Alright, guys, gather ’round, let me tell you about my latest project. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a decent replica of the OMEGA Planet Ocean 600m for a while now. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s a slick-looking watch. But the real deal? Way out of my budget. So, I decided to try and make my own “inspired” version.
First things first, I spent hours, maybe even days, just scouring the internet, looking at pictures, reading forums, you name it. I wanted to get a real good feel for the genuine article before I even thought about what I could do with the replica. I studied the details. You know the bezel, the dial, the hands, the way the light catches the metal. I noticed people talking about the weight and the feel of the stainless steel, the clarity of the sapphire crystal, even things like the engraving on the back.
I also saw a few people on the forums asking if the Planet Ocean 600m is a good “investment.” Honestly, I’m not looking at it like that. I just like the watch, the style of it. It’s not about making money for me, but it’s still useful to read different user’s opinion, that gave me an idea that I should do something similar, but within my budget.
Then came the fun part – finding a decent base to work with. I found a seller online that had a bunch of different replicas. It was tough choosing one, but I finally settled on one that looked pretty close to the real thing, at least in the pictures. It claimed to have a stainless steel case and a sapphire crystal. We’ll see about that, I thought.
While I was waiting for the watch to arrive, I started digging into the movement. I knew I couldn’t get my hands on the real OMEGA Co-Axial movement, but I found some decent automatic movements online that wouldn’t break the bank, I found a guy selling a used one for a good price, and I snapped it up. I also thought about those who have small wrists, which is not a bad idea for me to use a 37.5mm case for my project, it’s a win-win solution for those who have the same concern!
- Waited for the watch and the movement to arrive. The anticipation was killing me!
- Unboxed everything. The watch looked… okay. Not amazing, but not terrible either. The movement seemed to be in good shape, thankfully.
- Carefully took the replica watch apart. This was the scary part. I didn’t want to break anything! Used some basic watch tools I got online.
- Swapped out the old movement for the new one. This took some patience and a steady hand, but I managed to do it without any major disasters.
- Put everything back together. Fingers crossed!
And… it worked! The watch was ticking, and it actually looked pretty good. I replaced the original strap with a better quality leather one I had lying around, and that made a big difference. I also spent some time polishing the case and making sure everything was lined up properly.
The Final Result
Okay, so it’s not a genuine OMEGA, obviously. But for something I put together myself, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s got a nice weight to it, the movement keeps decent time, and it looks the part. It scratches that itch for a Planet Ocean 600m without emptying my bank account. I’m no watch expert, but I learned a lot during this whole process, and maybe next time I can do it better than this one! If you are interested in this OMEGA watch, go check their website and you will see.
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