{"id":562,"date":"2014-04-22T16:58:34","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T21:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bernardwatch.com\/blog\/?p=562"},"modified":"2014-12-16T14:34:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-16T20:34:46","slug":"which-watch-is-better-a-submariner-or-a-seamaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bernardwatch.com\/blog\/which-watch-is-better-a-submariner-or-a-seamaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Watch Is Better? A Submariner or a Seamaster? Late 90s to Early 2000s Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am frequently asked “Which watch is better, an Omega Seamaster or a Rolex Submariner?” and the answer is difficult and complex unless the inquirer is very clear about which models of the two watches they are comparing and what they want to get out of the watch.<\/p>\n

The first step to finding the answer is to realize is that all Submariners are not the same and all Seamasters are not the same. There are different grades of both watches depending on the model and when they were produced.<\/p>\n

With the Submariner, we’ll compare three versions. 1)The current “SubC” 116610, 2)the post-2000 16610s and 3) the pre-2000 16610s.<\/p>\n

(168000s (ca. 1987) and prior will be considered vintage and not included in comparisons. If you’ve read one of my earlier posts<\/a> about differences within the 16610 model you’ll know that there are also variations in the post-2000 16610s, but those differences would not be worth mentioning here.)<\/p>\n

With the Seamaster, we’ll compare the Seamaster Professional 1) pre-coaxial from the late 90s, early 2000s, 2) the current Seamaster Diver (Professional), 3) the early Seamaster Planet Ocean and 4) the current Planet Ocean.<\/p>\n

(Although the Aqua Terra is a Seamaster, it is too dissimilar in appearance and typically not up for consideration against a Submariner. We\u2019ll also consider irrelevant to the conversation any Seamaster made before the mid-90s such as the Pre-Bond Seamasters, Ploprofs, Seamaster 120, etc.)<\/p>\n

The next step to finding the answer is to consider which attributes to compare and which to ignore.<\/p>\n

While it might generally be fair to compare the usability at depth or the usefulness (or lack thereof) of a helium escape valve, I will not be using these factors. Most of these watches will not be used at any serious depth. If use as a deep diving watch is your prime consideration, then let me point you to a Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA, a Breitling Avenger Seawolf, or a Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk… any of which can survive underwater longer and deeper than your average whale (go on, look it up, if you don’t believe me.)<\/p>\n

The question that I think is really being asked is which watch is the better overall value and to determine the answer I’ll look at the following.<\/p>\n