OMEGA CrPO 45 Pumpkin from BP factory
Model: Omega Ceramic Planet Ocean
Movement: Swiss ETA 2824-2
Maker: BP factory
Dealer: Hont
Gen:
Rep:
The BP CrPO has been released a while ago and, being one of the most popular watches in the market, it has been extensively discussed. Anyway I remember collecting infos on this rep from various threads, so my effort here is to include what I learned from other more knowledgeable members in a single review.
Hopefully some of the new members, or those who don't care to read all those threads, will find this useful.
The dial:
Dial is spot on, correct color, markers and fonts. Print on dial is very accurate and sharp.
The bezel insert is made of aluminium, color is very close, and there will be no fading issues with this. These have been noticed by many members (almost all) that owned the black ceramic bezel.
Edit: some gens appear to have the same issue with fading bezels.
Print is very good and construction too, it turns with crisp clicks.
The pearl is bit low compared to gen, and is also somewhat "recessed", an issue that is noticeable only at very close distance.
Sapphire crystal has double AR with a noticeable purple shade. Crystal itself is curved as per gen, a very nice effect.
Double colored lume is superb, I can only imagine how gen lume may look.
Although I cannot tell from a website pic of the gen if dial color matches gen color, from my point point of view it is the best part of the rep along with the orange bezel. The contrast created by the light on the matte dial and the metallic indices and hands catches the eye in a unique way, so that you find yourself constantly looking at your wrist
The case:
Case construction is very well made and gen-like as far as I can tell. It's a heavy watch that gives a feeling of "strength" on the wrist.
The crown shape is per gen, logo is crisp. He valve too seems placed correctly and is nicely finished.
The case bears the biggest issue with this watch though: crown stripping happened to many members and, although there are ways to fix it, it's definitely a PITA when it happens.
Edit: crown stripping seems to be an issue only present in UPO v5, and not on this one.
This is something I was not aware of, I still suggest a bit of care when operating the crown.
Thanks to TheOmegaFan for this info!
The case back:
The gen ceramic PO comes with an open case back showing the beautiful inhouse Omega caliber 8500 with co-axial escapement, a piece of haute horlogerie to drool on :drool:
The rep can't obviously sport the same movement and is powered by a Swiss ETA 2824-2 with decorations that should make it appear gen like.
Besides being an obvious flaw, we have two issues here: first, the Swiss movements installed by BP factory are known to be crap, and my specimen can only confirm this. In the macro close ups you can see how dirty and scratched the movement appears. Anyway, I must say it keeps fairly good time (-10/15 seconds per day) and it's still pretty nice to see, especially for untrained eyes like mine
Edit: According to TheOmegaFan, Asian clone movement is also available now, but crown doesn't screw tight with this movement.
Second flaw is the mispelling in the inner case decoration, where you can read "ADJUSTE DTO FIYE"
:facepalm:
Shamefully I forgot to shoot a pic of it. :facepalm: for me too..
The prints on the case are crisp, latest batches don't have the "liquid metal" engraving shown in the first specimens, which was wrong for this model.
The bracelet:
Bracelet is very well made, heavy and solid. Links are fixed with screws as per gen, and not cheaper pins like some others. Clasp has a functional diver extension and closes firmly. Engravings on the clasp are very deep.
SEL fitment is tight.
Conclusions:
At this point we have a new version released by noob maker which seems generally improved. Apart from some qc issues in the first batches regarding crooked markers that now seem resolved, this seems the best choice. Anyway, given its price tag about a hundred dollars less than noob, this watch is still a good competitor, but only if you want the pumpkin, because the faded bezel of the black version is a dead giveaway IMO .
The ETA movement, though crap as it is, may easily be serviced and fixed if needed.
All in all, if you can find a specimen with an acceptable pearl you will get a stunning watch, which is as close to gen as a rep can be IMHO, a true super rep.
Some more shots for eye candy:
Once again, and in this particular review more than usual, feel free to point out any inaccuracies or wrong info on this thread, I will happily update it accordingly.
