Another reason to love that 10 year warranty on the Oris is that for people new to, or considering watches, it gives the extra push to drop quartz and go mechanical by ensuring a 10 year maintenance free time piece. So Oris is doing it's bit for bringing people to the hobby
I want to purchase the Aquis Date, but when I buy a watch Is to keep it, not to Sell it, do you think Oris Is a reliable Brand for at least two generations?
I nearly bought the SMP300 Chrome dial. So close, but ended up buying it’s bigger brother Chronograph with the same chrome dial. What a watch. It’s ridiculously beautiful and a technical marvel with the 9900 calibre. Bravo Omega.
Love both of these! Tim - that Oris is definitely the 41.5mm size, not 39.5mm. They haven’t released the caliber 400 in a 39.5mm Aquis yet. Otherwise a great video!!
@@N7Sound unless, like me, you’d rather support a family owned independent watchmaker than be a drop in the bucket of swatch group. By that (my) view no corporate owned brand, like Omega, is worth supporting.
@@PeaterTheGreat Support in pushing the 10 year warranty and service interval (although don't know how much $$$ that is) plus 5 days PR mechanism for a reasonable price. Also the Oris is a bit lighter. The valve part on the SM think is only annoying for most users and also de 300m an overkill, if you don't dive I think the Oris Aquis 100m is a better choice overall.
The omega on their site has been bumped to $5400 on a bracelet as of late last year. That was what made me pull the trigger before pricing went up elsewhere.
Own this exact SMP. The date is too recessed and difficult to see if light is not directly shining in. The minute hand lum is terrible after 10 minutes. I knew all this before purchasing. Still love the watch.
If I were to look at an SMP 300M, the one I would look at would be the black Ceramic/Titanium no date variant. It looks the bomb. But at the moment my first choice diver would be a BP FF 5015 on the bracelet or the GO SeaQ Panoramic Date BiColour.
I wish the BP had even a little tool free microadjust (maybe like the VC overseas?) and it would be perfect. I still am mighty tempted but that’s my only really Mark against.
@@almac9203 I have from a fairly reliable source that they are planning to update the 50 fathoms. I like the 5015 size, maybe 42mm but the lugs are so short that it wears smaller than the size suggests. I don’t swap straps (I’m a bracelet guy through and through) but as long as they do something that isn’t proprietary, I’m good with it. JLC has a very cool system that allows use with any springbar, that’s the sort of thing I’d be all for.
@@jolness1 I didn't mean they should reduce the size of the FF only they should sell a full sized version and a smaller unisex size. I like the quick change bracelet/strap system on the VC and would like something similar on the FF. Do you know when the FF will be updated? I hope it is this year!
The SMP in white is next on my list, however I can't help wishing they would taper the braclet and if I had the choice of a clear case back or covered to reduce the height I think I would perfer a covered case back, next year will be the SMP 30th anniversary so you never know (omega are you listening).
Ended up buying the SMP300 mainly because the lack of tool free quick adjust on the Oris. My wrist swells and shrinks so that’s a big feature on a bracelet for me. Hard to go wrong though for the money.
This is an unfair comparison. Both watches offer great value in both there price ranges but the omega is the clear winner. Anyone who says otherwise is dreaming.
Agree on that omega wins in the movement department, but man that thing is ugly and looks like a childs toy. Also price wise 2k vs 5.5k not a real comparison, would pick the oris every single day.
I've owned both the Aquis and the SMP. Was actually quite surprised how little the quality jump was from the $1000 I paid for the Oris to the $3500 I paid for the Omega. The SMP is an objectively better watch but I wouldn't say $2500 different. I don't have either anymore but I would easily buy an Oris again. Better looking bracelet, better value, lower profile.
The smp300 has a massive flaw: the minute hand has a skeleton hand with useful lume only at the end. Once the lume has faded only slightly and the minute hand is anywhere near an hour marker, you have no idea where the minute hand is. For a dive watch this is totally ridiculous form over function.
Again, I prefer the Oris. The Omega is just so dated looking to me. I feel like it was a new design like 30 years ago. And I never liked the skeletonized hands. Like the Sub, I think the Omega is a "better" watch, but I'd still go with the Oris, because it doesn't look like it was designed in the last century.
Both are great watches. Personally I’d go with the Oris. But I think that particular Aquis is 41.5mm (though typical of all Aquis watches it wears smaller due to the lug design).
