Earlier this week my watch group chat was pinging, starting in the early hours, with screenshots of (and excitement about) the 11 (!) new Omegas marking the 75th anniversary of the brand’s Seamaster.
To celebrate the iconic dive watch, The Swiss watchmaker took to Mykonos with ambassador George Clooney. But stealing the limelight of the launch—Clooney aside—was the irregularly shaped Seamaster Professional 600, (better known as the Ploprof, from plongeur professionnel, “professional diver” à la Française). Withstanding crushing pressures from the ocean, Omega’s monobloc case, which first appeared on wrists in 1971 with chemically reinforced monolithic crystal, was reimagined with a sapphire crystal bezel ring. The flashy case, crafted in Omega’s very own O-MEGASTEEL features the famous screwed-in crown and security pusher at 2 o’clock.
Since its release in 2002, the Aqua Terra has boasted clean lines and uncomplicated simplicity in its appearance (aside from its Master Chronometer 8800, of course). Stealing hues from the deep blue on the dial, the anniversary editions are in plentiful supply in three versions. With a 38mm version and a 41mm boasting a gradient finish, the jewel in the Aqua Terra line-up is the 41mm model complimented by a flexible summer blue rubber strap, in keeping with the Seamaster’s nautical intentions.
Something Omega ought to be lauded for is their ability to pay attention to the minutiae. Taking cues from the ocean, Omega leans on sailboat indexes and teak-pattern dials to mirror yacht decks. And should you be sailing through serene waters across the globe, Omega offers a Worldtimer in 43mm with its own ocean on the dial in stainless steel. Allowing you to dive to your heart's content and still tell the time—up to 150 meters, that is—the Worldtimer uses hesalite glass over a 24-hour reading with light blue to indicate daytime across the globe, and (you guessed it) dark blue to indicate night.
With Neptune in retrograde, Omega continues the aquatic line-up with a Seamaster 300 —the model that really got the group chat talking—in a bold 41mm, with a symmetrical case and crown and a deeper level of water resistance. Adorned with rhodium-plated hands to handle the darkness that comes with deeper plunges into the unknown, this Co-Axial Master Chronometer has been calling us to shorelines since 1957, and will continue to do so with its refashioned sea-blue dial for the next generation of divers.
But the model that really grabbed my attention is the Diver 300M for its integration of function and aesthetics. While I’m certainly no diver (I draw the line at a diving board) this stealthy 42mm Seamaster in stainless steel prompts me to take the plunge for its wave-pattern ceramic dial, varnished with a gradient. Think of it like an ombré effect—darker on the outside, lighter towards the center—complete with a blue ceramic bezel and rhodium-plated skeleton hands, with the reliability for Omega’s Master Chronometer 8800 movement.
As the age-old adage goes, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Translation: there are plenty of Omega models in this assembly to choose from. Should you take your watersports seriously and truly feel at one with the ocean, the Planet Ocean 600M is everything the name suggests. With a PVD treated and varnished with a gradient finish, blued hands and indexes beckon you to jump right on in.
Paying homage to Omega’s affinity for all things nautical, Omega concludes this gigantic drop with the Omega Speedmaster Ultra Deep. A tribute to the world-record deepest dive, Omega crafted a 6000-meter water-resistant collection. At 45.5mm in robust O-MEGASTEEL, it pays homage to the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed. World records aside, the real highlight of this watch is the etching on the dial, which will only be revealed in UV light: A declaration that ‘Omega was here!’ referencing the world-record dive. If this means I carry a UV flashlight with me when I wear this thing, then so be it.
Usually, solid casebacks give me the ick, blocking off the insane artistry of the movement behind a watch, but for the remodeled Seamasters, I will forgive. Each model in this Seamaster collection features a commemorative caseback, where Omega nods to its seafaring history—designer Jean-Pierre Borle sculpted the iconography of Neptune’s Seahorse with a trident-bearing god in stainless steel. It’s a fitting capstone to a collection that Poseidon himself would have approved of.
