Omega

Ruckdee
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Certainly not to rival the global launch in Capri...

But Omega Thailand had a rather classy and elaborated local launch of the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean in the coastal town of Pattaya about two weeks ago. I almost had to give up on the event because of the impending flood. But then the big lot of water took longer time to reach my area than anticipated so I sneaked out for a leisurely day before the inevitable hardship.

Guests were asked to meet at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in late morning.


It was a bright sunny day. Just perfect for sailing.


And it was a perfect excuse to leave all worries of the flood behind, if only for a while.


Off we went to a nearby island on a white catamaran yacht. The mission of the day was to relocate some corals from disturbed locations to a Navy protected area.


It took me three shots to get the wordings on the flag just right.


Standing directly over water was quite an experience for me.


With two other passengers


Divers from the Navy showed us how to prepare the installations.




The controls looked straight forward enough but I trusted the professional skippers more than myself.


Our nice vessel made it to the island a few minutes after a light lunch on board.




We didn't think the mermaid from Capri was compatible with waters around here...




...so eventually a Navy diver brought our celebrated guests a few pieces of the new Planet Ocean watches.


The sign says it all.








Some Omega watches at hard work






Pieces of the corals were brought in from polluted or overpopulated areas for re-plantation off this small island.


These blue pipes were hooked up as a platform for the installations.






How many Omega watches do you see?


This party was leaving for shallower depths.


This one to a deeper spot.


But somebody went back up the yacht to loiter around.


Taking photographs of his two months old watch on the catamaran net.


Over a champagne... hmmm...


Then it was time to freshen up for the evening function.


Omega treated us to 5-star accommodation at the Sheraton. How splendid...


Both watches cleaned and air dried for the event.


Hotel entrance at twilight


Same lobby but different light








Too bad I didn't arrive 15 minutes earlier before it got this dark.




A tray of the bling bling varieties


On-stage presentation with theatrical, movie-like videos of the co-axial escapement, the silicon balance wheel and how the ceramic bezels are made.




A number of celebrities shared their fascination with diving and watches in general


My auditory sense is not entirely compatible with hip hop music at the party that followed so I decided to retire to my room.


The hotel was in fact very quiet at night.


But as soon as they learned a few of us have left...


...they made sure our evening concluded well with a table at another outlet.












That, and a whole lot of food and booze!










Waking up the following day, well rested and ready for hearty breakfast.


It was a pleasant day...


...which made it harder to peel myself away and back to Bangkok.


All photographs taken with Panasonic Lumix LX-5, resized, unretouched. I have been using this camera for seven months now and am totally happy with it. If you don't mind the heft, the thickness and the poorer-than-Canon low light performance, the LX-5 is a great camera for the money.

Many thanks to Omega for all the pampering and everything. It was a very privileged experience. Just be sure to keep up with the good QC on your products and you'd have me and many others as lifetimers.

I may drop off the radar for a while as I am currently a Bangkok evacuee myself. My house is in a high risk area and it can be flooded with little or no notice. One of the banks I use to store my watches even asked me to plastic wrap the contents I leave in their vault. I think this is already the disaster with gravest and longest sustaining damage in the modern history of my country.

If you have difficulty locating a friend or a relative in Bangkok, please feel free to write me at ruckdeec at gmail dot com and I will see what I can do for you.

Wish me luck!

Ruckdee

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