OMEGA’s diving DNA
OMEGA created the first true divers’ watch, the OMEGA Marine, in 1932 and has been a world leader in timepieces for underwater adventure ever since. This article looks back at a classic divers’ watch from 1957 and one of the brand’s contemporary products which it inspired.
The 1957 OMEGA Automatic Seamaster 300
The OMEGA Automatic Seamaster 300 released in 1957 was, in the words of an advertisement for the watch, “specially designed for professional and amateur divers.” Its water resistance was guaranteed to a depth of 200 metres. The watch was known as the 300 because its performance was far beyond the capacities of the testing devices of the time, a result of the high resistance of the crystal and the crown.
It was equipped with OMEGA’s calibre 28 SC-501 and had a matt black oxidised dial. It had Arabic numerals at the quarters, luminous triangular hour markers and highly visible arrowhead hands treated with radium. The tip of its central seconds hand was also coated with radium for easy legibility in all light conditions.
The OMEGA 300’s rotating bezel made it possible for divers to keep track of the exact time of the duration of their dives. The caseback featured the now-iconic Seahorse medallion – it has graced the backs of Seamasters and Speedmasters ever since.
The OMEGA 300 was the perfect accessory for professional divers. No one was in a better position to describe the OMEGA Automatic Seamaster 300 at work then Alain Julien, a French commercial diver who wore his “300” on a daily basis in 1958 and 1959. Julien wrote “The Seamasters are of extraordinary solidarity and precision. No other watch competing with Omega has ever resisted the hardships linked to such underwater work as seabed prospecting, pipe laying, repair of works such as piers and dams, and recovery work on wrecks. The Seamaster 300s presented no defects. Despite the shocks of often extreme brutality, the cold water, and the great depths at which we work, they remained of an astonishing robustness and precision. By way of indication, each of us has dived more than 1,500 times.”
The OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean
The elegant yet robust design of the OMEGA Automatic Seamaster 300 is recalled by the Seamaster Planet Ocean collection and in 2011, that popular family of dive watches was completely updated and upgraded. Like the iconic Seamaster 300, the Planet Ocean combines robust reliability and professional dive features with timeless style.
Perfectly suited to the needs of contemporary divers, each new Planet Ocean is fitted with a helium escape valve and is water resistant to an impressive 60 bar (600 metres / 2000 feet). The entire family is equipped with OMEGA's exclusive proprietary Co-Axial movement and a Si 14 silicon balance spring. Their stability is such that each is delivered with a four-year warranty.
The new collection is available in a wide range of case metals and configurations. The Seamaster Planet Ocean 45.50 mm Chronograph is equipped with the new Co-Axial calibre 9300/9301, OMEGA's first in-house Co-Axial chronograph. It has a bold 45.50 mm stainless steel case with a choice of bezels offered either in orange matt aluminium or matt black ceramic.
Another star in the Planet Ocean Collection has a 45.50 mm grade 5 titanium case and a blue ceramic bezel whose scaling and numbers are made of an alloy called Liquidmetal. The hardness of the materials means that they will maintain their appearance indefinitely.
The Seamaster Planet Ocean 42 mm is powered by the latest generation OMEGA Co-Axial calibre 8500/8501, equipped with a silicon balance spring. One model has been crafted from 18 Ct red gold and its bezel is set with 42 diamonds with a combined weight of more than two carats. Another is made from stainless steel and features a lacquered white dial with a polished white ceramic bezel.