For a summer, poolside watch, I was between the white dial Omega SMP on rubber strap and the 39.5 mm Aquis matt black dial on rubber strap. Oris one. Omega nil.
Did Watchbox delete my comment? I’m pretty sure this Aquis is the 41.5mm and not the 39.5mm, since the Caliber 400 only comes in 41.5mm and 43.5mm. The 39.5mm case is currently only offered with the Selitta movement. Please correct me if I’m wrong, rather than deleting the comment since these videos are highly regarded and used as guides in the watch community.
Hi ugabrew - we think you are correct. The video description mentions 41.5mm but Tim mentions 39.5mm in the video. We'll put a correction in the listing description once we confirm the error. Thanks for pointing it out! Btw, we do not delete comments unless they are obscene or particularly aggressive attacks on other members of the community. We certainly wouldn't delete a comment that pointed out a mistake in our video, as we always want to get things right and leaving wrong information posted hurts our credibility. RU-vid will hide comments that it thinks are offensive and allow us to manually review them, but there are no comments from you on that list, so something must have happened with your original comment. It certainly wasn't intentional on our part. Thanks for contributing to the discourse!
@@the1916companywatchreviews I appreciate the response. It must have been some kind of technical issue. Thanks for all of the great content that you put out and for taking the time to respond here.
Its wild how much different opinions can be in the watch world. I personally thought the Omega Seamasters bracelet is about the lowest quality bracelet I've felt on a luxury watch. Yet you over here are comparing it to watches that are far and away superior in quality. Mindboggling.
SMP for me. I’d always feel as though an Oris was a compromise and not an ultimate watch - more of a stepping stone along the way. Thanks Tim, great insights as always.
The extended warranty is probably more connected to marketing strategy and less to any emperic engineering advantage. Apparently many moderns can hit the 10 year mark and when not, you've already paid the service premium in the purchase price. At 10 years, the parts are probably dry and grinding at each other.
Hi Tim. My wrist width is 50mm. Do you think the SMP300 would fit on my wrist? I tried it at my local Omega boutique and it barely fits on the underside but too big on the upside.
I loved owning the omega but tired of that chrome/blue color version for some reason. I may rebuy the black dial at some point in the future really should have done so from the get go
That Omega coaxial movement gets me every time. Like he said; nothing under $50k really comes close or maybe any price. It isn't just about power reserve and the Omega has plenty of reserve.
This is my favorite version of the SMP. That chrome/blue dial is beautiful and unique. Wish the bracket tapered 20 to 18 and get rid of the diver’s extension.
Just one thing to say to Oris has hacking issues . Look it up on RU-vid. As for the Omega Seamaster prefer it on a rubber strap hate the bracelet. Most say great video 📹
As an Aquis owner and person who dislikes so much about the SMP (hands, He valve, bracelet, bezel, thickness) I know where my heart is but this is a great comparison for someone who doesn't have the reservations about the SMP that I do and it is a great watch, just hideous to me.
Owned the smp300 and sold it as I was disappointed with the bracelet in terms of it’s comfort. Also, the bezel is certainly very difficult to grip with wet hands and the helium escape valve looks so goofy in it’s conical shape. It is also important to note that the smp300 has double-sided AR coating which can scratch on the outer saphire. I would consider trying the Oris as it costs less, depreciates less and has a thinner more comfortable profile.
Outer AR coating is the worst. It doesn’t matter which company is trying to pull it off… it scratches way too easily and defeats the purpose of having a sapphire crystal in the first place. I’ve had watches with no AR treatment, underside AR, and dual-sided AR. The difference is reflections never stood out for me, but the the scratches in my Omega’s outer AR coating always frustrate me.
I've bought the Omega this week, had I known about the Oris that 10 year warranty it would have been in with a shout! I was also tempted by Tudor which I found to be far better looking on wrist than online! I've inadvertently bought a Christopher Ward GMT too. When it turned up I really didn't like the GMT hand, but because I've resized the bracelet they will only refund 70%, so it looks like I'll be getting it back!
