Contact tmosso@thewatchbox.com for pricing and availability; Either I have it, or I can get it! Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M (215.90.44.21.99.001) titanium vs. Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36,000 Professional 600M SBGH257; it’s on! The much-requested “Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean vs. Grand Seiko Diver” feature is here, and luxury watch buyers can choose their favorite in clash of chronometer-caliber titans. The 2017 Baselworld debut of Grand Seiko’s first professional dive watches, SBGH255 and SBGH257, set the Japanese watch giant on a collision course with Omega’s flagship dive watch, the Planet Ocean. Today we decide which luxury dive watch rules the waves!
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean; since 2005, this has been the standard-bearer for Omega watch’s premier collection of dive watches. While the Aqua Terras are land-and-sea casual sports watches, the Seamaster Diver 300M collection is the entry level, and the Seamaster 300 is the vintage-inspired option, the Seamaster Planet Ocean takes no prisoners thanks to generous size, engineering, features, and capabilities.
The 2011 Seamaster Planet Ocean received a serious upgrade thanks to the caliber 8500 co-axial chronometer and the general adoption of Omega’s Liquidmetal ceramic bezel technology. Another evolution arrived in 2016 as the core Omega Planet Ocean 600M gained a versatile new 43.5mm case size, new titanium and ceramic dials, and the Omega Master Chronometer caliber 8900.
Still a COSC chronometer with a Co-Axial escapement, the upgraded Omega Planet Ocean offers the new METAS fully-cased test of resistances, power reserve, winding efficiency, and chronometric performance.
Grand Seiko enters the professional dive watch arena for the first time with the blue dial Grand Seiko Hi-Beat 36,000 Professional 600M SBGH257 and its general production counterpart, the SBGH255 with black dial. While previous Grand Seiko dive watches were limited to 200 meters of water resistance, the Seiko brand had taken the lead in professional-grade diving watches. As a 600-meter dive watch with hardened seals capable of resisting helium intrusion, the Hi-Beat SBGH257 is a serious challenge to Omega’s Planet Ocean.
Grand Seiko’s leviathan boasts a generous 46.9mm titanium case, a diving clasp with a sliding incremental extension, and a limited series run of 500 pieces. The blue hobnail dial is handsome, and its soft iron construction helps to endow the Grand Seiko Hi-Beat Diver with an impressive 16,000 A/M anti-magnetic shielding. The Grand Seiko Hi-Beat caliber 9S85 is a 36,000 VpH manufacture automatic with 55-hour power reserve and a chronometer-besting six-position adjustment to -3/+5 seconds per day. Each Grand Seiko SBGH257 includes an accessory silicone strap in matching blue to facilitate greater comfort and adjustability while diving or swimming.
Will Omega’s Seamaster Planet Ocean win the battle of the high seas, or will the Grand Seiko SBGH257 throw its established rival overboard? Versus 9 starts now!