Deep: Dive into the past with the new Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial (2023)

Image credit: Christopher Winters for HODINKEE

Vintage-inspired designs are all the rage right now, as we've seen with brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines and Tudor - and Omega has done a particularly good job using its archive of great designs. One of the most anticipated launches of 2014 was undoubtedly the introduction of Omegao Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial, sailing not only on the wave of nostalgia, but also on the unflagging popularity of watches for divers. The watch does a lot of things well, and even the most cynical watch lovers are convinced by the perfect combination of retro style and dimensions with modern Omega technologies. We recently got our hands on the first SM300 to come to the US for long term evaluation, even diving in some pretty extreme conditions to see how it performs.

Before we dive into the details of the new watch, it's worth taking a look at its pedigree - all the way back to 1957 and the first Seamaster 300 that inspired this latest iteration.

About Original Seamaster 300 (CK2913)

The mid-1950s was the heyday of diving, and watch companies responded with made-to-measure watches. Sure, in the 1930s Panerai used pocket watch movements in Rolex cases to equip Italian scuba divers, but it wasn't until 1953 that Blancpain debuted the Fifty Fathoms, arguably the first purpose-built diver's watch. , with screw-down crown and rotation. elapsed time frame. The following year, Rolex Submariner and Zodiac Sea Wolf followed along with other brands. In 1957, Omega introduced a trio of "Master" sports watches: the Speedmaster, Railmaster and Seamaster 300, aimed at racing drivers, scientists and divers. The latter (ref. CK2913) had the oldest pedigree, with the first Seamaster in 1948. But the first Seamasters were barely built for underwater use. These were small watches that hardly lived up to their name.

The Seamaster 300 was Omega's answer to the Submariner and has held that role ever since. The name is a bit of a misnomer because at the time of its debut, the watch was only officially rated for 200 meters (test equipment limitations, Omega said). It was arguably a nicer watch than the Sub, with a wide array of arrows, a narrow coin-shaped bezel, and italics on the dial. The 39mm case and these fancy hands were shared with the Speedy and Railmaster of the same era, and the SM300 was powered by the robust Omega 501 self-winding caliber. These early Omega dive watches are very collectible and rarer than Submariners of the same vintage. but they don't have nearly the same prices. They are hard to find in their original, solid condition - these acrylic inserts were prone to breakage and often replaced. Looking back, the watch was beautiful, but lacked the durability of the Submariner, perhaps a little too "cool" to last well into the 1960s. The first Seamaster 300 ran for seven years before being replaced by a new generation.

In 1964, Omega debuted the all-new Seamaster 300 with reference numbers 165,024 (undated) and 166,024 (dated). The watch bore some resemblance to its predecessor, but did away with the picturesque wide arrow-shaped hands, thin bezel and increased the case diameter to a whopping 42 millimeters for the time. The watch has acquired a more modern meaning. The wider bezel was sturdier and had small hashes on it. The hands were also more solid - so-called vane hands - and the light was huge, with dial markings, 10-minute frame markers, and these huge hands that shone like a flashlight for visibility during night dives. In the housing, the straight handles of the CK2913 model were abandoned in favor of rotated "bomb" handles, which they shared with the developed Speedmaster line, and overgrown crown guards. The second generation of the SM300 was a huge success, being popular not only with recreational divers, but also with the military.

Seamaster 300 ref. 165024 (edited photo: 1stdibs)

British Royal Navy watches have long been favorites of collectors, the most famous of which is the mythical Rolex "MilSub" Submariner, issued to Her Majesty's frogmen decades ago. However, the features that distinguish the MilSub from its civilian counterpart - sword-shaped hands and a fully cut bezel - were not invented by Rolex. They are copied from Omega. While the early Submariners 5512 and 5513 were favored by British boatswains, the new Omega Seamaster 300 was recognized as an excellent diving instrument in the mid-1960s and adopted by Royal Navy divers. These watches are distinguished by the mandatory soldered straps, a military engraving on the case back and a circular "T" on the dial, indicating the use of tritium for luminescence. Some later versions also have an enlarged triangle for the 12-hour dial marker, a feature that also appeared on civilian versions. These military SM300s are rarer than Rolex MilSubs, having only been released a few years ago, but they're not as expensive, making them a great vintage buy.

