and because its the white dialed model, the whole bezel is actually lume! It glows like a torch in the dark which is pretty awesome.

The back has the familiar Seamaster Seahorse, or “Hippocampus”, emblem on it surrounded by some ridges presumably to make the watch sit better on the wrist. It also provides some important information about the watch, should you forget, such as the 8500 Caliber Movement, 1200m Water Resistance, and Co-Axial Escapement. The 8500 Caliber is Omega’s ubiquitous in-house co-axial escapement movement that is featured in several of their watches. It is a solid and reliable movement.

The crown is an interesting design, and may appear difficult to access when you first look at it. However, it is quite the opposite and is engaged by simply unscrewing the crown as usual. The outer guard simply comes out as the crown is unscrewed. Its very solid looking, as well as feeling, and is a nice update to the original. This robust case design measures in at an imposing 55 x 48mm, but is surprising wearable.

One of the most prominent features of the Proprof is the metal orange button that is located on the right side of the watch around the 2 o’clock mark. The purpose of this overbuilt button is to unlock the bezel so that it can be turned. Normally, diver watches just have a unidirectional ratcheting system so that you can’t accidentally move the bezel in the opposite direction. The Ploprof takes this one further by completely locking the bezel unless that button is depressed. This makes it almost impossible to accidentally turn the bezel under any condition, and in any direction.

The Shark Mesh bracelet looks awesome, and is probably one of the nicest mesh bracelets on the market. It is very comfortable and heavy, with a nice smooth finish to it and an incredibly robust buckle with diver extension. The Omega Seamaster Seahorse is engraved into the machined stainless steel buckle as well.

There is the wrist shot, showing this fantastic watch on my 6.75″ wrist. I think it looks great, and wears very similarly to a 44mm Panerai. The watch is tough to wear with suits, but it works really good for casual wear. Not a lot of bad things to say about this watch, besides the fact that it does have a unique look that may not appeal to everyone. Hope you guys enjoyed the review.

Specs:
Omega Ploprof 1200m
Caliber 8500 Self Winding Automatic Chronometer Co-Axial Movement
Scratch Resistant Sapphire Crystal
Polished with Brushed Steel Case & Bracelet
1200 Meters / 4000 Feet Water Resistant
55mm x 48mm = 2 1/8″ x 1 3/4″ Case

Forgot to post up this video of the Omega Speedmaster MKII Reissue I uploaded a couple weeks ago. Sweet watch, and really digging it – I should really post a written review too since I think its worth the effort for this pretty awesome watch. Been enjoying my time with it – hope you enjoy the video!

Coming out on DVD August 2015 is the new documentary movie “The Watchmaker’s Apprentice“. This is a story of Dr. George Daniels’ rise from poverty to become one of the most notable watchmaker’s of our time and how Roger W Smith embarked on a journey to become his apprentice. Dr. George Daniels is the inventor of the co-axial escapement used in Omega’s line of watches.

This should be an interesting movie and I am looking forward to watching it. It has the last known interview with Dr. George Daniels before his death in 2011. Here is a preview of the movie from 2012 – its been a long time in the making:

Preview Clip – "The Watchmaker's Apprentice" from Dave Armstrong on Vimeo.

An exclusive first look at the much talked about documentary 'The Watchmaker's Apprentice', about Master Horologist George Daniels and his only student, Roger W Smith. The full documentary, which features the last interview Daniels gave before his passing in 2011, will receive an exclusive early preview at Salon QP 2012.

Documentary conceived, filmed and produced by DAM Productions Isle of Man:
www.anotherdam.com
Contact: dave@anotherdam.com

For more information visit: www.rwsmithwatches.com and www.salonqp.com

As seen in The Telegraph online.