Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

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nordwulf

Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by nordwulf »

I posted this on the Omega forum but I think we have a few PO owners here so may as well post it here as well.

I have been a watch enthusiast for a few years now. Started with $100 watches and slowly evolved to watches up to $1200. I am thinking of getting my first luxury watch and always liked Omega because of their designs, technology, brand appeal and their relatively affordable prices.

I really like the current Planet Ocean but am concerned about the height and weight. I have a 43.5mm Oris Aquis which is the same size at 43.5mm.but only about 12mm height and 160g on bracelet. That one wears really nice. I also have a Christopher Ward C60 which is 43mm, 13mm height and 200g on bracelet. Another similar watch in size and weight is the Alpina Alpiner 4 GMT which is 44mm.

Does anyone have any experience with the PO in this size/weight and any of these watches mentioned above? I am really curious how they compare in wearing them. Does the PO drag you down like a boat anchor all day or don't you notice it anymore after a while? My wrists are about 7.5" and a diameter of 43.5 doesn't bother me.

This would be a big purchase for me so any info you may be able to share will be greatly appreciated.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by albionphoto »

I can't help you with the PO. i do however have two C60s, a Seamaster SMP and a Gen 1 Aquis on the rubber strap. My wrist is 6.75.
Of all the watches in my list the heaviest is the C60 SH21. This can feel a bit of a beast when you pick it up. However within a few minutes or so the feeling of weight goes away. I wear a watch every day and am used to the weight of a watch on my wrist. I used to wear the SH21 to the gym to lift weights and so I guess I can get used to anything. I think my biggest worry would be the height not the weight.
One of the reasons I don't wear my SMP as often as I should is the lack of a micro-adjustment. With any of these and especially the heavier watches getting the perfect fit is as important as the weight of the watch itself. I can't recall if the PO has micro-adjustment or not but it would be a shame if it didn't. I know that my Omega AD was a bit taken aback when i said the lack of micro-adjustment on the SMP was criminal given the price. He wasn't too happy when i showed him the C60 Blue with micro-adjust either...
Good luck with your choice and I don't think the weight would be an issue for you. If you've got a good AD they might let you wander round the store with a fitted watch to see if it works for you, you never know and it doesn't hurt to ask.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by downer »

I also can't help - because my PO is an older 2500 model with a 42mm x 14.1mm case. When I weighed it (with the bracelet sized for my wrist) I got 178g, which was almost identical to my older C60.

Initially, the watch feels quite heavy but that passes within a few seconds. I have noticed my PO wears very well because the it appears to have a low centre of gravity - with a lot of the weight at the bottom of the watch. However, this may not be true with the current model with a display back?
Richard
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by nordwulf »

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. The closest AD is 200 miles away and Omega store is 250 miles, unfortunately. And I prefer to avoid physical stores altogether.

It looks like they now have a nice sliding adjustment in the clasp so that's definitively a plus: https://youtu.be/YJXub8BxMm8?t=2m28s

The 42mm would be the better size but I prefer new with the latest movement and bracelet. Too bad they did away with that size. I think the height of the current 43.5mm is about 16mm and 200+g on bracelet? Which is about the same as the CW but the extra height may be bothersome.

One gripe about these luxury brands is they hardly provide any technical details or pictures on their website. CW is so much better in that regard.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by downer »

nordwulf wrote:
One gripe about these luxury brands is they hardly provide any technical details or pictures on their website. CW is so much better in that regard.
Completely agree with your point, but I guess it says everything about the "typical" luxury watch buyer (without wishing to stereotype too much) where the technical details don't really impact the decision-making process quite as much as they do for geeks such as us.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by STodd »

Frank, I'm in a similar boat to Richard as the owner of a 2500-calibre 42mm model. With a case thickness of c.14mm it doesn't feel too dissimilar to my mk1 Trident GMT, which I think is 13mm thick but marginally bigger at 43mm. A taller, wider PO version may feel a little different...

Do you know someone locally who owns one, so you could try to satisfy your curiosity/assuage your concerns..?

