Long-Term Review: Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer in Steel Case and Bracelet
Should you consider this outstanding yet under-the-radar watch?
I picked up a brand new Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer in steel from the local Omega AD on July 30, 2020. Due to Covid restrictions, I went in and out without even sizing the bracelet. But I was over the moon that day, after waiting for this model for 11 months.
Fast forward to the present day, it has been two full years! It is such a versatile watch that it has claimed most of my wrist time during these 2 years. Yet this outstanding watch is unknown to many folks. It is a perfect time to write a long-term review to share my experience and enjoyment.
2022 is actually the 20th anniversary of the launch of Aqua Terra in 2002. Conceived to be an all-purpose sports watch for land and sea, there have been three major iterations so far. The design language for Aqua Terra is hard to miss. Smooth bezel. Grooved lines on the dial. Broad arrow minute hand. Luminous and tapered hour markers. Date window. Water resistance to 150 meters. The Aqua Terra Worldtimer inherits these family traits no doubt, yet it is much more.
In 2017, Omega unveiled the Aqua Terra Worldtimer with a 43mm platinum case. It was a limited edition of mere 87 pieces. Two years later, regular production steel and gold models joined the collection. The steel Worldtimer models include both the steel bracelet version and the rubber strap version. The prices are $9100 and $8900, respectively. Going against an industry trend of annual price hikes, Omega has kept the prices for these models the same since 2019. Kudos to Omega. What a blessing for potential new buyers!
Geography on the dial
A Worldtimer displays the time for 24 cities around the globe, corresponding to 24 timezones. The common design is to include a worldmap in the center of the dial. Omega upped the game by featuring a 3-D map of the world. This has been laser-ablated to create the blue ocean, leaving a relief of the continents. The contrasting colours of the Earth’s surface are obtained naturally by the laser’s chemical reaction.
The 43mm case size ensures the legibility of the time display on a dense dial. A tricky problem for Worldtimer designers is the Daylight saving time. Omega's solution is to paint the cites in two colors, silvery and blue. A silvery name indicates that the Daylight saving time is observed and needs to add one hour during the summer. The centre of the dial contains a 24-hour glass ring, with light blue to indicate daytime and dark blue to indicate night. The city names are fixed while the 24-hour glass ring makes one full circle a day. By matching the 24-hour ring with the cities, one may read the time for each city.
It is a bit cliché to say the dial is “mesmerizing”, but I could not find a better word. Once I was looking at an online real world-map to double-check Omega’s version on the dial. The 3-D globe is showing the northern hemisphere as if looking down from the top of the North Pole. The Greenland, Canada and Russia are prominently located on the disc. The US, Western Europe, and APAC are positioned at the peripheral of the disc. The continents, countries and cities on the ring do line up, as we may see below.
What I like about the Omega Worldtimer?
First, it is extremely well constructed with a screw-in crown and anti-magnetic feature. After two years, my watch still functions like a new piece. Inside, the Omega Worldtimer is driven by the Master Chronometer Calibre 8938. The watch maintains consistent, high timing precision. A recent measurement on the Weishi Timegrapher showed an error of +2.3 seconds per day. The automatic movement comes with a power reserve of 60 hours enabled by two barrels of mainspring.
This watch is a "True GMT", meaning the local time can be adjusted without pausing the watch. When you arrive at destination in a different timezone, you may pull out the crown and adjust the hour hand instantly. This Worldtimer is perfect for taking on a journey, either for a vacation and a business trip.
Of course, when not traveling, this watch is quite useful too. If you have colleagues, business partners or customers based in different time zones, this watch will come in handy. You may track events taking place in different parts of the world, such as Watches and Wonders in Geneva.
I found the Omega Worldtimer a nice conversation watch. Many people are not familiar with a world time mechanical watch. A beautiful piece like this always catches people's attention. For watch enthusiasts, this watch is an intriguing piece to check out. I still remember the time when I visited the F.P. Journe boutique in L.A. a while back. An employee there tried on my Worldtimer, while I tried on a Journe Centigraphe.
On Instagram, I have met quite a few enthusiastic owners of the Omega Worldtimer. We liked and commented on each other's wrist shots and travel pictures. I follow #omegaworldtimer to see new pictures of this watch. One owner told me that he really enjoyed the rubber strap edition. That gave me the urge to get a rubber strap too. I'm still waiting for a reply from the Omega AD.
What could be improved?
The first coming to mind is a drawback shared by many travel watches including the Rolex GMT Master II. There is no quick-set date. This means that we may have to turn the hour hand many, many rounds to get to the correct date.
One solution is adding a pusher button to adjust the hour hand or GMT hand. This way, the crown may be used to adjust the date. The Cartier Pasha with GMT and Power Reserve is one such example. However, this may not be suitable for watches with high water resistance requirement. Another solution is one adopted by Rolex Sky-Dweller. Here, a ring command provides extra settings to adjust the date directly.
Another missing feature is any kind of quick adjustment for the bracelet. It is not a problem for me, but it will be a welcome feature for many wearers for sure. I gather that it is not to do when a butterfly clasp is used.
Lastly, it would be really nice if both the bracelet and rubber strap may be included in one watch package. The VC Overseas collection has set a standard for others to follow by including 3 pieces of bracelet and straps.
Summary of pros and cons
Pros:
Top build quality with 150WR and anti-magnetic feature
Highly accurate time keeping (COSC & METAS)
Beautiful 3-D world map and legible time reading for all cities
A versatile watch, traveling or not
A conversation piece
Choice of bracelet model or rubber strap model
Prices stay the same since 2019 launch
No waitlist needed
Cons:
No quick-set date
No micro adjustment in bracelet
Bracelet and rubber strap belong to separate models
Who should consider this Worldtimer?
After owning the Omega Worldtimer for two years, I may wholeheartedly recommend this watch. Then who should consider this watch?
If you are looking for a GMT travel watch. It might be a good idea to move up to the world time complication. You may check multiple timezones at once and it is so much more fun. The Omega Worldtimer should be less of a target for watch crimes in tourist cities too.
If you are looking at Speedmaster or Seamaster Diver 300M. Yes, these are iconic models but they are simply too popular. You will be much less likely running into someone with the same watch, if you are rocking the Omega Worldtimer.
If you are dreaming about a Rolex professional models at retails. Well, no waitlist and no price hikes for the Omega Worldtimer.
If you are looking for a sports watch in steel or titanium from independent brands. Offerings from Laurent Ferrier, Czapek, PF, and Romain Gauthier are stunning but cost twice or much more compared to the Omega Worldtimer. if your goal is a path less travelled, Omega Worldtimer may be a smart choice.
Traveling with my Worldtimer
I love travels, which is why I love the worldtimer complication so much. We could not travel due to Covid the first year I owned this watch. In the summer of 2021, we went to Portland (from California) for a family holiday. In the December 2021, we drove down to Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego for the Christmas holiday. In the summer this year, we went to Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto. The Omega Worldtimer was an excellent companion during all these trips.
Here are some pictures from these wonderful trips with my Worldtimer. Enjoy your free time and travel if you have one coming up! Enjoy your watch hobby!
I love this watch. I tried one on at Omega in Biel and was very tempted...it’s still on my wish list!
Thanks! Yes, the green is quite nice but agreed; blue is best!
I also have a JLC Geophysic True Second Worldtimer 😉