The Odyssey Of The OMEGA Seamaster

In the vast tapestry of human history, few elements have captivated our collective imagination quite like the ocean. From the intrepid voyages of early seafarers, the spreading of civilizations across the globe, to the myths and legends woven around its mysterious depths, the ocean has always held a magnetic allure for humanity. Even today, with advanced technologies and modern scientific discoveries, vast expanses of the ocean remain uncharted, hiding secrets and wonders beyond our grasp. It is in this fascinating world of unexplored beauty and boundless possibilities that the OMEGA Seamaster emerges as a timepiece that embodies the spirit of adventure and the timeless connection between humanity and the sea.

Part I: The Origins – Against The Elements

Like any good legend, the origins of the OMEGA Seamaster are shrouded in a bit of mystery and allure. The early 20th century saw watchmakers locked in a fierce battle against a formidable adversary – dust. The delicate mechanical movements of timepieces faced potential ruin at the hands of these minuscule saboteurs.
Cue the entrance of the Waltham “Field and Marine” in 1918, a watch designed to be impervious to dust with the added benefit of being the world’s first waterproof watch and an early ancestor of the OMEGA Seamaster.

Part II: The Golden Age of Exploration

The roaring 1930s, a time of daring adventurers and courageous souls seeking to conquer the great unknown. As explorers ventured into the depths of the oceans, the need for reliable underwater timekeeping emerged like a rising tide. Enter the OMEGA “Marine,” a watch that would soon earn its title as the first official divers’ watch, a beacon guiding mariners to new depths.
The OMEGA “Marine” was not just an ordinary timepiece; it featured a robust stainless steel case and a domed hesalite crystal, providing exceptional durability and clarity underwater. Its precise in-house movement and luminous hands ensured reliable timekeeping even in the darkest depths.

The “Marine” took watchmaking to uncharted territories, reaching 73 metres beneath the surface of Lake Geneva, and triumphantly surviving a daring lab-based submersion to a staggering 135 metres.

OMEGA’s debut dive watch proved to be a massive commercial success, capturing the hearts of two esteemed underwater pioneers – Yves Le Prieur, the mastermind behind the world’s first open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus, and Charles William Beebe, the visionary American explorer who birthed the ‘bathysphere,’ a remarkable spherical diving vessel designed to transport intrepid souls to the ocean’s depths. The “Marine” watch played a crucial role during Beebe’s historic 14-metre dive in the remarkable 1930s, proving its mettle as a trusted companion in the depths of the underwater world.

Part III: The War Efforts

As World War II loomed on the horizon, the demand for reliable timepieces surged. OMEGA, rising to the occasion, unleashed its technological prowess, birthing the “Naiad” in 1937. With its central seconds hand and screw-in caseback, this watch became the standard bearer for military timepieces.

The “Naiad” watch earned its name from ancient Greek mythology, where Naiads were water nymphs associated with rivers, springs, and fountains, symbolising the timepiece’s affinity for water resistance.

With military orders pouring in, OMEGA responded to the British Ministry of Defence’s call and delivered a staggering 110,000 watches throughout the war. The standout model, the CK2444, boasted an easy-to-read display, a screw-in caseback, and antimagnetic properties, shielding the watch’s delicate balance wheel and escapement from potential disturbances caused by magnetic fields. This ensured its accuracy and reliability amidst the challenging conditions of wartime.

Part IV: The Birth of an Icon

The horizon of the late 1940s and ’50s beckoned with post-war optimism and newfound freedom. It was a time of elegance, sophistication, and the London Olympics, where OMEGA took centre stage as the Official Timekeeper. Yet, amid the glitz and glamour, the world yearned for a timepiece that could withstand the rigours of everyday life and the depths of adventure.

Responding to the demand, OMEGA proudly introduced the inaugural Seamaster, also known as reference CK2518, in 1948. The birth of the Seamaster, with its reference CK2518, heralded a new era of water resistance, thanks to a revolutionary addition – a rubber gasket reminiscent of those found in submarines. Playfully dubbed the “O-Ring,” this unassuming OMEGA innovation set the stage for remarkable advancements in dive watch technology, mirroring the world’s burgeoning fascination with undersea exploration.
Incidentally, The Seamaster’s debut coincided with the 100th anniversary of Louis Brandt founding OMEGA.

