Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional

Earlier this year, Victor Vescovo successfully piloted his submarine Limiting Factor to the bottom of the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,928 metres, setting a new world record. Omega's Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional also took part in the feat - and with perfect depth performance. The world's first manned expedition to the deepest point of each of the five oceans was the brainchild of Victor Vescovo, an exploration enthusiast and submarine pilot. On the surface, the DSSV Pressure Drop ship is equipped with a very high fidelity depth sonar. The deep action takes place aboard the DSV Limiting Factor, a submarine built by Triton, commercially certified by the international maritime authority DNV-GL for prolonged and repeated dives to extraordinary depths. Three 'landers' collect valuable scientific data on the ocean floor. Producing a professional diving watch is a normal activity for Omega, but to create a watch suitable for the Five Deeps Expedition it was necessary to start from scratch and take risks. By pushing the limits of dive watchmaking, Omega was able to produce a revolutionary technology that is not only perfectly suited to the purpose, but can be adapted in the future for the production of dive watches. A watch does not have to be huge to withstand significant pressure. Omega has proved this by managing to limit the thickness of the watch to less than 28 mm without sacrificing its exceptional resistance. To ensure that the loads on the watch case remained within permissible limits, the Oomega Ultra Deep was subjected to numerous analysis simulations using the finite element method. Like fitting the portholes on a submarine, fitting the sapphire crystal on the case of a watch for the deepest ocean depths is a delicate step. To distribute the stresses, Omega used Liquidmetal® to ensure a solid but flexible mounting of the sapphire crystal on the case. This innovative, patent-pending hot joint avoided the use of polymer seals and reduced the thickness of the sapphire crystal. The lugs of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional, which are fully integrated into the titanium case, are left open to reduce the risk of exceeding the limits of materials used at great ocean depths, as both watch and strap can be subjected to high tensile loads. Due to their particular appearance, they are called 'manta' lugs. The expedition logo is located in the centre of the case back, within concentric circles reminiscent of Multi Beam sonar technology. Information including model, reference number, materials, DNV-GL certification and the words 'tested 15,000 m - 49,212 ft' are laser-engraved. Three Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep watches performed the dive. Two attached to the robotic arms of the submarine and the other to one of the landers. Omega's choice of strap material is a result of its experience in space. The combination of a polyamide strap and Velcro fastener is derived from the straps used for the Apollo missions. All watches were pressure-tested at the Triton Sub facility in Barcelona in the presence of a DNV-GL expert. The maximum pressure was chosen according to the tolerances required in the Mariana Trench, but in order to be even safer and meet the standards for diving watches, Omega insisted on adding a safety margin of 25%, so the watches would function perfectly at the considerable pressure of 1,500 bar/15,000 metres. After passing the Triton tests and proving their worth in the deepest place on the planet, the OMEGA Seamaster Ultra Deep watches were subjected to the most stringent tests in the watch industry. After the dive, all the watches had to pass the eight rigorous 10-day tests set by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). Even after their journey to the extreme depths, they all achieved Master Chronometer certification.

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