This past summer, watch nerds everywhere got giddy for a few hours of the Olympics after spotting a no-date steel Omega Seamaster on the wrist of none other than James Bond (AKA Daniel Craig). It wasn’t the first time the brand had used a celebrity’s wrist to tease a likely release (it seems to have just done so again at a recent awards show), but no one knew the exact details of the watch, much less when it would be released. Well, the wait is over, and Omega has just announced two new no-date Seamaster models, totaling four SKUs. Brand new to the line-up includes the no-date Omega Seamaster Diver 300M in a black dial with a steel case (Refs. 210.30.42.20.01.010 and 210.32.42.20.01.003) and a very intriguing option with a steel dial with a titanium bezel and a steel case (Refs. 210.30.42.20.06.002 and 210.32.42.20.06.002), as well as the first time we’ve seen a mesh bracelet on a non-limited Seamaster Diver 300M.
Daniel Craig was a fitting ambassador with whom to tease these watches. After all, aside from two $15,000 two-tone Seamasters, the only modern no-date offerings seem to be Bond editions and a few other LEs. The James Bond watches are also the only time we’ve seen a mesh bracelet on the Seamaster. The new no-date Omega Seamaster Diver 300Ms don’t have the same dimensions as the other standard production models — but not in the way you might expect. While the steel cases still measure 42mm across, they seem to have lost .2mm in length for a lug-to-lug of 49.7mm. But that .2mm has been moved to the thickness, which measures 13.8mm instead of 13.6mm. All in all, these are unlikely to create a meaningfully different wear on the wrist.
The case is the classic Seamaster design that’s been in place for years and years. Bombé lugs, scalloped bezel, organically protruding crown guards with a screw-down crown, and a conical helium escape valve crown at 10 o’clock — it’s all there, including a domed sapphire crystal and 300m of water resistance. Two things are novel for these releases. The first is that both 60-minute unidirectional bezels eschew the modern use of ceramic inserts; the black dial gets an anodized aluminum insert, and the steel dial gets a laser-ablated titanium bezel like we saw on the Beijing Olympics model. The titanium bezel’s lume is limited to the triangle pip, but the white markings on the black aluminum insert are filled with Super-LumiNova.
The second novelty is the strap options: the new models come on the typical rubber (grey for the steel dial, black for the black), but also offer the option of Omega’s exceptional stainless steel mesh bracelet. We’ve now seen this bracelet executed in titanium, steel, and Canopus (white) gold (in addition to the rose gold that Omega teased recently on Craig’s wrist). These are so far the only standard production models that come equipped with the mesh bracelet (though you can buy the steel separately for $800 USD). In my experience, this is one of the best mesh bracelets around, its only downside being the less attractive appearance of the straight ends at the lugs.
What is entirely new for these models is the steel dial. While the black aluminum dial does have a finer wave pattern that throws back to the early Bond days (As opposed to the wider waves on modern models), it’s the brushed steel dials that I’m sure will be getting all the attention. Omega has PVD-coated the steel dials to get the brushing effect. The overall impact is one of a muted but textured appearance that is complemented and enhanced by the typical rhodium-plated applied markers and skeleton sword handset, all of which have Super-LumiNova fill that you probably know by now is among the best out there. On the black, it might be notable that there is no red accenting on any of the dial, creating a much stronger black-and-white look than the other currently available black dials in steel cases.
Rolling the watches over, the caseback features a sapphire crystal for viewing the Omega 8806 movement, which is the no-date execution of the 8800. It’s a lovely execution for a not entirely fancy movement, with keyed-up finishing befitting a display caseback. The movement features Omega’s co-axial escapement, 55 hours of power at 25,200 vph, and a silicon hairspring, which helps in achieving 15,000 gausses of magnetic resistance. Of course, it’s also Master Chronometer certified, providing an average daily accuracy of -0/+5 seconds.
This is a watch I can imagine many have been yearning for. The larger market seems married to watches with dates, but I know plenty of people who can’t stand them and more who are drawn to the elegance and balance of a no-date dial. The lack of a modern, standard production no-date Seamaster was rather glaring considering there’s been a no-date option of the Submariner…forever. In the case of Omega, the brand hasn’t deigned to distinguish the no-date and date models in their official model names, so I imagine we’ll just call these the “No-Date Seamasters.” While seemingly not yet available for purchase online, the models are almost certainly free for viewing at your local Omega boutique. The new no-date Omega Seamaster Diver 300M models are priced at $5,900 USD on rubber (Refs. 210.32.42.20.01.003 and 210.32.42.20.06.002) and $6,500 USD on a mesh bracelet. For more information, please visit the Omega website.