$5,400 vs. $3,500, keep that in mind. Integrated bracelets are much better if (and only if!) you intend to use the OEM bracelet. Otherwise, to me, the standard lug style--which obviously accommodates many more options--looks kind of goofy, to me, ultimately, after you've seen a well-executed (Oris) bracelet, with an integrated design, if you're using the factory bracelet. In fact, it seems a bit of a misstep. But nobody says that, because it's standard, and what Rolex, and Omega, and most brands go with. So Oris has the win here for me. I do wish there was a quick adjust, though, that would be nice. Then there's the helium escape valve. Which, let's be honest, is just pretentious. Unless you're an underwater welder, you're never going to use it. Omega, come off it, get rid of it, you don't need it. Don't know why you need to have that be what you hang your hat on. Aquis looks way better, IMO--not a fan of the current gen wave dial on the SMP. Love the fluted case, crown guard, hands and tapered bracelet on the Aquis. Wish there was a more matted/brushed option for both the bezel and bracelet. The SMP has the dual sided coating, which sucks. The SMP has the better movement, but again, it costs over 50% more. Check out a reveiw of the Calibre 400 movement by Prowatches. While pretty surface level in regards to the escapement, he does point out some innovative tech in the Oris pallet fork that Tim doesn't mention, besides its advances in anti-magnetism and power reserve. Can you tell I just bought the Aquis?
Well done, and wear it in Good Health. I must confess, I own the Omega sku model shown and one reason was that I own a refined JLC and a speedy Omega. I now wanted something a little brutal and ugly as a different way to flex. Yes, the ego is a fragile thing. I wish I could feel the finish of the outer bezel where the diving minutes are inlaid on the ceramic on both as it would give me an appreciation of how far Oris have come.
@@richardsoos8902 Hey, thanks! I mean, maybe we can both agree, calling the SMP ugly is a stretch! I was a bit harsh on it. And everything I said on it was subjective--in fact, understandably never even considered--by most owners and admirers. The point to me is, whether or not Oris can be directly compared to the Omega, is that they've made a great watch and done enough to be push the bar/drive progress forward/compete/force Omega to respond and move forward.
@dustinhuman well I have the SMP shown here . And I definitely want an Aquis in blue. Other than the bezel it is far superior though. That bracelet is immaculate. And I love the helium escape valve . It is a trademark at this point of the SMP. Why do you need it ? Well do you need ISO divers certification? That oris in blue, though😍
The styling of the Oris just leaves me cold for some reason. I just don’t find special looking. Not a huge fan of newer Seamasters either, but it’s objectively the better quality watch here, as it should be at a higher price. I personally think something like a Sinn U1 is a nice pick if you’re looking in the Oris price range or lower
You only open the Helium relief valve in the chamber after the bell run and not in the water! In Saturation diving, the change in pressure which would pop your watch is during decompression and for this, you will be in the chamber in the dry most likely in your bed, you just open the Helium relief and leave it open till your decompression is finish and step out the chamber. never open it in the water .
I have that SM, but with the blue rubber strap. Much better look than that metal bracelet which is nowhere near a Rolex Oyster in looks. Perfect if you want to leave the sub at home and not worry about the bracelet scratching or getting robbed
Nice as the Oris is, the Omega is simply a better watch. Although you could say that the Omega case design is over-used across its range, it makes the Oris case look a little agricultural. To be fair, it's not that different to the shape used by IWC for the GST 2000. But whereas the IWC is a completely coherent design, pairing that case shape with a Rolex style bezel doesn't really work. It's a bit of reverse synergy where the whole is less than the sum of the parts. But the Oris is still a very nice watch for the money.
If I didn’t have a hatred of corporate ownership and the wart of the helium valve (which to me draws extra attention to desk diver reality) I would own an Omega. As it is though, I love my Aquis 400.
@@ugabrew he said "escapement" actually and I'm not sure if the SD braking glide wheel qualifies as an escapement, but it is cool. GS does have their new hi-beat escapement which is cool (though unproven) as well.
@@ugabrew My point is spring drive is not even mechanical with an escapement. If an over complicated quartz floats your boat then go for it. Its your money... Personally I wouldn't exactly call that technology exotic master craftsmanship.
No doubts that the Omega outperforms the Oris ( it even outperforms a submariner in terms of quality) Both watches give max bangs for bucks, so decision based on your your budget.
@@gambini1598 Maybe..: build quality and craftsmanship, higher (proven) accuracy due to METAS, quality of used materials? You can also go for a Seiko 5 which will have same specs for 98%, at this league the last 2% will count....
