# My thoughts on the OVM and O1V



## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

I finally took delivery of the OVM and O1V last night after waiting about 3 weeks. My expectations were high from all the reviews I have read and watched over the past weeks. A tad disappointed cause I might have hyped myself up too much. So far over a 12hr period the watches are keeping great time. About +4 sec mostly sitting in the box. Both the watches I received have none of the normal issues mentioned here like bezel alignment, particles on the dial, crown issues, etc... I wish the logos on the crown were facing upright though when fully tightened. Bezel action is very good and looses out slightly to the Darth Tuna which I feel could be one of the best feeling bezels I have ever had on a dive watch. The bracelet on the watches are ok and I would say is about the sam quality as the one found on a Sumo, but the clasp has got to be one of the worst clasp I have ever had in any of my watches. Fit and finish of the watches are ok, but the brush satin finish could have been done a bit better in my opinion. I feel the brushing on the Sumo for instance is finer and edges are more precise than on these watches. I really want to compare these watches to other watches I have owned, but Im limiting my thoughts to watches on the same price range.

Overall I'm happy with the purchases and I would recommend these watches to anyone looking for a good quality watch at this price range. If you are buying these watches and never handled one before keep in mind the price you are paying and you should be good. I prefer the styling on the OVM and might be the one that stays with me longer. Its still too early to say for sure and Ill update this post as the watches get more wrist time in the coming weeks.


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## Riker (Mar 31, 2007)

Congrats raze, wear them well & often....!


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Riker said:


> Congrats raze, wear them well & often....!


Thank you very much, I will!


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## reggie747 (Sep 12, 2013)

Nice choices. I already have an OVM but the O1V is definitely pinging my radar for the 2nd quarter of '14.

Enjoy them both

Cheers


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## bigwatch13 (Aug 13, 2008)

Bottom line, you get what you pay for and some times and em some. Cheers.


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## vokotin (Jun 2, 2011)

Hey Miguel first of all congrats on your double catch!
As you surely know, I have owned two Sumo's and I'm a bracelet guy. I can tell without doubt that bracelet, clasp, endlinks fitting and brushing is way better on my OVM.
To each his opinion though.


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## kelt (May 17, 2013)

raze said:


> I finally took delivery of the OVM and O1V last night after waiting about 3 weeks. My expectations were high from all the reviews I have read and watched over the past weeks./.....
> 
> ...../ Both the watches I received have none of *the normal issues *mentioned here like bezel alignment, particles on the dial, crown issues, etc.../.....


Normal Issues ???

There are very few reports of such "issues" here on the Forum, abnormal would be the correct wording.
Steinhart's average quality is good, and the few reported "issues" appear to have been sorted out to the satisfaction of the buyers.


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## Uwe W. (Jan 7, 2009)

kelt06 said:


> Normal Issues ???
> 
> There are very few reports of such "issues" here on the Forum, abnormal would be the correct wording.
> Steinhart's average quality is good, and the few reported "issues" appear to have been sorted out to the satisfaction of the buyers.


I got stuck on that too. But after considering the wording a little more I assumed that he meant the "normal issues" of those that have been reported here, which is fair enough. Surely no one is going to state that it's normal for a Steinhart watch to have an issue?


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Uwe W. said:


> I got stuck on that too. But after considering the wording a little more I assumed that he meant the "normal issues" of those that have been reported here, which is fair enough. Surely no one is going to state that it's normal for a Steinhart watch to have an issue?


Yup you got what I meant. Some people get so sensitive about Steinhart. Im one of their supporters and have had pleasant exchanges with Gunther and Anna in the past, so Im not here to say anything bad about the brand. This is my 4th Steiny and 6th in the family. I would have stopped at one if the company didnt offer good products and service.

Anyway, Its been 2 days with both watches and I have the O1V on leather nato and Im loving the watch more. I think the clasp was the buzz kill for me. Both watches are running at around +1 sec over a 24hr period and Im really happy about that. More update as they get more wrist time.


