I am happy to announce that the rotating diver’s bezel on the Omega Seamaster 300 not only uses a ceramic insert, but one that is Liquidmetal. Omega finally seems to be able to bump up production of their Liquidmetal ceramic dials that creates a much more permanent marker or numeral that is engraved into the bezel and filled with metal. This also includes Ceragold bezels which is basically Liquidmetal but with gold for the higher-end versions of the watch.
The case is of course water resistant to 300 meters and is surprisingly svelte for an Omega diver (which can be quite thick, especially when thinking about Planet Ocean models). The dial details are interesting. The symmetrical dial that is based on the original watch from the 1950s is layered meaning that the luminant sits on a lower level. Even though the lume looks the same around the bezel, there are at least two different colors to help with darkness visibility. The dial has a textured matte finish that is meant to look like the vintage models.
For 2014, each of the six new Omega Seamaster 300 watches will be matched to a bracelet. A great new feature is the micro-adjust in the deployant. Omega has finally succeeded in developing a system that is think but also allows the user to make small adjustments to the size of the bracelet. This feature was missing and thankfully for 2014 Omega has produced one it can be proud of. There is a small pusher inside of the deployant which allows the bracelet to travel a bit in each direction. This feature begins with the Omega Seamaster 300 but will be available on other Omega models this year and in the future.
Omega is offering a handsome variety of Omega Seamaster 300 versions for 2014, from attractively priced models to very high-end limited edition pieces. The collection feels varied and satisfies a lot of purposes. In one watch Omega is offering a new version of a classic, a new size and design for a sport watch that can serve as a dress piece, and a vehicle to debut new technologies and features. There is really a lot in this watch, and even if many of the features aren’t strictly new, it is great to see so many of them together in the same watch.
Seamaster 300 in Sedna gold on the wrist of Omega CEO Stephen Urquhart
In addition to a few metal choices, the Omega Seamaster 300 for 2014 will have either a black of blue dial–though blue is reserved exclusively for the titanium or platinum models. The black dial is available on the steel or 18k Sedna (a non-fading rose gold) version. In addition to the four metal choices Omega is offering a pair of two-tone models that mix either steel and Sedna gold, or titanium and Senda gold. Titanium is of course lighter than steel, but the high polish Omega is able to give the titanium makes it look very much like steel.
My favorite version was probably the all 18k Sedna gold version with the black dial. Not only do I love the look of black and gold, but it has an air of tasteful wealth to it and I like the mixture of finishes on the classic case. It is blingy without really looking blingy. It also happened to be the model that Omega’s CEO Stephen Urquhart chose for himself–so I decided to snap a few pictures of him wearing it during our meeting.
Omega has two sides to it because it is not only a major mainstream luxury watch brand but also a producer of timepieces intent on satisfying educated watch lovers. That is a hard thing to do, and only a handful of brands in the world are able to do it. The latter side really comes through in the Omega Seamaster 300, so much that I can imagine Omega sales people will have their hands full trying to explain everything about this watch to the lay person. I actually know for a fact many of them will point customers in the direction of this article… happy to help if possible.
The good news is that while there are very expensive versions of the Omega Seamaster 300, the entry price point in steel is attractively set at $6,600 USD – which isn’t bad for what you are getting. That price however jumps up significantly to $9,000 in titanium – which means you get a blue dial and a lighter case that is just as nicely polished. For the two-tone models there is the steel and Sedna gold model priced at $12,600 and $15,000 for the titanium and Sedna gold model. At the top is the solid Senda gold model priced at $34,200 and the limited edition of 357 pieces solid platinum model (which is wonderfully massive at about 400 grams in weight–heavier than the platinum Rolex Daytona) priced at $62,400. omegawatches.com