As has already been said, the modern models based on the 8500 calibre have a display caseback, which inevitably adds to the thickness to maintain the WR figure - the earlier 2500 calibre models didn't have this and instead had a stainless steel caseback, which reduced the thickness and possibly reduced the centre of gravity slightly as it might be heavier than the sapphire. It would appear the 43.5mm model with sapphire back is 15.7mm thick - a significant difference over the 13mm Trident.
C60 GMT MkI¦C11 Elite,Pro¦C700 Grande Rapide¦C8 Pilot MkII¦C8 UTC¦C10 FLE#13¦C4 'Phoenix'¦Speedhawk¦Bluebird LE#319¦IRR LE#129¦C1000 FGR4
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by smegwina »

I have a 45.5mm PO and an Alpiner GMT tucked away somewhere. I will dig them out and take a couple of photos so you can see the comparison with the larger size (it might help somewhat, but probably not! You never know!?)



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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by MrDagon007 »

Tried it in a shop. It is really quite a lump on the wrist, unpleasantly so for me. Not because of the width but because of the thickness.
Finish and quality perception is very good of course.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by Caller »

I have the 8500 PO and there is no denying it's a big heavy watch. But with similar size wrists to you, I find it fits me perfectly. As for the weight, well you soon get used to it and I actually like it, as it gives a very solid feel to the watch. I also have a Kevlar / leather strap with orange stitching as an alternative and that demonstrates how much weight there is in the bracelet, as it feels a very different watch on the strap.

And they must be doing something right, as they are very popular watches and for a good reason. But to be honest, you will really need to try one for yourself, it's the only way. I recall trying on the 44mm deep sea diver and my immediate reaction was it made the PO look and feel small, even though the Rolex was the smaller watch!

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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by Maraeburn »

Sorry to hijack the thread but that Kevlar strap looks great! Where did you get it from and does it use the omega deployment?

Thanks

Mark
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by albionphoto »

nordwulf wrote:Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. The closest AD is 200 miles away and Omega store is 250 miles, unfortunately. And I prefer to avoid physical stores altogether.

It looks like they now have a nice sliding adjustment in the clasp so that's definitively a plus: https://youtu.be/YJXub8BxMm8?t=2m28s

The 42mm would be the better size but I prefer new with the latest movement and bracelet. Too bad they did away with that size. I think the height of the current 43.5mm is about 16mm and 200+g on bracelet? Which is about the same as the CW but the extra height may be bothersome.

One gripe about these luxury brands is they hardly provide any technical details or pictures on their website. CW is so much better in that regard.
I'm lucky that I have a friendly AD about 20 miles away but i can appreciate your situation. The Omega website has free shipping and returns and if you're going that route it would still be worth getting details of the return policy.

My SH21 is 15 mm high and for my smaller wrists is about all I can take. I looked at an Autavia Panda which is 17 + mm high. It looked like a skyscraper/brick on the wrist. Your wrists are bigger so this may not worry you too much. There are grey market offers on most of the Omega watches but if you're worried abiut having to return it due to height then maybe Omega is the way to go but check the returns policy.
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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by Caller »

Maraeburn wrote:Sorry to hijack the thread but that Kevlar strap looks great! Where did you get it from and does it use the omega deployment?

Thanks

Mark
Hello, I can't remember, sorry. I picked it up locally in Thailand and here they tend to remove any brand packaging, and it only has 'kevlar' stamped into the leather underside. But it was identified on a forum, quite possibly here, as a well known American brand I believe? But happy to be corrected on that. It's very good quality, although these are all old pics, it still looks as good as new and it's 3-months shy of 4-years old now (just checked the first pic I took of it), although the strap and bracelet both get wrist time. I just use it with the buckle it came on. But I do have the Omega ceramic / titanium deployant for the DSOTM and this strap would be too thick for that.

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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

@Maraeburn, @caller - looks very much like a Hadley Roma strap, I used to have one.

USA brand but available in the UK from Weston Watch Straps

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Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by Maraeburn »

Thanks so much both! Going to look that up now! Really nice strap!
nordwulf

Re: Planet Ocean 8900 43.5 vs other watches

Post by nordwulf »

I definitely have to visit an AD or boutique on my next travels and am sue there will be a city or an airport where I can try one one. The possibility of ordering one from Omega as mentioned is an option but I would feel right doing that because I know I would return it. Full list price is around $7000 including sales tax and you can find these from trusted sellers with AD warrant for under $5000.

I posted the same kind of thread on the Omega forum and they have been very friendly and helpful as well.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/planet- ... hes.80349/

A minor detail is how am I going to fund this purchase and how many other watches I would have to sell...
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