The SM300 was issued to Royal Navy divers for only a few years before being replaced again by Rolex, the latter of which was forced to copy the former's hands and bezel for readability. The Rolex stood out for its water resistance, thanks to its bulletproof Twinlock screw-down crown. The crown was Omega's Achilles heel. They experimented with a pressure-sealing crown they called "Naiad" (Greek for "water nymph") that sealed more as the water pressure increased. What was a good idea in theory proved less reliable in the real world, and Naiad's crown tended to leak at shallower depths where the pressure was lower. Restored versions of the Omega often had screw-down crowns.

The second generation SM300 lasted until 1970, when it was phased out in favor of more modern watches - modern shapes, experimental bezels and depth ratings - among others the so-called "Big Blue" Seamaster chronograph, the legendary Ploprof and the angular SHOM. The family resemblance to previous Seamasters has completely disappeared and the classic CK2913 and 165024 lines have been lost. This design discrepancy and reference number explosion told the story of a troubled brand as Omega struggled to stay in business in the dark days of the 70s. I'd like to think that if Omega had continued to produce the Seamaster 300 as it did in the 60s, with incremental improvements, would be as popular and desirable a watch as its old rival, the Rolex Submariner.

The Seamaster 300 name disappeared after 1970, and Omega diving watches were simply called Seamaster Professional. Fast forward to the late 1990s, and the reboot of the James Bond franchise returned Seamaster to its former glory. New Bond Pierce Brosnan needed a new watch, and 007 costume designer Lindy Hemming opted for the OMEGA Seamaster, followed by a version with a blue dial and skeleton hands. Hemming chose the Seamaster over other options, largely based on the brand's history in the British Navy to which Bond belonged. According to de Hemming, "In my twenties, I knew contemporary military men and sailors [...] who swore by their Omegas." The watch brought Omega new fame and made the Seamaster hugely popular again.

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Although it was the blue Seamaster Bond used, perhaps the reference number 2254, produced around the same time, was what it should have been. This reference was more similar in appearance to the 1960s SM300, with a black dial, the same paddle hands, and a fully marked bezel. Still, Brosnan's brilliant Bond wore blue in the 1990s, and it wasn't until 2006, when Daniel Craig took over, that 007 wore a Seamaster suit from an ex-Marine. The Seamaster Planet Ocean was immediately compared to the SM300 of yesteryear. It featured a combination of dial, bezel, and hand markers, as well as unique Omega straps that appealed to new Omega buyers and those longing to return to the Seamaster 300's former glory. The watch was a huge success for Omega, but purists still felt it wasn't okay - too big, too flashy. And that's why the release of the Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial was so eagerly awaited this year. It looked like a clock that took 40 years to make. And Omega did it right.

Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial in action (Photo: Christopher Winters for HODINKEE)

I was 40 meters underwater, hovering above the sunken ship's coal bunker, but all I could see was the watch on my wrist. Perhaps it was the nitrogen narcosis that was exacerbated by the 36 degrees (3 degrees Celsius) water, but suddenly I had an epiphany. It was as close as I could get to time travel. Here I looked at a ship that had been on Lake Superior for 70 years and saw it as the first diver to discover that it would: floating above it in zero gravity with a mechanical watch on its wrist, keeping track of precious time at the bottom. It might as well have been 1957.

Instead of recreating the more popular second-generation Seamaster 300, Omega went even further back to the first version. As with the "First OMEGA in Space" Speedmaster, it pays homage to the watch launched in 1957 with straight lugs, no crown guards, thin bezel and broad arrow-shaped hands. But instead of a perfect replica, the Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial introduces some clever changes.

Textured matte dial with cut-out markers. (Photo: Gishani Ratnayake for HODINKEE)

The steel case is now 41mm instead of the original's 39mm. Of course, the aforementioned "Wally Schirra" Speedy stayed true to the 39mm size, but the 41 is almost perfect for a diver's watch. The bezel, of course, is not made of delicate acrylic, but of Omega's LiquidMetal, an amorphous metal alloy with extreme resistance to corrosion and wear, but whose glossy appearance is reminiscent of antique acrylic. The crystal is naturally sapphire, but convex like its ancestor. And the luminescence is provided by Superluminova instead of tritium, but tinted with a perfect faux gold patina, as if the watch had been sitting in a retired diver's drawer for 60 years. The dial is matte black in color with a bit of texture that could be interpreted as artificial aging, but from an angle it looks nice. The dial markings, small triangles like CK2915, are not painted on the dial but placed on a layer below, adding more depth and further highlighting the dial's texture. Best of all, according to the vintage piece it honors, there is no date function.

