Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Co-Axial Chronomter Watch Review

I recently learned an interesting fact regarding the history of the Omega Seamaster collection. The Seamaster and Seamaster Planet Oceans that we know today are hardy tool watches suitable for diving, James Bond, and overall feeling like high-function instruments that is made really well. You'd think these pieces started out as serious dive watches. That isn't the case actually. When the first Seamaster watches came out, Omega had other pieces in its collection that were more focused on sport. The Seamaster was meant to be a fashionable watch that one could wear up in the Hamptons while playing with their kids and not worry if it got splashed on. It was meant to be a luxury watch from day one.Overtime the Seamaster became an icon and important watch for Omega - especially as the brand continued to focus on a range of important high-intensity activities from racing to diving, and everything else where sturdy and reliable watches were needed (not to mention space travel). Flash-forward to now and we have an incredibly wide range of Seamaster watches, and its higher-end cousin the Seamaster Planet Ocean. For review I am checking out two 2011 Seamaster Planet Ocean Co-Axial Chronometer watches which well represent where the collection and brand are at today.In short the Seamaster Planet Ocean Co-Axial Chronometer of today comes in over 20 references, is available in 42mm wide or 45.5mm wide cases, and is available with blue or black dials with various color differences. Inside is an in-house made Omega movement, and it is a comfortable beauty on the wrist.The "Co-Axial Chronometer" part of the watch name separates these Planet Ocean watches from others that do not contain the Omega produced caliber 8500 movements. The other new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean watches with in-house made movements are the Seamaster Planet Ocean Co-Axial Chronometer Chronograph watches that contain Omega's caliber 9300 automatic chronograph movements. Those are excellent pieces, with fantastic movements, but I personally like my dive watches three-handed. For a super chrono, Omega has the Speedmaster which now also comes with the 9300 movement.I got to visit Omega and see the caliber 8500 movements being produced. Debuted in 2007, these large diameter movements are made for big watches and are amazing instruments that come from one of the most sophisticated timepiece movement assembly lines ever created. The need for such a production line is due to the fact that Omega must (relatively speaking) mass produce these - but with a very high quality output. They use a very cool automated assembly line that combines mostly human labor with robots that help with precision tasks. It takes about a full day to assemble and test just one 8500 movement. The movements are then sent to COSC for Chronometer testing, which takes another three weeks.Aside from looking great, the 8500 has a few notable facts that any potential buyer would like to know about. Let me first add that Omega has the movements displayed through sapphire casebacks on the Seamaster Planet Ocean watches. This is no simple task as the watches still need to be water resistant to 600 meters. Usually dive watches have solid casebacks - but not here. The 8500 has dual mainspring barrels and a power reserve of about 60 hours. It has a DLC coated black balance wheel that is free sprung, and of course a co-axial escapement. The automatic rotor winds the movement when spinning in both directions, and when adjusting the time, you can set the hours in one hour increments to make it easy while traveling. I wasn't sure about this before, but the 8500 movement also is equipped with a silicon balance spring which should be a major plus. Oh, and there is also the 8501 movement which is the same but with am 18k rose gold rotor and balance wheel bridge. You'll find that in Seamaster PO watches with gold cases mostly.The movement is great and certainly a major selling point of the watch. The wavy polished lines on the movement surfaces are very tasteful. For review I checked out two Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean watches. Both 45.5mm wide and one with the steel case and black dial, and the other in the titanium case with a blue dial. Both had ceramic bezels, but the blue model has Omega's very special Liquid Metal ceramic bezel (explained more here). Omega also makes smaller 42mm wide models of the Seamaster PO. This is a good thing for the "world market," but I like the larger sized 45.5mm wide models best myself. It helps that the Seamaster PO case design features shorter lugs which helps keep the watch look good on smaller sized wrists.The steel case is very solid and well-made, but also heavy. On the steel bracelet this is a hefty watch. Not an issue for me at all, but some will prefer a lighter timepiece. Those people have two options. First they can opt for Omega's excellent rubber strap with deployment clasp, or there is the titanium Seamaster PO with the blue dial. This one features either a titanium bracelet or rubber clasp. Let me again say that the rubber they use is among the best I've ever had. Wonderful look and feel, and the clasp works really nicely.