The Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional has set a new record for the world’s deepest dive—securing, along with its Master Chronometer certification, Omega’s reputation as the best of the best
When Omega was looking for an ambassador to test its timepieces to the max, it’s fair to say that the brand struck gold with Victor Vescovo. A certified jet pilot and retired naval officer who has climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents, the businessman turned explorer recently strengthened his extreme credentials further by embarking on a mission to descend to the deepest points in the world’s five oceans.
His relationship with Omega began when he decided to buy a Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph to commemorate a deep-sea adventure. After his first descent to the Puerto Rico Trench, the brand got in touch to offer him an upgrade in time for his deepest dive—to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and a world record of 10,928 metres deep—and so the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional was born.
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Under the Sea
Sure enough, as Vescovo piloted his Limiting Factor submersible to the deepest point on Earth, the three watches attached to the outside of the craft (two on robotic arms and one on a remote-controlled independent lander) never missed a beat. What is more, the Seamaster attached to the independent lander ended up spending two days at the bottom of the trench after the lander got stuck on the bottom. When it was recovered some 54 hours later, the watch was still ticking along, keeping near-perfect time.
While the Ultra Deep retains the classic Seamaster look, it’s been designed especially with the world’s deepest dive in mind. To this end, its case, bezel and crown are forged from the same grade 5 titanium used for the pressure hull of the Limiting Factor, and its lugs are fully integrated into the case body to lower the risk of material limitations being reached. Each was tested to a depth of 15,000 metres, leaving a 25 per cent safety margin over the record-breaking dive.
As if surviving the dive itself wasn’t impressive enough, after surfacing the watches were put through the highest level of testing currently available in watchmaking: Master Chronometer tests. Officiated by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, this method of testing first came about in 2015, when Omega’s Globemaster became the world’s first Master Chronometer.