Instead of the trademark Omega hippocampus engraved on the caseback (which I would like to see), the Seamaster 300 has a large sapphire screen displaying the caliber "Master Coaxial" 8400, which is part of the watch's full name. completely exposed. The transparent case back showcases the beautiful radially decorated automatic movement, but is also a subtle pride as the watch is completely anti-magnetic up to over 15,000 gauss without the use of a soft iron movement cover, thanks to the silicone spiral. In addition to being anti-magnetic, the movement has two barrels with a 60-hour power reserve, a coaxial escapement and free-spring flywheel, and is a certified chronometer. It also has a handy "timezone" feature, meaning the hour hand can move forward or backward in hourly increments without hacking the clock or moving the minute hand. While Omega's first coaxial movements were modified ETA 2892 motors, caliber 8400 represents the pinnacle of Omega's research and development and is one of the best automatic movements today.

Image credit: Christopher Winters for HODINKEE

Aside from the movement and bezel, the bracelet is also definitely more from 2014 than from 1957. The solid three-link bracelet has a fold-down button with a hidden extension. Inside the clasp there is a small lever marked "PUSH" that easily stretches the bracelet an inch. It's a solid, well-designed bracelet, but not comparable to the Rolex Glidelock closure system. I'm not a fan of button closures, mainly due to the nervous insecurity that stemmed from an incident where the Planet Ocean closure opened while diving many years ago. The extension doesn't extend far enough for use with thick wetsuit sleeves and only because I didn't shrink the long strap I was able to fit the watch to the cuff of my dry suit. The middle links of the bracelet are polished to a high gloss, which gives it a classy vintage look, but looks out of place on a tool watch. However, most of my complaints about the straps will be ignored by buyers who do not intend to wear the watch beyond the edge of the pool.

Despite the appearance of patinated tritium, the luma is a bright and modern superluminous (photo by Gishani Ratnayake for HODINKEE)

Omega produces several versions of the Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial - stainless steel, titanium with a blue dial and bezel, one in two-tone titanium and Sedna gold, and one in Sedna solid gold. My favorite is what I tested: classic stainless steel, as God and Cousteau intended for diving watches. While it's a bit heavy on a chunky link bracelet, Omega also plans to sell its own NATO bracelets, which will no doubt be high-quality and expensive. I used my tester on NATO for a while and it sounded great, more of an off duty diver than a table diver.

How did the watch behave in real conditions? Diving in deep water hovering just above freezing, he kept time to chronograph specifications for four days and eight dives. The frame is grippy and the action is excellent, even when turned with your hands wearing 5mm neoprene gloves. Readability was good, although I could understand why Omega switched to hands in 1964 - the narrow minute hand doesn't hold as much ink and can be a bit of an eye chart. The bracelet, again undersized for the test, was long enough, but at the right length for my arm, the clasp would not stretch enough to be worn on a sleeve, although it would be great to adjust to wrists swollen by the summer heat. Overall, this is a well-made watch that, despite its 60-year-old design, is still a great timepiece of lesser quality.

LiquidMetal Bezel (Photo credit: Gishani Ratnayake for HODINKEE)

There are a few things "wrong" with the Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial. Some may not like the traces of artificial patina (I like it), the polished middle links (I don't) or the transparent case back (I prefer a solid case back). But these are all minor points. The clock is as close to home runs as possible (or "6" for cricket fans). It fits in the same boxes as classic Jaeger-LeCoultre and Tudor's Black Bay homages, but takes the anti-magnetic movement a step further. At around $6,600, it's not a cheap watch, but it costs less than its old rival, the Submariner, which offers comparable quality. Whether the watch will appeal to the general public remains to be seen - retro designs are more appreciated by band-savvy watch geeks than by the masses who are unlikely to cling to the planet's ocean just yet. But Omega is a brand that respects its own history and likes to use it. The Seamaster 300 Master Coaxial is the latest proof of this.

According to Omega, the Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial will hit stores in late 2014 or early 2015. We will keep you informed as soon as we know more.

Read more about the new Omega Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial here.

Image credit: Christopher Winters for HODINKEE

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