Omega Seamaster 300M Chronograph – 52Mondayz, week #9-2020
Who’s not a fan of the Omega Seamaster 300M?
I guess there are some of you out there. Especially hardcore Speedmaster fans. I get it; the Seamaster 300M collection is not as homogenous as the Speedmaster’s. But I guess this is part of its charm. It includes watches that still look great 25 years after they first appeared on James Bond’s wrist in Goldeneye (1995). Of course, over time, they changed quite a lot, yet the significant features remained the same. So, I thought it was time to take the new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph for a spin. In this case, the spin is, as you know, a week on the wrist. Is it going to wear heavy after a few days, or will I be delighted with it? We shall see. Though I have a feeling after the week is over, I might not want to take it off my wrist.
Seamaster 300M Chronograph
We have covered various models of the Seamaster 300M before. I wrote an article about James Bond watches as well. This timepiece has a prime spot on that list too. In 2018 Omega refreshed the Seamaster 300M line, and, last year, they released the chronograph versions. This is the exact watch I’m about to take on a week’s ride. When we talk about the 300M, we often forget the fact that there is a chronograph version of this iconic watch. Granted, it never made it to the wrist of Her Majesty’s Secret Agent, but this does not take away from its shine. Iconic New Zealand yachtsman, America’s Cup Winner, and Omega ambassador Sir Peter Blake wore it before his untimely death. The Seamaster 300M Chronograph has been on the market for almost 30 years, and this latest edition is just as charming as the first was back in 1993.
2018-2019
In 2018 during the last Baselworld worth attending (as Swatch Group was still exhibiting), we saw the latest versions of the Seamaster 300M line. We covered them back then, of course. A year later, at the first Time to Move event, Omega rolled out the next batch, and those were the refreshed Seamaster 300M Chronograph models. This list included my watch as well as eight other models. Steel, two-tone, or Sedna gold cases with matching bracelets or rubber straps. The dial colors are black, silver, blue, and in the case of the Sedna version, black, and gold. It is virtually impossible not to find a favorite execution from the lineup; the variety is just so vast. I’m a simple guy, so I went with the steel case, black dial version on a black rubber strap. It’s a great and versatile combo, I think.
Wrist presence
What do you think the first reaction is of anyone who sees the Seamaster 300M Chronograph on the wrist? Oh, that’s a considerable watch! With its 44mm case, 17.2mm thickness, and 52.2mm lug-to-lug length that observation is hardly misplaced. It indeed is a large piece. Still, on the rubber strap, the weight is not disturbing at all. Yes, you feel that there is a beautiful piece of metal strapped to your wrist, but it’s not too top-heavy or distressingly cumbersome. Besides, a watch that has a water resistance of 300m has to have a sturdy case. Furthermore, although it does not have to do much with the size, the Seamaster 300M Chronograph is anti-magnetic and has a display case back. Not too shabby for a diver.
The Look
You can find the usual diving watch features on it. The Helium Valve at 10 o’clock, a ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel, and broad indexes with Super-Luminova coating. One thing I love about the Seamaster 300M Chronograph is the fact that Omega kept the same style sword hands as you’d find on the 1993 models. Overall the watch does not look that different. Sure, it has grown a little bit, the materials used in it are more contemporary, and the movement is more advanced (more about that below). Still, the overall look has not changed much. The bezel, the dial design, the pusher, or the hands mentioned above are all characteristics of the old model. Where you see the evolution is the chronograph sub-dials. The very early version had a 6-9-12 layout thanks to the ETA 7750 movement that Omega used in those models. Later versions featured the 3-6-9 layout — AKA smiling dial.
For this new version, Omega simplified the look. They moved the 12-hour and the 60-minute sub-dials into one at the 3 o’clock position. While the running seconds sub-dial remained at the 9 o’clock position. There are two small sub-dial hands over each other, one displaying the minutes while the shorter hand underneath is meant to give you the elapsed hours.
Co-Axial
The heart and soul of my watch-for-a-week is also something extraordinary. The Seamaster 300M Chronograph has Omega’s caliber 9900 beating within. As you’d expect from a Seamaster 300M chronograph model, we are talking about an automatic movement. The 9900, however, is as advanced as it gets with a silicon balance spring, column-wheel mechanism, Co-Axial escapement, a 60-hour power reserve, and 54 (!) Jewels. The watch is a METAS-certified Master Chronometer and resistant to magnetic fields up to 15,000 Gauss. It is not only a fantastic movement but a beauty too. The 9900 has rhodium plating with Geneva wave decoration in arabesque. Just like every new Omega timepiece, this one also comes with a 5-year warranty. Well, I think this is a pretty nice package our friends in Biel put together. This will be fun. But as I said, I might not want to take it off. If you want to check out Omega’s site, please visit this link.