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

vokotin said:


> Hey Miguel first of all congrats on your double catch!
> As you surely know, I have owned two Sumo's and I'm a bracelet guy. I can tell without doubt that bracelet, clasp, endlinks fitting and brushing is way better on my OVM.
> To each his opinion though.


Hey thanks a lot bud! Im loving the OVM, but I stick to my opinion on the clasp. Regarding the finishing its really debatable and I would rather not get into that.

How long have you had yours and is it looking like a keeper? Assuming "keeper" is in your vocabulary. hahahaha!

Had the OVM on today. Tomorrow the O1V.


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## AlphaWolf777 (Aug 11, 2012)

I used to have an OVM and a lot of other O1s. I now only have the O1VGMT. I think Steinhart represents one of the best bang for the bucks out there and they make some really good homages to some really rare expensive watches that are hard to get homages to otherwise.


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## vokotin (Jun 2, 2011)

raze said:


> How long have you had yours and is it looking like a keeper? Assuming "keeper" is in your vocabulary. hahahaha!


Nearly three months and can't get enough of it, seriously.  The funny thing is, I have owned an OVR years ago and I was so underwhelmed of it after a couple of months, not a fan of the greenish hour markers, not a fan of the mercedes hour hand.

'Keeper' is strong word bud, all I can say to you is this, the OVM unlike the Sumo checks all the boxes for me at the moment of course, yeah I know it's a Rolex hommage but I don't really care.

Enjoy yours while you can :-d, looks great on your wrist!

Cheers\Francesco


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## jgv1966 (Feb 17, 2014)

raze said:


> Hey thanks a lot bud! Im loving the OVM, but I stick to my opinion on the clasp. Regarding the finishing its really debatable and I would rather not get into that.
> 
> How long have you had yours and is it looking like a keeper? Assuming "keeper" is in your vocabulary. hahahaha!
> 
> Had the OVM on today. Tomorrow the O1V.


Hi, thanks for the review and the nice photos. I'm with you on the clasp, I really don't like it, my 100€s Seiko's are better. The bracelet is great tho.

Could you tell which nato is this ^ ?


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

vokotin said:


> Nearly three months and can't get enough of it, seriously.  The funny thing is, I have owned an OVR years ago and I was so underwhelmed of it after a couple of months, not a fan of the greenish hour markers, not a fan of the mercedes hour hand.
> 
> 'Keeper' is strong word bud, all I can say to you is this, the OVM unlike the Sumo checks all the boxes for me at the moment of course, yeah I know it's a Rolex hommage but I don't really care.
> 
> ...


Thanks again Francesco. I think at this time I feel the same as you with regards to the OVM. When I look at it I see a Steinhart not a homage. Keeper is a very strong word I agree, but my feelings towards these pieces seems to get stronger by the hour.


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

jgv1966 said:


> Hi, thanks for the review and the nice photos. I'm with you on the clasp, I really don't like it, my 100€s Seiko's are better. The bracelet is great tho.
> 
> Could you tell which nato is this ^ ?


Thanks! The bracelet is nice but Ill hold off on using it for the time being till I find a suitable replacement for the clasp. The brand of the nato is Veloci and its sold out of a strap store here in the Philippines called Asprey. Price is roughly $8.00


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Had the O1V on yesterday and will be wearing it again today. Accuracy on both watches are at about +/- 3 sec per day since I got them. Both have been on rotation and I hand wind the watch I didnt use the night before I go to bed. Just doing this now to test accuracy. These watches do grow on you the longer you own them. Now I cant see myself letting go of either one.

On Veloci Italian leather nato. You really cant see it in this picture but the strap is almost the same color as the dial.


