Min första riktigt feta klocka var en SMP kronograf ref. 2598.80.00, inköpt i mitten av 90-talet. Vid den tidpunkten var 41mm ett respektingivande mått tvärs över och jag var grymt nöjd med känslan av mycket rostfritt på armen. De där rostfria modellerna är ju inte helt ovanliga, men det finns ju modeller som är rara. Javisst, nu tänker man naturligtvis helgulds och de är ju inte alls vanliga. Har sett att Hazze på TTT har en och att äga en sådan hade verkligen varit topp, MEN.
I min värld på slutet av de 90 fanns bara en kung och det var titan, rödguld, tantalversionen. Den är inte heller lätt att hitta, så i min nutida jakt fick jag nöja mig med titan/gulguld ref.2297.80.00.
Under mitt letande snubblade jag över nedanstående tråd på WUS och tänkte att den kunde intressera fler. Den riktiga raringen med ref.2296.80.00 får jag fortsätta leta efter...
Saxat från WUS:
Still learning about this model and it has a bit hard to find information.
Back in the early 1990s they had just brought out the new generation of chrono Seamasters (the 300 was the first to have chrono buttons you could use under pressure on a dive) to supercede the old models and as usual they had a range of case variants going from the usual stainless to the top of the line, in this case the rose gold titanium version. The slightly less expensive yellow gold model for some reason did not get the tantalum bezel.
Tantalum is a gray metallic element similar to titanium and for whatever reason they decided that including it in the bezel (in, I believe, a titanium alloy) would be a good idea. Some confusion arises due to the references by Omega to a 'tantalum/gold bezel'. AFAIK, the only tantalum content was in the base of the bezel and the 18K rose gold was the overlay on the bezel. I suspect that the tantalum was just added so they'd have another name to advertise as being something special, but maybe I'm cynical and there is a good practical reason why that element improves some aspect of the watch construction. In any case, I have seen references to the tantalum as being the gold coloured component when in fact it isn't (the gold is always real gold). The tantalum bezel is a slightly darker gray colour than the titanium case, and has a duller sheen to it, but the difference is so subtle that it is very hard to tell in pictures. In fact this is on watch that really needs to be seen first hand to appreciate the aesthetics of it.
Here is a page from a contemporary catalogue showing the whole range of Seamasters starting with the steel on steel (including the blue bezel version), then the gold bezels, with and without the added feature of 18K inserts in the bands, and finally to titanium on its own, then titanium and yellow gold, and last the rose gold titanium (which the catalogue calls 'pink' gold). I hope the page is large enough to be legible. Note that the page is from 1995 and includes only chronograph models.
If anyone has any interesting information on the titanium models, I'd be happy to hear it. You don't see many titanium/gold watches from the period mainly, I think, because they priced them very aggressively for the period. The prices back then would equate in buying power to pretty close to $10,000 today. You can get close to that in the Planet Ocean chrono line or Proplof without going to gold cases to get there, but it indicates why there aren't a lot of the 300 Ti series about today.
I min värld på slutet av de 90 fanns bara en kung och det var titan, rödguld, tantalversionen. Den är inte heller lätt att hitta, så i min nutida jakt fick jag nöja mig med titan/gulguld ref.2297.80.00.
Under mitt letande snubblade jag över nedanstående tråd på WUS och tänkte att den kunde intressera fler. Den riktiga raringen med ref.2296.80.00 får jag fortsätta leta efter...
Saxat från WUS:
Still learning about this model and it has a bit hard to find information.
Back in the early 1990s they had just brought out the new generation of chrono Seamasters (the 300 was the first to have chrono buttons you could use under pressure on a dive) to supercede the old models and as usual they had a range of case variants going from the usual stainless to the top of the line, in this case the rose gold titanium version. The slightly less expensive yellow gold model for some reason did not get the tantalum bezel.
Tantalum is a gray metallic element similar to titanium and for whatever reason they decided that including it in the bezel (in, I believe, a titanium alloy) would be a good idea. Some confusion arises due to the references by Omega to a 'tantalum/gold bezel'. AFAIK, the only tantalum content was in the base of the bezel and the 18K rose gold was the overlay on the bezel. I suspect that the tantalum was just added so they'd have another name to advertise as being something special, but maybe I'm cynical and there is a good practical reason why that element improves some aspect of the watch construction. In any case, I have seen references to the tantalum as being the gold coloured component when in fact it isn't (the gold is always real gold). The tantalum bezel is a slightly darker gray colour than the titanium case, and has a duller sheen to it, but the difference is so subtle that it is very hard to tell in pictures. In fact this is on watch that really needs to be seen first hand to appreciate the aesthetics of it.
Here is a page from a contemporary catalogue showing the whole range of Seamasters starting with the steel on steel (including the blue bezel version), then the gold bezels, with and without the added feature of 18K inserts in the bands, and finally to titanium on its own, then titanium and yellow gold, and last the rose gold titanium (which the catalogue calls 'pink' gold). I hope the page is large enough to be legible. Note that the page is from 1995 and includes only chronograph models.
If anyone has any interesting information on the titanium models, I'd be happy to hear it. You don't see many titanium/gold watches from the period mainly, I think, because they priced them very aggressively for the period. The prices back then would equate in buying power to pretty close to $10,000 today. You can get close to that in the Planet Ocean chrono line or Proplof without going to gold cases to get there, but it indicates why there aren't a lot of the 300 Ti series about today.
