Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Collection Welcomes Its First Worldtimers

Omega unveiled its first world-time complication in 2017, packaging it inside a model from its Seamaster Aqua Terra 150 collection, the most “everyday-wear” of the various subfamilies of the Seamaster, which range from deep-sea divers to nautically styled dress watches. Today, Omega expands the scope of its still-youthful Worldtimer range, bringing its travel-friendly functionality and elegantly complex design into the bolder, more robust Seamaster Planet Ocean series, which just happens to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Both of the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer models — in keeping with the "Deep Black" editions that preceded them — feature stately 45.5mm wide and 17.4mm thick cases made of black zirconium oxide ceramic (Zr02) with a sleek, brushed finish. The collection’s signature, rotating divers’ bezel is made from the same ceramic material, with a laser-ablated diving scale in positive relief. (This is, of course, a feature not found on the Aqua Terra versions of the Worldtimer, as the Aqua Terra is not designed to be a functional divers’ watch.) And did I mention robust? Like all the models in the Planet Ocean family, the case is water resistant to a punishing 600 meters and is outfitted with a helium-release valve for deep saturation diving.

Like their Aqua Terra predecessors, the Planet Ocean Worldtimer has a global-motif dial that’s guaranteed to catch the eye and rivet the attention. Its surface is made from grade 5 titanium, and its detailed, bird’s eye view of the Earth from the North Pole is created from a process that starts with laser ablation and finishes with a layer of varnish. Surrounding this topographic-map motif is the 24-hour disk that plays a key role in making this watch not only beautiful but practical, divided into night and day sectors and protected by Hesalite glass.

The outer section of the dial is coated in black DLC and finished with a subtle honeycomb pattern that adds yet another layer of depth. On its outer periphery are the printed names of world cities that allow the wearer to track the time all over the world by aligning the city names with the 24-hour disk. (As with the Aqua Terra models, Omega’s hometown of Bienne, Switzerland stands on for GMT +1, replacing Paris, which traditionally represents that time zone.) Two distinct dial colorways are available: one with a turquoise varnish in the central globe and on the outer city ring, with white Super-LumiNova on the hands and indexes; the other, with a gray varnish in these areas and a new gray Super-LumiNova for the details.

Inside both Seamaster Planet Ocean Worldtimer models is Omega’s in-house co-axial Caliber 8938, an in-house automatic movement that has earned “Master Chronometer” certification through its elite level of precision, performance and magnetic resistance as determined by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). Despite the case’s extreme water resistance, which would normally require a solid, closed caseback, this movement and its elite-level decorations are visible through a clear sapphire caseback. Both versions of the watch come mounted on black structured rubber straps and fasten with foldover clasps made of ceramic and ceramized titanium, and both are priced at $14,800.