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## Diver527 (Dec 10, 2013)

raze said:


> Had the O1V on yesterday and will be wearing it again today. Accuracy on both watches are at about +/- 3 sec per day since I got them. Both have been on rotation and I hand wind the watch I didnt use the night before I go to bed. Just doing this now to test accuracy. These watches do grow on you the longer you own them. Now I cant see myself letting go of either one.
> 
> On Veloci Italian leather nato. You really cant see it in this picture but the strap is almost the same color as the dial.


That looks great! How are you finding the difference in crystals, the dome looks great IMO


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Diver527 said:


> That looks great! How are you finding the difference in crystals, the dome looks great IMO


Thank you! I find the crystal on the OVM to be a lot clearer. The super dome on the O1V causes a little distortion on the dial as you can see on the pic. These 2 watches offer 2 very different experiences and can easily coexist in a collection. Very happy to have both. The OVM has gotten way more wrist time, but when the weekend comes ill be strapping the O1V on.
Accuracy on the OVM has been spot on. About +/- 3 sec per day and the O1V has wound down so Ill be testing the accuracy on the ST.5 on the weekend.


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## Diver527 (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks for the update. I have owned an Ocean 1 in the past but the blatant sub homage resulted in me flipping it.

I do however really fancy getting an O1V, they look great. Sounds strange buts it now really a toss up between the Steinhart or a Tudor black bay. Really confused now as only one can enter my collection but both a very different price points.....


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Diver527 said:


> Thanks for the update. I have owned an Ocean 1 in the past but the blatant sub homage resulted in me flipping it.
> 
> I do however really fancy getting an O1V, they look great. Sounds strange buts it now really a toss up between the Steinhart or a Tudor black bay. Really confused now as only one can enter my collection but both a very different price points.....


Couldn't wait till the weekend and decided to give the O1V on SS another chance.



The bracelet is really fantastic if you can get over the lousy clasp. I dont think my feeling for that will ever change. Unfortunately I am reminded of it every time I open the safety clasp and having my thumb nail nearly come off from the pressure. Upgrading that clasp would have made this package just about perfect for the price. Then again the Certina Action Diver is a bit more expensive and uses the same type of clasp. I feel overall the O1V is better value then the Certina.

My brother has a BB and I have spent a lot of time with that watch. A few days ago we had coffee and I gave the BB another once over to check its quality compared to the Steinys. I feel the BB is finished to a much higher standard than the Steinys. Tolerances are about the same but you feel the quality of the BB in your hands. I would have given the advantage to the BB but it seems the bezel insert on the BB is slightly off center. Accuracy on both watches are about the same. My brother paid $3300 for his BB new and I paid $622 for my O1V new. Do I feel the $2678 difference in quality is worth it? For me its not but for others like my brother it is. It really depends on you and what your willing to spend for a piece. Both are great watches and Id be happy owning either one.


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## kelt (May 17, 2013)

raze said:


> ...../My brother has a BB and I have spent a lot of time with that watch. A few days ago we had coffee and I gave the BB another once over to check its quality compared to the Steinys. I feel the BB is finished to a much higher standard than the Steinys. Tolerances are about the same but you feel the quality of the BB in your hands. I would have given the advantage to the BB but it seems the bezel insert on the BB is slightly off center. Accuracy on both watches are about the same. My brother paid $3300 for his BB new and I paid $622 for my O1V new. Do I feel the $2678 difference in quality is worth it? For me its not but for others like my brother it is. It really depends on you and what your willing to spend for a piece. Both are great watches and Id be happy owning either


I'm happy owning both models, and I draw the same pleasure wearing either one, since it was love at first sight for both.
The price difference doesn't bother me, either you pay for what you want at the market price or you don't get it!


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## jaspert (Jan 9, 2013)

I own Tudor BB, OV1 and OVM. Yes, BB is better build but I enjoy all 3. Among the 2 Steinhart, I prefer the OV1 a bit more.


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## Diver527 (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks for the updated post and pictures, the more I look at the OV1 the more I like it. Is the clasp different to the O1? 

i accept the difference in price is probably not proportionate to my needs but I'm on the way up to more high end pieces. Just flipped my MM300 which I really liked and now at the crossroads. 

