Worn on the wrist of James Bond for nearly three decades, the OMEGA Seamaster is one of the most iconic modern watches in existence — offering a precise, elegant and famously resilient watch that’s stood the test of time.
This year, as OMEGA celebrates the collection’s 75th anniversary, the Swiss watchmaker has released 11 new watches across 7 model specifications, ranging from dressed-up to dive-ready. Common to all is OMEGA’s Summer Blue, used in greater or lesser degrees to reflect the water resistance of each Seamaster and relate its depth-defying credentials at a glance: Aqua Terra represents the sun-drenched surface, Ultra Deep the dark abyss.
OMEGA’s Summer Blue evokes a pristine ocean on a perfect day. A natural choice of colour for a watch linked to exploration – produced by a brand committed to ocean conservation. The beautiful hue forms the base layer of almost all the dials in the commemorative collection. Layers of varnish, carefully applied or free flowing depending on the required effect, provide the sense of depth.
The Seamaster’s Legacy
The story of the Seamaster begins 16 years before it was born, with the launch of the OMEGA “Marine” in 1932 – the world’s first divers’ watch available to civilian divers. This ingenious timepiece successfully tested at 73 metres below the surface of Lake Geneva, also proved water-resistant at a depth of 135 meters, when pressure-tested inside the Laboratory of Watchmaking Research in Neuchatel. This impressive start set the course for OMEGA’s rapid advancements in underwater design.
During the years of WWII, OMEGA delivered more than 110,000 watches for the pilots, navigators, and soldiers of Great Britain’s Ministry of Defence to support its Air Force and Navy pilots during service. That unprecedented experience allowed OMEGA to progress quickly in the fields of water resistance, anti-magnetism, and robustness, and create a series of watches that could withstand the harshest conditions. Famously, the MoD gave each watch a W.W.W engraving on the caseback, which stood for “Waterproof Wrist Watch”.
Launched in 1948 to coincide with OMEGA’s 100th anniversary, the collection blended battle-proven technology with an elegant exterior to produce a watch for “town, sea and country.”
It soon became clear which word of the three would define its future. In the heady rock ‘n’ roll years, a decade of optimism and exploration, the Seamaster came into its own as the watch of choice for undersea adventurers. The starting point for this new trajectory was the Seamaster 300, released in 1957.
Wave after wave of extraordinary models followed. Each offering exciting new designs, innovative technologies, and even greater levels of water resistance. Along the way, the watch with the distinctive seahorse logo would play a key role in ocean exploration and conservation, as the timepiece of choice for the curious and the deeply concerned. Here’s a closer look at the collection’s latest additions:
Aqua Terra
OMEGA’s Aqua Terra collection now includes three new models with symmetrical cases and crowns in stainless steel. The 38 mm edition, powered by OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800, has sailboat indexes and a polished and brushed bracelet formed of beautifully rounded links. The model sized 41 mm offers wearers a choice of a matching bracelet or blue rubber strap. Its driving force is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8900. All watches have a new dial in sun-brushed Summer Blue, varnished with a gradient finish to reflect the water resistance of the Aqua Terra: an impressive 150 metres. To complement this colour, OMEGA has filled the rhodium-plated hands and indexes with a unique light blue Super-LumiNova.
Aqua Terra Worldtimer
The 43 mm Aqua Terra Worldtimer in stainless steel, available on a matching bracelet or blue rubber strap, presents a colourful view of Earth. Around the dial is a circle of silvery printed global destinations. Bridging the outer and inner displays, hesalite glass reveals a 24-hour reading with light blue to indicate daytime and dark blue to indicate night. Laser-ablating texture and then colour on a grade 5 titanium plate produced the vision of Earth, which depicts a blue ocean and relief of the continents. In line with Aqua Terra technology, the Worldtimer is equipped to mark time in a watery world, 150 metres beneath the waves. Its driving force is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8938.
Seamaster 300
This 41 mm Seamaster 300 has a symmetrical case and crown in polished and brushed stainless steel, with matching bracelet. As the name makes clear, this watch takes 300 metres in its stride and its varnished dial, in Summer Blue, reflects this deeper level of water resistance. In keeping with the colour code, OMEGA has filled the rhodium-plated hands, recessed hour markers, and open numerals with a unique light blue Super-LumiNova.
Diver 300M
This 42 mm Seamaster Diver 300M in stainless steel, available on a matching bracelet or blue rubber strap, is a worthy addition to OMEGA’s classic dive watch collection. In keeping with its commemorative cousins, it has a Summer Blue wave-pattern ceramic dial, varnished with a gradient finish to reflect its water resistance. A blue ceramic bezel with new Summer Blue enamel (Grand feu) diving scale encircles the dial, which has rhodium-plated skeleton hands and raised indexes, filled with a unique light blue Super-LumiNova. The Diver’s driving force is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800.
Planet Ocean 600M
Those looking for serious dive tech seek out OMEGA’s Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M. As its name make clear, it is well and truly at home in the ocean, performing brilliantly 600 metres beneath the surface. Powered by OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8800, this 39.5 mm model has a case and bracelet in stainless steel. A blue ceramic bezel with light blue diving scale encircles the Summer Blue ceramic dial, which is PVD treated and varnished with a gradient finish, and completed with blued hands and indexes filled with a unique light blue Super-LumiNova.
Professional 600/Ploprof
This 2023 Ploprof, crafted in O-MEGASTEEL with a sun-brushed Summer Blue dial, takes its design cues from OMEGA’s original model, which arrived on the market in 1971. The bezel ring is a sapphire crystal, to mirror the chemically reinforced monolithic crystal used in those early versions. This transparent crystal, varnished blue on the back, reveals the light blue diving scale beneath. The iconic monobloc case includes the famous screwed-in crown and the characteristic security pusher at 2 o’clock, which on this edition sports a ring in blue ceramic. A perforated blue rubber strap completes the 70’s look. Its hard-working calibre is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8912.
Ultra Deep
This 45.5 mm model has a case and bracelet in robust O-MEGASTEEL and an extraordinary dial that pays homage to the mysteries of the deep. Its pattern is an exact representation of the Challenger Deep mapped by the Five Deeps team using almost one million sonar points. Its lacquered finish, produced by letting an ocean of lacquer flow across the dial, has a beautiful sense of depth. The dial even has a playful side. Shining a UV light reveals the words, OMEGA WAS HERE, pointing toward the world record dive of 10,935 m and showing the Western, Central and Eastern Pools. Not revealed is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8912, the same calibre powering the legendary Ploprof.
Every watch detailed above has a striking commemorative caseback. The Seamaster logo, depicting a trident-bearing Poseidon and two seahorses: OMEGA’s 1956 original and the brand’s current design.
Images: OMEGA SA
