[J!m]

I lurk around in all the forums here and noticed on several occasions in the Rolex forum owners complaining about the pointer of their rotating bezel not ligning up perfectly on ther watches.

I personally own two Omega 'dive' watches (GMT and Planet Ocean) and the rotating bezels on both of these line up perfectly. Has anyone had a problem with bezel allignment on an Omega?

The reason I ask is that we must pay a STEEP premium (over Omega- even more with other brands) for the Rolex name, but do we even get 1/2 our money's worth?:confused1:

I understand they were quick to rectify the problem, but why was the watch allowed to leave the factory like that???

Just anted to start a little something here today. The forum has been a bit boring lately...:001_tt2:

 

[J!m]

Isn't the blue face of your Omega textured like my white GMT? If so, I have to say that Omega has done an exceptional job overcoming that difficult challenge.

Printing onto a perfectly flat surface, I would expect nothing less than absolute perfection... (particularly for over 5 grand...)

Any textured dials printed on by Rolex for "apples to apples" comparison?:confused1:

How about a magnified view of the speedy dial? That's flat, and would make a good comparison I think. Anyone have a nice view like that to post up side-by-side with the Rolex dial?

 

[J!m]

Still waiting for a speedy dial for a totally flat vs. totally flat comparison. The 'old' Seamaster is nice, but I want to see something more modern for an indication of the 'current state of the art' for both companies.

No question, the dial printing on that flat Rolex dial is perfect (as it should be). I still think the wave pattern will cause problems in spite of the fact that the dial is 'smooth' at the edges as noted. As you get closer to the raised part, what ever is printing that has to loose intimate contact with the face, and cause problems. I'm glad I don't have to figure out how to do that (but I have seen video of the printing process, and I assume the big boys all use the same method)

Still no one chiming in on their Omega bezel being off. That was what originally started this thought in my head.

Anyone with an Omega with a bezel that does not 'zero' properly? There are two different Rolex examples I can remember (are there more?), but no Omegas...

 

[J!m]

Here's some Planet Ocean shots; up-close and personal...

A bit closer...

Swiss made...

Check the fill of that marker!

Now the printed hash mark next to it- at this magnification (3X life size) the depth of field is so shallow, you cannot have both the marker and the printed mark in focus- depth of field is les than a milimeter!

The final shot, 4X life size (this is all that fits in the frame at this magnification)

I think the Rolex shown is a bit better in this regard...

 

[J!m]

well, that's why I was asking.

I am not familiar with a nice, textured dial on any Rolex, other than the new milligauss; however they do not print in the textured area as far as I remember...

And to be fair, the Rolex dial is smoother than the Omega Planet Ocean dial. You can see the texture of the dial (to reduce reflection) in the photos I posted. The Rolex, as we all know, is a perfectly smooth dial, so if the dead-flat mirror of a crystal doesn't blind you, you still have trouble reading the dead flat and smooth dial surface in bright sun. I have seen this first-hand, and it was also a problem with my white-on-white GMT in direct sunlight (which is why I appreciate what has been done with the Planet Ocean)

I think this is one of many reasons why the older subs are so popular: they have the mat dial to reduce this glare, and the hesalite crystals are curved to reduce reflections.

I am glad to see that Omega has learned that a watch is an instrument to tell time first and foremost. Although to be fair, the Rolex crystal can be used to signal aircraft if you get stranded in the wilderness...

 

[J!m]

I think it's unbelievable as well- a watch which retails over 5 grand and they can't take the care to line up the bezel?:001_rolleyes: Even your sub- $500 Alpha is lined up perfectly. My sub $200 "Nolex" is lined up perfectly. My $200.00 Russian Vostok is lined up perfectly.

Does anyone have any dive watches where the bezel does not zero perfectly? I am focusing on the Rolex, because it had been mentioned by two people that I know of (I'd be mad too!). How are the Invicta bezels for example? We have tons of Invicta divers on here- anyone with a bezel alignment problem?

The cases mentioned here that I am aware of were taken care of by the dealers (no charge- but the time without the watch was usually a week or more), as they should be, but why does something like that get out the door at Rolex?

The other nice thing with other brands (high end brands being the exception) is that they often have more than one piece on hand. In other words, if the bezel didn't line up on your watch, you could just grab another one from the dealer stock. With Rolex, you have to wait months to get your watch, pay full retail, and hope it was assembled on a Wednesday, and not a Friday...

There is something fundamentally wrong with this situation in my opinion.

Rolex makes a great watch for the most part, but what are you actually paying for?