Its interesting for me looking at your signature. Looks like you have owned a lot of great (not saying Steinhart are not great as I am a big fan) watches and now appear to have come down the other side of the curve. This is not a negative thing at all as the Steinhart obviously gives you as much pleasure. I think I just need to discover this for myself!


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Diver527 said:


> Thanks for the updated post and pictures, the more I look at the OV1 the more I like it. Is the clasp different to the O1?
> 
> i accept the difference in price is probably not proportionate to my needs but I'm on the way up to more high end pieces. Just flipped my MM300 which I really liked and now at the crossroads.
> 
> Its interesting for me looking at your signature. Looks like you have owned a lot of great (not saying Steinhart are not great as I am a big fan) watches and now appear to have come down the other side of the curve. This is not a negative thing at all as the Steinhart obviously gives you as much pleasure. I think I just need to discover this for myself!


My pleasure bud. Just hoping to help other WIS looking to purchase these watches. The O1V and OVM both use the same clasp and bracelet. If you own both you can use one bracelet for both watches and keep one mint for a future flip.;-) I have had 2 MM300s and still looking to get a 3rd sometime this year or next year. Not so much in a rush anymore since I have gotten that itch scratched already. I realized a few years ago that I get the same pleasure wearing a $100 dollar watch as I do wearing one from a luxury brand. I can enjoy the least expensive one with less stress too. :-! There is really no direction to my collecting now but I almost always buy dive watches. I actually took the advice from a lot of collectors here and buy watches for me and me alone. If a company offers great quality a design I like at a good price then Im all over it.


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## Mustard-Cutter (Nov 14, 2013)

raze said:


> The bracelet on the watches are ok and I would say is about the sam quality as the one found on a Sumo, but the clasp has got to be one of the worst clasp I have ever had in any of my watches.


That's interesting, I find the ocean 1 bracelet and clasp to be much nicer than the one on my blumo and the O1R was cheaper too. The sumo clasp looks the same as the one that comes on the cheap and cheerful monster bracelet.


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## 5661nicholas (Dec 18, 2008)

The longer I own this one, the more I enjoy it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Mustard-Cutter said:


> That's interesting, I find the ocean 1 bracelet and clasp to be much nicer than the one on my blumo and the O1R was cheaper too. The sumo clasp looks the same as the one that comes on the cheap and cheerful monster bracelet.


The bracelet is about the same but the clasp on the Sumo is much better hands down IMO. The gauge of the steel might be the same but there is no way that pressure lock Steinhart uses is better than the push button on the Sumo. Also the safety lock is way harder to unlock on the Steinhart. I actually have to use a credit card sometimes to pry the thing open. Lets not forget the dive extension found in the clasp of the Sumo. I have never used it but its an additional feature not found on the Steinys clasp.



5661nicholas said:


> The longer I own this one, the more I enjoy it!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I agree. Great shot!


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## 5661nicholas (Dec 18, 2008)

I can understand some have issues with the clasp, to me, it is just meh. I am fortunate mine pops open without fear of tearing my nail off like some others I have heard of. I do wish the clasp was removable so a replacement was an option.


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## kelt (May 17, 2013)

raze said:


> The bracelet is about the same but the clasp on the Sumo is much better hands down IMO. The gauge of the steel might be the same but there is no way that pressure lock Steinhart uses is better than the push button on the Sumo. Also the safety lock is way harder to unlock on the Steinhart. I actually have to use a credit card sometimes to pry the thing open. Lets not forget the dive extension found in the clasp of the Sumo. I have never used it but its an additional feature not found on the Steinys clasp.


The strength required to operate this type of clasp and safety lock can be adjusted to tailorfit personnal liking.

The clasp on my OVM dlc is working as intended, easy to open and close while feeling safe.


