By Roberta Naas, founder www.atimelyperspective.com
Omega is no newcomer to the world of underwater watches. In fact, the brand has been creating dive watches for more than half a century. And as many saw at BaselWorld, Omega this year dives right in by unveiling the Seamaster 300, a reintroduction of a classic dive watch made for today’s water enthusiasts.
The new Seamaster 300 is inspired directly from the brand’s original Seamaster 300 that was unveiled in 1957 for professional use. The unidirectional rotating bezel and diving scale of that watch, along with its black dial and light-colored hands and indexes, made it easily readable below the ocean’s surface.
It is that mandatory easy readability that is so crucial in a dive watch, and that is a key aspect that Omega has retained in the new Seamaster 300. The brand also reinforces its commitment to cutting-edge watchmaking techniques with this 41mm watch that features a high-tech bezel with diving scale. Depending on the model, the bezel is either crafted in black ceramic with a Liquidmetal diving scale or black ceramic enriched with an Omega Ceragold diving scale (for the gold and platinum versions).
Inside
To launch the new Seamaster 300 series of timepieces, Omega unveils two new mechanical movements, the Master Co-Axial caliber 8400 and 8401. The Master Co-Axial calibers feature Omega’s revolutionary anti-magnetic technology, which ensures that the Seamaster 300 resists magnetic fields greater than 15,000 gauss (1.5 tesla). The officially certified chronometer is water resistant to 300 meters.
Emulating the original 1957 model, the new piece features a black dial – now made in black ceramic with transferred hands and markers made of gold and palladium. In fact, the white gold color is enhanced thanks to a patented process. The gold central hour, minute and seconds hands and the markers are coated with “vintage” Super-LumiNova that emits a blue light. The minute hand and the dot on the bezel are coated with Super LumiNova that emits a green light.
Several Seamaster 300 versions are being offered, including models that use grade 5 titanium, stainless steel, platinum and Omega’s own 18-karat Sedna gold either singularly or in two-tone formats for the various 41mm watch versions. The version whose case and bracelet is made entirely in Sedna gold features a sand-blasted black dial and is adorned with faceted Sedna gold hands and white transferred dial indications.
The case back of each watch is engraved with “Si14” and “Anti-Magnetic >15,000 Gauss.” Additionally, depending on the model and the alloy used for its diving scale, the case back is also engraved with either “Liquidmetal” or “Omega Ceragold.” The Master Co-Axial caliber 8400 equips the bi-color, stainless steel and grade 5 titanium models, while the Master Co-Axial caliber 8401 powers the Sedna gold and 950 platinum versions. Omega says it plans to add a new Seamaster 300 GMT timepiece later this year.
The new Seamaster 300 line complements the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M GMT GoodPlanet, originally designed as a tribute to the partnership between Omega and the GoodPlanet Foundation to underscore Omega’s commitment to environmental conservation. The company has pledged and continues to donate a portion of the proceeds from this watch to fund a project to preserve mangroves, sea grasses and coral reefs in the oceans of Southeast Asia.
Roberta Naas is the founder of www.atimelyperspective.com