OMEGA: Snapshot on the Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition

The Secret Agent’s timekeeper just got a credible functional update and bit more… secret & pure

OMEGA supplied the probably most un-secret secret agent, James Bond 007, with mission-approved watches for 25 years now – always OMEGA Seamasters. The newest one for the 25^th ‘No Time to Die’ episode, stands out amongst them with its military-grade specifications, making it, in my opinion, the first really credible of them so far:

(The OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition)

The OMEGA Seamaster James Bond editions were exemplary implementations of mainstream co-branding marketing ideas: Take a popular watch model, modify it a bit and co-brand it with an equally popular movie figure. The spy called ‘James Bond’ was a particularly efficient partner as he has the military credentials (the tough double-0 image), class (being an unfailingly elegant gentleman) and speaks to the dreams of many men (‘them girls…).

OMEGA has fully exploited the envelope of the James Bond partnership: initially, the spy was given production Seamasters, while the first special edition James Bond watch was a Seamaster 300M Chronometer for the ‘Die Another Day’ movie in 2002. From there on we saw more or less obviously branded watches, with at times gaudy ‘007’ design elements, from dial engravings, ‘007’ seconds hand counterweights to imaginary Bond family coat of arms.

(Spiritual ancestor, the Seamaster 300 Spectre of 2015)

So far so easy, but if it comes to appreciate the watches things get tricky – there are those who deeply love the ‘James Bond factor’ (see in the footnote to the article), and those who take a watch for what it is.

For the latter, the 2020 new OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition might finally be the one:

The watch comes fully without any of the typical James Bond 007 insignia (that’s the second one after the Spectre Seamaster of 2015), at least on the dial, but with a vintage ‘inspired’ (as there is, to my knowledge, not a direct historical role model for this watch) design and very technical, if not downright military, specifications:

• 42mm solid case of Titanium Grade 2 (for the gunmetal colour), screwed crown and NAIAD LOCK-System for the case back
• Ultra-light aluminium dial with ‘tropical’ colour
• METAS certified OMEGA Co‑Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8806 with according antimagnetic properties
• Milanaise mesh bracelet in titanium or NATO strap

(The Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition on the Milanaise bracelet. Image © Drew Coblitz)

If you look closely, there is so much structural depth in the aluminium dial and combined with the generously dimensioned Super-LumiNova indices and the starkly brushed hands. Also, the thick printing of the inscriptions…

(Dial detail of the Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition)

 

Luminosity is very bright indeed:

(Image © Drew Coblitz)

For the romantics among us the dished sapphire crystal evokes remembrance to the watchglasses of pocket watches – simply domed on the outside, with a transition from the bold bezel that only a watch lover could imagine:

(Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition, bezel and crystal)

The case back is solid, and carries the only visible references to the famous spy and the tales around him:

• „0552“ – code for Navy staff
• “923 7697” – code for diver’s watch
• „A“ – code for screwed-down crown
• „007“ – agent code for James Bond
• „62“ – year of first James Bond 007 movie

(Case back engravings)

(NAIAD and OMEGA Seamaster logos, perfectly aligned (of course!))

In the end: the Seamaster Diver 300M, 007 Edition, feels warm and soft on the wrist, a slightly surprising emotional twist to a ‘military’ timepiece: titanium conducts heat quite well, and the watch is really light, especially on the supple textile strap.

It is, at the same time the most ‘professionally adequate’ and one of the most un-007 thematic watch OMEGA offered so far. Its ‘military grade’ without begin certified such, which makes it immensely attractive even to those who do not appreciate the James Bond connection. As this is barely visible, the OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M is probably the truest to purpose watch double-0 agents have ever worn…

Ornatus Mundi

P.S.: For those who want to dive deeper (pun intended) into the ‘Bond-Factor’ of each OMEGA special 007 edition, QP Magazine got you nerds covered – look here!

P.S.S: Special thanks to watch collector, Drew Coblitz, for sharing images of his watch on the Milanaise bracelet.