- 5/10/20
- 45
- 63
- 18
Hi! I'll be reviewing this ORF Omega Seamaster that I have owned for a few weeks now. Having owned a VSF Omega Seamaster (Blue) as well. I can tell you my thoughts on both of these and hopefully help you make your decision on which is a better bang for your buck! Let's start my break down:
Watch Face and Dial
The Blue on the ORF is definitely a darker shade compared to my VSF. There is definitely a difference in color (especially in the Blue model) so I assume they are using different manufacturers.
Whether which is better for you is dependent on your preference.
I can say that the VSF Blue color is a lot more vivid and rich. The ORF has more of a darker teal shade. Personally, I prefer the royal blue of the VSF compared to the ORF.
Regarding the Lume plots, ORF is a superior white in every lighting condition which is a big improvement to the VSF which can appears slightly greenish/yellowish depending on lighting conditions.
I did notice some differences between the bezel numbers being thicker on the ORF compared to the VSF.
Under Sunlight:
My camera isn't picking up that well but under sunlight, my ORF has a darkish teal shade to it compared to my VSF which is just a vivid royal blue.
I personally say that the ORF shines well under indoor lighting:
The ceramic blue becomes more vivid and closer to royal blue shade. The whole ceramic blue becomes much nicer shade. Regarding the watch wave engravings, they are identical in both the VSF and ORF.
Watch Crystal
There is a slightly Bluish AR coating on my ORF. My VSF had a Clear/invisible AR Coating which closer to Gen in my eyes. Not the biggest deal breaker but something I noticed.
Bracelet
It's really great. The quality is way better than VSF. Way more comfortable. My VSF was a little sharp and uncomfortable after wearing a couple hours. ORF bracelet is also better polished, you can see that in the polished parts which has a more 3D effect while VSF is more flatter with sharper corners:
Watch Bezel
The ORF has a more solid feeling and tighter bezel with a LOT LESS Back play than my VSF. I hate back play with my bezels and my VSF had an extremely unsatisfying bezel action and became very loose only after a few weeks of use. This seems to be a common problem with VSF
Luckily, my ORF didn't have this and the bezel was extremely nice sounding (better than my VSF at least) and the bezel click felt more secure. At first, the bezel was a little tighter than I would like but after a few weeks. It loosened up and became more usable with a nicer bezel detent.
Watch Case Shape and Crown Guards
I'm no expert on crown guards and case shape but you can clearly see ORF wins. The crown guards on the VSF are too short while ORF gets much closer.
I would like to add, operating the crown on the ORF (both helium escape valve and normal crown) feel SO MUCH BETTER than VSF. It just feels great to operate albeit the hand winding is a bit noisy.
Rotor noise is pretty similar in both ORF and VSF.
Steel Quality and Finishing
I'm not sure why but I feel like this ORF uses better quality steel than my VSF. I've been using this for about 3 weeks and the steel is really holding up well. Minimal scratches and polished surfaces still look lovely!
Note: ORF has a thinner Omega Logo on the clasp compared to VSF
Movement Finishing on the "Co-Axial 8800"
As we can see, ORF is clearly closer to GEN than VSF. VSF finishing is way too shiny and looks like an oiled up body builder compared to the other. While the VSF is better to look at imho, it's definitely different from Gen. This is your call whether that's a good or bad thing.
The one thing I can say is that ORF had improved the balanced bridge and make it look way closer to GEN than VSF:
Sapphire Crystal Test
Real Sapphire on the Front and Back. Great news for everyone that loves sapphire!
Watch Movement Quality and Accuracy
Here's something to note, when buying these decorated 8800 coaxial movement, it's very important to know that regulating these are pretty hard. Since the levers are hidden, you need to lift the decoration up to regulate it so a bit of hassle.
Luckily, my dealer picked me up a good one with great timegrapher reading and good time keeping. My VSF was running at +7 seconds a day while my ORF is at +1.5 seconds a day
Rubber Strap
This was Free with my purchase, not sure why some TD's charge for it but I can tell you the quality is pretty good on the ORF. The blue shade is definitely a shade lighter than I would like but a nice plus side is that IT FITS EASILY. No bending or curved spring bars needed with my ORF strap, simple plug and play with this strap.
Attention to Smaller Details of this ORF:
Better Date wheel and Centering
Lume Plots seem to be flatter than my VSF and more accurate to Gen
My Nitpicks:
Bad Engraving on the back
My dealer showed me this in the QC but I GL anyways since I liked the watch overall and getting one of these was a pain due to shortage. The engravings on this are lacking unlike VSF which had great engravings.
Stiff Links
Some of the links were pretty shit and the screws themselves were pretty bad. Stripped some of them trying to remove it. You can fix the stiff links with some light sand paper to free it up but it should fix itself with use. I decided to leave it be.
FINAL THOUGHTS and CONCLUSION
Personally both watches (VSF and ORF) have their own strengths and weaknesses. There is no such thing as a perfect replica.
If you are more on the color of the watch and don't bother with the quality, VSF has superior colors compared to ORF.
If you enjoy the quality and finishing of a watch and the premium feel of a watch, ORF is just superior in my experience in almost every aspect to VSF and way more comfortable.
I can gladly say this ORF worth it for me! It's a great watch while colors may not be the best on the blue, the quality and feel will surely make up for it!
The Overall quality of my ORF makes my VSF Seamaster feel like a shitter.
I bought this for around $300 from my Chinese Dealer (Watch-VS) which isn't a TD here. Any TD here can get you this watch, just make sure they can since it appears they have a shortage of these. I don't necessarily recommend you get the strap since it's not the best color and if it's costing you like $88 to get the strap additionally, I don't recommend it.
I hope you enjoyed reading my review and learned something new.
