The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Dark Grey watch hands-on

Introduction

In the year that marks the Seamaster’s celebrations, the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Dark Grey is undoubtedly the centrepiece. While the Summer Blue collection is the complete Seamaster 2023 proposal, the Dark Gray is the most relevant product innovation and debuts an array of new technologies, we’re eager to see on any upcoming Omega sports watch.

The Seamaster Planet Ocean Dark Grey adopts a first-ever silicon nitride ceramic case.

The engineers at Comadur, the Swiss factory belonging to the Swatch Group where all the ceramic cases and bracelets take shape, form an unparalleled research and development team.

We visited the facility in July, and it was an unforgettable experience; unfortunately, you cannot take any video footage to share the technological standard achieved. Omega plays a primary role in production volumes and, most importantly, fostering innovation.

The advantages we expect from silicon nitride ceramic

The Dark Grey introduces silicon nitride ceramic to watchmaking, and it’s hard to get what the new material adds to ordinary ceramics unless you take additional information from the scientific literature.

The nitrogen-silicon compound is nothing new in the industry; the first applications date back to the 1970s, specifically to withstand high-temperature mechanical stress in gas turbines.

The advantages include high mechanical strength and hardness (and superior resistance to high temperatures compared to zirconium oxide), which are paramount in watchmaking and increased resilience.

We won’t go any longer but add that the whole case is much lighter than its zirconium-oxide ceramic sibling: a Planet Ocean Dark Grey weighs 107 g compared to 138 g of its closer model, the Planet Ocean Deep Black.

The dial, the rotating bezel, the two crowns and the folding clasp are in grade 5 titanium, but the self-winding movement is in titanium, too.

The outcome is fantastic.

Grey silicon nitride ceramic wins hands down against black ceramic, which usually flattens product volumes and details; the shiny grey shades remind us of the “Poly metal grey” so popular in the automotive industry and enhance the details more than ever before. The finish is brushed on the sides and inner side and beautifully contrasts the lug-to-lug fully polished surface.

The perceived quality is next level; profiles and surfaces look neat, and the ceramic to grade 5 titanium contrast is stunning.

To ensure readability, the designers opted for anthracite-applied indexes and hands filled with white Super-Luminova® while all the wordings and the diving scale mimic the grey titanium.

The folding clasp represents the most noticeable improvement area by the visible step where the strap top end fastens to the case. The 17.4 mm case thickness and short lug-to-lug distance enhance this visual effect, i.e. a non-seamless case-to-strap integration. Apart from the above, the build quality is top-notch.

The Omega caliber 8906 in titanium

The mechanical movement is as innovative as its housing and opens to new scenarios at Omega. It adopts the standard calibre layout and has the same specs. It works at the uncommon frequency of 3.5 Hertz. It runs for at least 60 hours when fully wound but has titanium bridges and main plate, building on the Omega Ultra Light’s calibre 8928’s legacy.

While the Ultra Light is as close to an experimental watch as it gets, we expect the new 8906 in titanium to ramp up the production line anytime soon.

From a technical perspective, the Planet Ocean Dark Grey is a Flyer GMT, allowing the wearer to adjust the local hour hand independently from the minute hand, the best option when frequently travelling across different time zones.

Final thoughts

The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Dark Grey is not a silicon nitride ceramic take on the Planet Ocean 45.5mm; the brand has evolved the current Planet Ocean like never before and hopefully set the stage for something new in the coming future.

The main attributes are lightness and resistance, and the outcome is the most innovative Planet Ocean ever made; it looks incredible.

However, the strap deserved an equally important upgrade and a silicon nitride ceramic bracelet, on the likes of what IWC did, for instance, with the Ceratanium™ to further split the standard Planet Ocean and the Dark Gray and, as a consequence, justify the listed price increase, too.

The extensive adoption of titanium throughout, calibre included, raised the retail price to €24,900, almost twice as much as what you’ll pay for a Deep Black. For additional information, please visit the official Omega watches website.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Giovanni Di Biase @Horbiter®