Omega

Ruckdee
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Good colors, good size, GoodPlanet

I had the good fortune of joining the "Treasure of Planet Ocean" trip with Omega Thailand the past weekend.


Members of the press and a number of boutique customers boarded the one and a half hour flight to the southern island province of Phuket just above Malaysia.




We headed out to a mangrove forest where a bunch of baby fish and conches were released into the water to help with the repopulation effort.


I forgot to ask the name of this Omega model. But it seemed oversized, no?




Our host was thoughtful enough to prepare Seamaster color themed towels and sandals (in those paper bags) for the guests.








These fish they said were good to be released by the shore. But the conches had to be brought further out into the sea by boat first.




With the good deed done, it was time to head straight out to the smaller island called Naka where we would spend the night.




POC under midday sun


The destination island was so close that we arrived in almost no time.




As the resort itself was quite expansive, golf carts were used to shuttle guests back and forth between their villa and anywhere else within the compound.


I made it a point not to have a peek at the villa on the resort's web site before the trip. I wanted to be surprised.


And, yes, surprised, I was. All the customers appeared to have been given the seaview units!








I figure the total size of the bathroom to be as large as my own bedroom back at home.






As much as I wanted to just indulge in this fine vista, there were other things we were supposed to be doing.


Once again, our host was very thoughtful in their preparation.


I packed this one back into the seabag as I wanted to give it to a charity auction some time in the future. No point keeping two when one can be given to good cause.


The afternoon program involved coral reef cleaning for certified scuba divers and underwater photography for the rest. These were led respectively by an expert from a governmental marine resource conservation agency and a top underwater photographer from Tourism Authority of Thailand.








Mine


Not mine




Good to go!


Unfortunately, the water was too murky from the rain earlier in the morning. My involvement was reduced to aimless drifting as shown. Ha ha...


A cold stick of watermelon to console oneself


One last dip in my villa's own pool before the evening function






One thing I liked best about this trip was the Planet Ocean photo exhibition, featuring the fantastic work of Yaan Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot of the GoodPlanet Foundation --a partner of Omega since 2011.








It brought to one's attention some rare views of the ocean, as well as reminded us of the environmental impacts caused by our own activities.














And then it was time to see the watch some guests were very eager to see.




The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT GoodPlanet on bracelet and on rubber strap! I still find it a bit odd for Omega to present what I believe can be described as a special edition watch pre-Basel before they did the regular edition of black or orange bezel at Baselworld.


Swatch Group's pointman in this region David Ponzo welcomed the guests who were mostly Thai and a few neighbors from Malaysia and Singapore.






We were shown sections from the Planet Ocean documentary film by Yaan Arthus-Bertrand's GoodPlanet Foundation with Omega as the sponsor. I hope to one day see this film in its entirety. It should be quite enlightening indeed.

I will show you later the gifts in these bags.


The evening turned out to be a pleasant one with friends, acquaintances, white wine, red wine, champagne and everything in between.


My POC said good night to my friends' PO Sochi Winter Olympics watches a few seconds before the pumpkin cart vanished at midnight.


The following morning was marked by medium rain and light rain in alternates.












With the help of the clear plastic sheet, an allusion of a shallow depth of field was incidentally created.






The sky was gloomy and the water murky. But still there were some colors to the water.


I made a quick detour to the resort's bar for a good 180 degrees view. It was close, of course, but the view was there still.


The landscape kept changing as I panned the camera from left to right.




I like this one best for some reasons. I like how the branches help frame the horizon below it.


Returning to my villa after breakfast, it was time to break out the contents of the paper bag I was given earlier. There were Planet Ocean printed materials like what my friends got ... plus one big black box


The hat, the Planet Ocean publication and the paper bag itself made for fitting props.


Inside the black outer box is a hefty wooden box with the map of the world on it.


My very own Seamaster Planet Ocean GMT GoodPlanet is here ... a few months earlier than expected!


To be frank, I was somewhat apprehensive at first about the blue and orange combination. I was sure they would look great together but whether or not they will look great on my shabby, poorly attired self was another subject totally. I decided not to cancel my order for this PO GMT GoodPlanet only because to buy the regular PO GMT in black would be too similar to my black POC 9300. Now I am very glad I went through with the deal because the orange accent on the bezel is not as pronounced as I feared. The orange is somewhat palish and the numbers themselves are not as thick as they were on the older Seamaster 300M GMT with sword hands from the late '90s.

The lacquered dial is quite glossy but without the ZrO2 symbol as on the Omega watches with zirconium dial.

Bezel appears to be glossy as well but the official communication from Omega does not clearly indicate that it is ceramic. Any confirmation either way will be greatly appreciated.


Unlike the GMT hand on regular PO GMT we saw from Baselworld, this one is orange all the way through, not just the tip. I think it is better this way.


The blue looks somewhat lighter and brighter in this photograph as I applied stronger flash bounce. There is no "Professional" inscription on the dial. Based on a correspondence I had with Omega over a decade ago, this is because the diving minute scale on the rotating bezel is replaced by the 24-hour scale. I hope the explanation remains valid for this new release.


The helium escape valve is retained, however. I personally would not mind if it was removed. That would be logical. In any case, this photograph is supposed to show you the approximate thickness of the watch. I wish I had a PO 8500 to shoot a comparison shot but all I have is a POC 9300.


Lume is blue and green like the other PO watches. The PO GMT GoodPlanet is not a limited edition watch. There is no engraving of number other than the standard serial number on the lug.


Getting the model name straight seems like a small exercise by itself. Omega's web site calls it "Seamaster Planet Ocean GoodPlanet GMT" on the product presentation menu. Then when you click into it, the model name becomes "Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M GoodPlanet" without the "GMT" suffix. However, when accessing from the Seamaster collection page, the model is referred to simply as "Planet Ocean GMT" and the bezel is incorrectly described as being of the unidirectional type.

To make the matter more complicated, the inscription on the caseback says "GOOD PLANET" with a space in between the two words while in all other communication and on the foundation's own web site the name is "GoodPlanet" without a space. I am inclined to think that a misunderstanding took place somewhere during the production process. I will not be surprised if the caseback inscription is altered in future production.


The only thing I am sure of now is how good the watch feels on my wrist


I will have to remove a half link and this will become a perfect fit. The watch is not too big for my 6.5" wrist like my POC 9300. This PO GMT in 43.5 mm. size is a perfect compromise for those who find it difficult to choose between the 42.0 and 45.5 mm. sizes. I should be able to take a photograph of the PO GMT in between the POC 9300 and the Ploprof for size comparison this weekend. In the mean time, please enjoy the last two wristshots I have at this moment.

Outside the balcony under natural light...


Indoor with bounced flash...


Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoyed the tour and the watch!

Ruckdee

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