Fascination with watches -- Omega

Prior to my Omega, I was never really into watches.  Growing up, I switched from my trusty Casio G-Shock to... another Casio.  In fact, non of my watches really surpassed a couple hundred dollars.  Because my main concerns were reliability and accuracy, my watches at the time were all Quartz driven and digital.

I didn't really start appreciating watches as a work of art and design until I had a cell phone.  Essentially, with the onset of reliable, cheap, and portable cell phones, there was no longer the need for a wristwatch.  Wristwatches became for some more of a status symbol, expression of style, and "male jewelery" than before -- where the wristwatch was much more of a functional item.

The Omega Seamaster was a wristwatch that my parents bought me the winter before I graduated from college as am early graduation present.  Initially, my parents planned on getting me an entry level Rolex, but since I was at the time in love with James Bond (and all the gadgets he has), I could not resist saying yes to an opportunity to own his watch.  My parents ended up purchasing this watch at an authorized store in Cancun while on winter vacation. My parents were okay with my decision since the Omega I chose was thousands less than the watch they planned to gift me.

The deep blue face of the watch has a beautiful wave pattern and dots that represent the hour hand.  The watch is waterproof up to 300m or 1,000 ft.  Pretty impressive.  It even comes with a pressure release valve at the 10 o'clock position (not that I ever used it though).

In retrospect, this was a great marketing campaign for Omega, as I'm sure I am not the only one who bought this specific style of Seamaster because of the product placement.

Not knowing very much about watches, I chose the cheaper model, which happened to be the Omega Seamaster Quartz.  The Quartz model still had the same external design and style as their more expensive cousins, except the Quartz does not contain the more intricate internal automatic movement.  I also picked a small dial at the time -- 36mm.  A decision I later on regretted.  I would recommend getting a larger dial size and the automatic movement.  The battery for the Quartz Seamaster also needs to be replaced every 4-5 years.

On a side note, it is the perfect size for my girlfriend, who proudly wears it where ever we go.