:cheers:
Model: Omega Ceramic Planet Ocean
Movement: Swiss ETA 2824-2
Maker: BP factory
Dealer: Hont
Gen:
Rep:
The BP CrPO has been released a while ago and, being one of the most popular watches in the market, it has been extensively discussed. Anyway I remember collecting infos on this rep from various threads, so my effort here is to include what I learned from other more knowledgeable members in a single review.
Hopefully some of the new members, or those who don't care to read all those threads, will find this useful.
The dial:
Dial is spot on, correct color, markers and fonts. Print on dial is very accurate and sharp.
The bezel insert is made of aluminium, color is very close, and there will be no fading issues with this. These have been noticed by many members (almost all) that owned the black ceramic bezel.
Edit: some gens appear to have the same issue with fading bezels.
Print is very good and construction too, it turns with crisp clicks.
The pearl is bit low compared to gen, and is also somewhat "recessed", an issue that is noticeable only at very close distance.
Sapphire crystal has double AR with a noticeable purple shade. Crystal itself is curved as per gen, a very nice effect.
Double colored lume is superb, I can only imagine how gen lume may look.
Although I cannot tell from a website pic of the gen if dial color matches gen color, from my point point of view it is the best part of the rep along with the orange bezel. The contrast created by the light on the matte dial and the metallic indices and hands catches the eye in a unique way, so that you find yourself constantly looking at your wrist
The case:
Case construction is very well made and gen-like as far as I can tell. It's a heavy watch that gives a feeling of "strength" on the wrist.
The crown shape is per gen, logo is crisp. He valve too seems placed correctly and is nicely finished.
The case bears the biggest issue with this watch though: crown stripping happened to many members and, although there are ways to fix it, it's definitely a PITA when it happens.
Edit: crown stripping seems to be an issue only present in UPO v5, and not on this one.
This is something I was not aware of, I still suggest a bit of care when operating the crown.
Thanks to TheOmegaFan for this info!
The case back:
The gen ceramic PO comes with an open case back showing the beautiful inhouse Omega caliber 8500 with co-axial escapement, a piece of haute horlogerie to drool on :drool:
The rep can't obviously sport the same movement and is powered by a Swiss ETA 2824-2 with decorations that should make it appear gen like.
Besides being an obvious flaw, we have two issues here: first, the Swiss movements installed by BP factory are known to be crap, and my specimen can only confirm this. In the macro close ups you can see how dirty and scratched the movement appears. Anyway, I must say it keeps fairly good time (-10/15 seconds per day) and it's still pretty nice to see, especially for untrained eyes like mine
Edit: According to TheOmegaFan, Asian clone movement is also available now, but crown doesn't screw tight with this movement.
Second flaw is the mispelling in the inner case decoration, where you can read "ADJUSTE DTO FIYE"
:facepalm:
Shamefully I forgot to shoot a pic of it. :facepalm: for me too..
The prints on the case are crisp, latest batches don't have the "liquid metal" engraving shown in the first specimens, which was wrong for this model.
The bracelet:
Bracelet is very well made, heavy and solid. Links are fixed with screws as per gen, and not cheaper pins like some others. Clasp has a functional diver extension and closes firmly. Engravings on the clasp are very deep.
SEL fitment is tight.
Conclusions:
At this point we have a new version released by noob maker which seems generally improved. Apart from some qc issues in the first batches regarding crooked markers that now seem resolved, this seems the best choice. Anyway, given its price tag about a hundred dollars less than noob, this watch is still a good competitor, but only if you want the pumpkin, because the faded bezel of the black version is a dead giveaway IMO .
The ETA movement, though crap as it is, may easily be serviced and fixed if needed.
All in all, if you can find a specimen with an acceptable pearl you will get a stunning watch, which is as close to gen as a rep can be IMHO, a true super rep.
Some more shots for eye candy:
Once again, and in this particular review more than usual, feel free to point out any inaccuracies or wrong info on this thread, I will happily update it accordingly.
:cheers:
