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2531.80 "007" Review
by Robert Jan Broer
Voorburg/The Netherlands, 30th of August 2000
(Updated : 13th of September 2000)
All photos except for the Seamaster "Ploprof" below, were taken by the
author using a Sony Mavica FD-83.
Introduction
| The Seamaster was introduced in 1948 (also in
Chronometer version). In the early years, you could describe the Seamaster as a sporty
dress watch. It wasn't until the 70s when the Seamaster started to get some 'Diver'-watch
shapes. Maybe the most collectible Seamaster from that time is the Seamaster
"Ploprof" 600m/2000ft. Introduced in 1970. It was used by Commander Cousteau
during a series of experiments at depths of around 500 meters. The photo on your right is a shot of the Seamaster "Ploprof" 600 m/2000 ft on a stainless steel Omega signed bracelet. It was also available on a rubber strap. The Seamaster Professional with reference number 2531.80 was introduced in 1993. When the watch appeared in the movie "GoldenEye" on the wrist of James "007" Bond in 1995, it didn't take long for people to call it the Bond or "007"-watch. |
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Tech.Specs
| The Seamaster Professional uses an Omega
cal.1120 movement, based on the 2892-A2 movement with 23 jewels. The original ETA 2892-A2
has 21 jewels but after Omega modified it, it had 23. The rotor has the Omega cal.1120
engraving and a lot of the parts are nicely finished/polished. The movement is also
chronometer certified. Which means that it has a certain accuracy tested by different
temperatures and positions. -4 seconds / +6 seconds a day are the maximal deviations. I
can't say much about the accuracy of the watch yet, but I assume it is running within the
specifications. Maybe it needs some time to settle in, however, I will check the accuracy
in the near future. (update : it runs -1 sec a day, and in total it lost
3 seconds in one week. So it gains some time at night I guess). The movement has a
powerreserve of 44 hours and ticks at 28.800 beats an hour. The date feature is quick-set
and changes at midnight within a blink of the eyes. Like the dial says, the watch is
waterresistant till a depth of approx. 300 m / 1000 ft. |
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About 24 hours after the purchase
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First of all, the watch seems to be bigger than
my Omega Speedmaster Professional, which is about 40mm wide and a height of approx.
14mm. Omega says this watch is 39.3mm wide and the height is about 10mm . Maybe it is due
the big looking bracelet or the big crown protector and helium-valve but this watch looks
and feels a lot bigger. It is also quite heavy, about 158grams according to the specs
found on the website of Zowie. In my opinion, a watch this size is allowed to be heavy. I didn't want to have the Ti-version, first of all because I don't like the looks of Ti and second it is too light. I would be constantly looking on my wrist if the watch was still there. Another thing I noticed rather quickly was the illuminosity of the dial. When going to the bathroom, you won't have to turn on the light when wearing this watch. I check it a bit and it glowed about all night. The bezel has a little illuminous spot at 12 o'clock as shown on the picture on the left.
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| The dial of the watch has little waves in
it. You'll only notice them when the light is shining from a certain angle or when you
look at it very closely. I hope you can see it well on the pictures I have taken. The bracelet of this watch is marvelous. It has 9 rows of links and the 2nd,4th,6th and 8th row are polished. I really like the look of it. The new '2000' Seamaster Professional with black dial and black bezel has the Speedmaster-style bracelet. At least in Europe they have, the US market (and maybe other countries too) have the same bracelet as pictured on the right. The bracelet feels very comfortable, but also quite heavy. However, you won't feel it anymore after a while. On this bracelet you'll find a big folding clasp with the possibility to extend it a bit when you are wearing a diving suit. The closing and opening of the clasp needs some practising. At least the closing does. You have to watch out that the diving-suit extension is closed properly, else the normal clasp/fold won't hold and folds open very easily. |
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Above you'll see the clasp fully opened, including the divers extension. On the right picture, you see how it is closed. But not properly, so the folding clasp will open very easily if I would close it.
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The clasp says it all. Omega Seamaster Professional, in case you didn't know what it
was that you have spent so much money on. The two push-buttons are for releasing the
clasp. It has a simple mechanism that sort of 'locks' the clasp so it won't flip open.
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The caseback is just beautifull. A big engraved
Seamonster logo and "Seamaster" written above it. The wave pattern on the dial
is also engraved on the caseback and I think it also holds the watch better on its place
when wearing it on a diving-suit. To open the watch, you will need a special tool. Other
than the regular watchopener as seen by the Speedmaster Professional and some older Omega
watches. A con of this watch, and about 99% of all other watches, is the use of springbars for attaching the bracelet to the case. Audemars Piguet has a screwed-on bracelet and this is far more safe and better looking. Can't have everything I guess. The crown and the helium-valve are both Omega signed. |
| The watch is quite unsharp, but that isn't the
point. The photo was just taken to see how it looks on my wrist. I am between 6'2 "
and 6'3" (1.88m) tall and about 80 kilograms. The watch looks quite big but the
lugs stay on my wrist easily (no sticking out here) and it looks just perfect! Maybe you
can see it on the picture when you take a good look, about 1 cm on the right of the
winding crown, there is some red-ish spot on my hand. It is from the crown of this watch
and probably from my other watches too. I don't know if I am the only one with this, but
sometimes it just sticks into my hand when I am leaning on something or carrying
something. Don't you just love the skeleton hands?
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The Seamaster Professional resting in its red leather Omega-box, next to the Chronometer tag. Also seen with Rolex watches. |
| Variations There are some variations on the "James Bond" watch, as can be seen on the right. It also comes in titanium (the Bond model (without chronograph) does as well), titanium/gold and titanium/gold/rosé gold. The model on the right with a steel bezel was a serious option for me, but it was just too big to fit properly under a long sleeved shirt (Sorry Chrono Chuck ;-)). The chronograph version was the first chronograph watch which could be used under water. The watch uses cal.1164 which is based on the famous Valjoux 7750 movement. The diameter of the watch is the same as the model that is reviewed on this page, however, the chronograph version is way thicker. About 18mm. The dial has the same wave pattern as the "2531.80" model but the text on the dial is written somewhere else because of the three registers/subdials. The hands are like the "2531.80" model too. The little hands are as red as the last part of the secondhand. This watch weighs around 220 grams I think, but am not sure. It is quite heavy. The picture on your right is taken by Craig Joseph Poff (also a true watchcollector) and all credits go to him. He uses it for timing and for swimming, so it is proven to function under water. |
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| The usual stuff A red leather etui that is filled with the (filled-in) guarantuee card + booklet, instructionbooklets (which I haven't looked at yet) and the Chronometer warranty. I asked for the Chronometer-certificate at Omega in Switzerland, and I will get mine sent to me through mail. Maybe a nice idea for all other chronometer-watch owners? Something for on your wall. A short review with not much details and specifications, but I think you can find all specific information you want about this watch on various websites like Zowie's site, TimeZone Omega Forum and Omega Switzerland. And what the heck, here is mine too ! The Omega Addict website. If you have any questions, critics or just want to have a fun email conversation, mail me at : robertjan@omega-addict.com You can find out more about me (the author), here.
Links to other Seamaster reviews : http://www.labstar.freeserve.co.uk/OmegaReview.html
(Nice mid-size SMP Review)
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