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

5661nicholas said:


> I can understand some have issues with the clasp, to me, it is just meh. I am fortunate mine pops open without fear of tearing my nail off like some others I have heard of. I do wish the clasp was removable so a replacement was an option.


Im sure there is a way with a little modification to replace the clasp. I might dig into it and try it myself one of these days. So far having to live with it isnt so bad.


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## Ipromise (Jan 14, 2013)

raze said:


> Im sure there is a way with a little modification to replace the clasp. I might dig into it and try it myself one of these days. So far having to live with it isnt so bad.


I had the same problem with my GMT - I always had to use something to open the safety clasp. But it's super easy to fix!

If you look at the clasp, it's held on by two little nubs on either side of the clasp. All you need to do is take some pliers and very gently bend the sides with the nubs out. You just need to move them out the slightest bit, not a visibly noticeable amount. Problem solved! Some tape will protect the clasp from scratches from the pliers.


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## Richqqqq (Jan 15, 2013)

Excellent thread. ...and timely for me personally. I have ovm and, well, it's awesome, I have been coveting the O1V but have held off my perceived similarities between the two. Now I see that they can, they should co-exist. Thank you.


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## ghostryder (Oct 9, 2011)

Congrats on the pickups and thanks for sharing your thoughts on these two great watches.

I also own both and enjoy each for different reasons.









I recently wore the OVM to Germany for a business trip, so it got to "go home" for a visit. However, I realized after I left that I didn't take any pictures of the watch while there to document the experience. :-(


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## Baldrick (Apr 16, 2012)

ghostryder said:


> Congrats on the pickups and thanks for sharing your thoughts on these two great watches.
> 
> I also own both and enjoy each for different reasons.
> 
> ...


What's the strap on the O1V? Gorgeous...


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## raze (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words fellas. Always glad to help. Still enjoying both watches about 2 weeks in. I kept the O1V on SS and the OVM on nato. Both are keeping great time and Im still enjoying both watches. I use the O1V for more dressed up occasion and the OVM when Im in shorts or a basic T and denims. I have just about covered all the details on the watches in the 2 weeks I have owned them but I havent commented about the lume. Being a Seiko guy I know what excellent lume is. From the 007 to the MM300 Seiko doesnt scrimp on the lume and Seiko offers the best lume of any of the watch brands I have owned. With these Steinys I would rate the lume as average but I have seen worst even with dive watches at higher price points. It takes a lot of light to charge them and they dont hold brightens for a very long time. It would be nice if these watches had better lume but its not a deal breaker for me.


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## ghostryder (Oct 9, 2011)

Baldrick said:


> What's the strap on the O1V? Gorgeous...


It's a Panatime bronco brown with white stitching.


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## Baldrick (Apr 16, 2012)

ghostryder said:


> It's a Panatime bronco brown with white stitching.


Thanks! I've got an O1V on order so am looking for decent straps.


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## Mustard-Cutter (Nov 14, 2013)

raze said:


> Being a Seiko guy I know what excellent lume is. From the 007 to the MM300 Seiko doesnt scrimp on the lume and Seiko offers the best lume of any of the watch brands I have owned. With these Steinys I would rate the lume as average but I have seen worst even with dive watches at higher price points. It takes a lot of light to charge them and they dont hold brightens for a very long time. It would be nice if these watches had better lume but its not a deal breaker for me.


You are comparing different coloured lumes from the two brands. If you are going to compare steinharts lume with the seiko green lume you need to use a watch that uses C3 superluminova (ocean vintage red for example); green lume v green lume to make it a fair one (or find a seiko with vintage coloured lume, does it exist?). Vintage coloured lume will never perform as well as green lume. I can attest that steinharts C3 lume on the O1R is close to the lumibrite on the current seiko monster and sumo. Poorer lume perfomance is a comprimise you have to make to have tan/vintage look lume regardless of the watch brand.


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## sasha (Feb 28, 2010)

thanks for posting these beauties.nice nato strap.
congrats


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