 

Part V: The Trilogy

The year 1957 marked an exceptional milestone for OMEGA as it introduced three groundbreaking watches, christened “The Trilogy” – the Speedmaster, Railmaster, and Seamaster 300.
The Seamaster 300 featured a bidirectional rotating bezel with precise markings, allowing divers to keep track of elapsed time underwater. Its Naiad waterproof crown prevented water ingress, while the screw-in rotating ring held the crystal securely in place, ensuring uncompromising performance during deep dives. Its dial adorned with luminous indexes and numerals became a defining characteristic of modern diving watches.

Part VI: The 1970s – Under Pressure

Ah, the psychedelic ’70s, a decade of all sorts of experimentation and pushing boundaries. For OMEGA, the era heralded the birth of the Marine Division, a testament to their commitment to undersea exploration. In response to COMEX’s offshore oil demands, OMEGA produced the first decompression-safe watch – the Seamaster 1000. The watch, featured a helium escape valve, a crucial component for professional saturation divers working in pressurised environments. Its rugged single block case, along with a protruding crown protector, ensured optimal protection during intense underwater missions.

With the iconic Ploprof, a single block case, protruding crown protector, and a prominent rotating bezel, OMEGA showcased its engineering prowess with a touch of retro-futurism. But that’s not all; free diver Jacques Mayol immortalised the Seamaster 120 “Big Blue” in 1981, taking it on a record-breaking 101-metre dive.

 

 

Jacques Cousteau, the famed French oceanographer, and pioneer of marine conservation, was also often seen sporting a Ploprof during his underwater expeditions, solidifying the watch’s reputation as a trusted tool among marine explorers.

Part VII: Seamaster for the New Century

As the new century dawned, OMEGA took style and innovation to new heights. The Seamaster Diver 300M, introduced in 1993, exuded elegance with its diving scale, helium escape valve, skeleton hands, and raised indexes. This dashing adventurer brought a fresh twist to the game, earning accolades from the fashion-forward and the deep-sea divers alike.

The Seamaster Diver 300M’s popularity soared further when it became James Bond’s preferred timepiece, making its debut on the wrist of Pierce Brosnan’s 007 in the film “GoldenEye” (1995).
Not to be outdone, the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M, launched in 2005, paid homage to its ancestor, the Seamaster 300 and housed the revolutionary Co-Axial escapement, a technical marvel that reduced friction and improved accuracy, making it a sought-after timepiece among watch aficionados.

In 2019 OMEGA’s extraordinary “Ultra Deep” watches emerged from the dark depths as adventurer Victor Vescovo helmed his submersible, the Limiting Factor, to reach the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. A testament to engineering prowess, the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional proved its mettle by not only keeping pace but also etching a new world record at a staggering depth of 10,928 metres.

 

 

Crafted to withstand the unforgiving pressures of the Mariana Trench, the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional boasted a case constructed from grade 5 titanium. But OMEGA’s innovation didn’t end there. Employing the cutting-edge technique of laser ablation technology, they achieved a unique single-block case design, bestowing this timepiece with unparalleled resistance against the forces.

Part VIII: Back To The Future

To celebrate 75 years of Seamaster and all of this swashbuckling adventure, OMEGA has produced a new collection with a strong connection to an ionic legacy. The seven iconic models – eleven watches in all – track a trajectory from stylish to serious dive tech. 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.

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.

 

 

Aqua Terra Worldtimer

 

OMEGA utilises laser technology to pay homage to a world of adventure by 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 as the dial. 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. The 43 mm Aqua Terra Worldtimer in stainless steel is available on a matching bracelet or blue rubber strap. Its beating heart is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8938.

 

Seamaster 300

 

The original Seamaster 300 offered wearers an easy-to-read display and exceptional water resistance, indicated by the “Naiad” star set within the logo on the crown. The new version continues that legacy with OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre 8912, certified at the industry’s highest level by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS).
This 41 mm Seamaster 300 has a symmetrical case and crown in polished and brushed stainless steel, with a 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 – Oceanic Icon

 

 

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 makes 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.

 

Ploprof

 

 

This 2023 Ploprof, crafted in O-MEGASTEEL with a sun-brushed Summer Blue dial, takes its design cues from OMEGA’s original model. 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 ’70s look. Its hard-working calibre is OMEGA’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8912.

Regardless of what particular flavour of Seamaster suits your style or lifestyle for that matter, each is a wonderful part of a celebration of our relationship with the ocean and the spirit of human exploration. Here’s to the next 75 years. In the words of the great Jacques Cousteau, “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”