@@kandelaarrotterdamEach other saw probably different video. He speaks all the pros for Oris and in the end says that Omega "feels" like a better watch. IDK in my humble opinion. I had both of them in my hands and Yeah Omega feels heftier but. that's it. Omega has a really ugly bracelet in comparison but a better clasp. Regarding accuracy, I doubt that there will be much difference (also said in the video that Oris has smaller tolerances than COSC)
Wow talk about a rapid move up market, Oris in a vs. video against Omega. I think the Nipple uh-err-umm… I mean escape valve is holding the Seamaster back 😬
I own a 2009 seamaster and man same looks and same bracelet as this one and it does not taper and although solid but ugly as it gets I bought the new aquis used like new for 1900 so oris wins based on tapered bracelet, green color and in house movement
That Omega is technically superior but horribly dated. It needs an updated bracelet and they should ditch the skeleton hands. It's a dive watch, it needs a lot of lume.
It's the lack of OMEGA logo I guess :) Btw I own an OMEGA and I've owned Oris and plan to own one again, they are doing amazing things these days and truly are one of the more interesting (and independant) brands, if you forget about the current hype train of Rolexville etc.
still don't undestand the manual HEV on the omega.....it just doesn't make sense. if you ever would need this feature for saturation diving, which only a fraction of people would, you wouldn't want it to be manual. it would be automatic like the one on the rolex sea dweller.
I think they really screwed up on the Oris 400.they should've made look different from other Aquis.That quick release bracelet and movement makes it a very tempting option.
With a micro adjust on the clasp (and you know if they offered one it would be excellent), the Oris would be the only zero-compromise dive watch below $5000 on the market IMO
I considered a white dial SMP300M, but went with a Tudor BB58 instead. Love the Tudor, it has become my favorite watch in my collection. And it was $1600 less than the Omega. I like the Omega but it was too big and heavy for my wrist. I talked my best pal into buying the NTTD version and it wears a lot lighter than the steel. Never considered the Oris, I think it is unattractive. Happy New Year, Tim!
@@mendipfox1650 Yes I did and I could not be happier with my decision. The "great white" is a nice looking watch, but it looked enormous on my wrist. The Tudor looks like a fine piece of men's jewelry, it glimmers and glistens and plays with the light. Plus it fits my 6.75" wrist perfectly. My pal bought the NTTD SMP300 and when we traded watches for a day, he told me he also preferred the Tudor. To each his own.
@@dannyg6592 I don't blame you. I have the BB58 and sold my SMP when it came down between the two. The SMP feels like a true tool watch and was heavy enough to be a bit annoying. The BB58 is an elegant diver style watch that fits most situations.
The only watch I miss is my 300M, It helped fund my blue side of the moon so I don't regret selling it but I do think about it.. I like the chronograph version in this grey/blue colorway
It is odd to me that Oris is being criticized so much for the need to center and relax the crown when setting the time. I’ve had many watches over the years from Seiko’s to a 1960’s era Rolex Submariner that would jump slightly when you pushed the crown in if you didn’t center the adjustment before pushing in the crown. In fact, I have two watches with ETA movements that require this attention to adjustment when setting the time. And yet I’ve never read a single criticism for any other watch for this relatively small anomaly
I have to back Omega, I tried an Oris diver back in the summer and ended up taking the watch back as the quality control just wasn't there, my 12 year old Omega diver from 2010 is still a better prospect than an Oris diver imho, which is a shame as there are some great watches in the Oris stable, my Big Pilot LE being one of them.
Thats unfortunate to hear. QC is a more of an issue with all Oris as they are a independent brand so theres not as many hands on each piece. But when had at a value without issues they are pretty great. But I'll agree that even my SM thats old enough to drink is of higher quality, and is still my favorite diver to date; ergo, my cherry aquis is my second favorite. It's funny to see similar pieces compared here, they are very different albeit attractive watches
If only Oris stepped up their game with the bracelet clasp. The Oris clasp on my Divers 65 still looks and feels like it belongs on a $500 watch and the one in this video looks the same.
Omega is a bigger brand than Oris,And seamaster is just one of the best watches out there,now if you give value to you money and need a quality product get Oris ,is just a better watch in many aspects. Caliber, single in house movement, independence, style,swiss made, materials.. the 400 caliber is just an Innovation in the history of horology..so yes i will go ORIS
Maybe you'd like to take a look at Christopher Ward C60? It's more approachable than the Oris and looks like a strong competitor to the Sellita version: very nice bracelet, more complex case finishing, nice bezel feel, 5 year warranty. I'd love to see that shootout
Oris look better quality and the movement is a masterpiece ... already colectable watch and I am an owner of Oris calibre 400 . It's a watch VFM compare to Omega . It could be woth double of his money . Well done Oris.
