Sunday Morning Showdown: Summer Blue — Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Vs. Seamaster 300

This week has been quite the festival for the Omega Seamaster thanks to the 75th-anniversary celebration. So when discussing the topic for today’s Sunday Morning Showdown, we looked to continue the festivities. Judging by the comments under our articles and on social media, the critical question is: which of the “Summer Blue” anniversary Seamasters is the best? Today, we’ve selected two watches from the new collection that, much to our surprise, we’ve never put in the Sunday Morning Showdown arena together — the Omega Seamaster 300 and the Seamaster Diver 300M. Each writer will make his case, but in the end, you get to decide which one takes the victory.

Omega marks the Seamaster’s 75th anniversary with eight models (and three rubber-strapped variants) in varying degrees of blue gradients. Jorg dished out the details on today’s showdown combatants already — read his introduction to the “Summer Blue” Seamaster 300 and Diver 300M here. The article provides a summary of the models’ history and the design updates. But in this fight, we directly compare the merits and demerits of each Seamaster to proclaim a winner. It may get fierce and personal, but only you decide which of the two takes the win. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Last week, on Sunday Morning Showdown…

But not before we take a look at last week’s showdown. It was a battle between two interesting chronographs. In one corner, we had the Zenith Chronomaster Sport with an evolution of the brand’s iconic El Primero movement from 1969. And in the other corner was the brand-new Grand Seiko Tentagraph, featuring the Japanese brand’s first fully mechanical chronograph movement. It was a fascinating face-off between Swiss heritage and Japanese modernity. The Fratelli appreciated the Chronomaster Sport’s more classic styling and its legendary powerhouse.

The Tentagraph also received praise for its finishing and attention to detail but less for its dimensions. In the end, Zenith won with 56% of the votes. But new tech has a habit of starting large, refining, and shrinking over time, so we may revisit the Grand Seiko mechanical chronograph shoot-out in the future. But now, let’s get off the racetrack and back into the depths where the Seamaster dwells.

Daan: Omega Seamaster Diver 300M

First, let me state that I have a lot of respect for the heritage-inspired Omega Seamaster 300. The contemporary 300 takes many design cues from the original Seamaster 300 ref. CK2913 from 1957. This is the tentpole year in which the Railmaster CK2914 and Speedmaster CK2915 also debuted. For some reason, though, the latest Seamaster 300 doesn’t appeal to me. I enjoy my classics and the blend of vintage inspiration in modern watches, but the Seamaster 300 is not as funky or daring as some of the ’50s/’60s dive-watch revivals from other brands. And that’s precisely why I’d go for the neo-vintage-looking Seamaster Diver 300M.

The 300M was introduced in the early ’90s and rose to prominence after its appearance on Pierce Brosnan’s wrist in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. Not many watches from the ’90s have stood the test of time, but the Seamaster Diver 300M’s design is still relevant today. And I know the James Bond connection is often mentioned alongside the 300M, but it cannot be overstated just how big a part the 007 movies played in promoting the watch and Omega in the aftermath of the Quartz Crisis. While the GoldenEye watch was indeed quartz (ref. 2541.80.00), Q thankfully issued mechanical watches to Bond in the subsequent missions. Outside the movies, the Diver 300M’s quirky features stand out from the competition and create a unique silhouette.

A distinctively modern-looking diver

Creating a new aquatic watch concept 40 years after the first dive watches hit the shelves is no mean feat. From the initial Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and Rolex Submariner in 1953 to the skin-diving watches of the ’60s, many dive watches were icons before Omega put pen to paper to sketch the Diver 300M. Yet the Seamaster Diver 300M carves a niche and, with the 2018 updates, now stands proudly among the previously mentioned icons as a contemporary classic.

Some design aspects that make Diver 300M popular include the lyre lugs that gel nicely with the scalloped bezel. The curvaceous details flow into the polished ceramic bezel insert with a bold enamel (Grand Feu) diving scale. Its bezel numerals may look oversized, but this plays into the distinctive nature of the timepiece. The wave-patterned dial is another design staple of the range, which has broadened over the years to become deep grooves laser cut into the ceramic ZrO2 dial. With the new ombré Summer Blue PVD treatment, the 75th-anniversary Diver 300M has a gradient finish to reflect its namesake 300m depth rating.

Among all the design traits, my favorite has to be the divisive skeletonized sword hands. With strips of light blue Super-LumiNova on the tips and edges, they remind me of flying kites on the beach. While many long for the return of solid sword hands, the skeleton hands are another quirk that separates this watch from the rest of the Seamaster collection. And going from my favorite feature to my least, there is the Seamaster Diver 300M’s nine-row bracelet. The stainless steel bracelet is solid, and I like how the excessive ’90s design has stayed the course. But the lack of any tapering makes it an absolute brick to wear on smaller wrists.

An earlier Seamaster Diver 300M for me, please!

The bracelet includes technical features such as a comfort-adjustment mechanism and a dive-suit extension, but I can’t get it to work on my wrist. So that’s one point that I’ll give to Ben’s choice with its nicely tapering and simplified three-row Seamaster 300 bracelet. Furthermore, the current Seamaster Diver 300M’s 42mm stainless steel case is quite beefy overall, so I’d opt for a smaller ’90s reference.

For example, RJ’s reference 2531.80 is very comfortable on my wrist, and I thoroughly enjoyed wearing it during an event last year. The early Seamaster Diver 300Ms are also a bit thinner, and I prefer the finer, more subtle embossed wave pattern on the dials from that era. But if I’m choosing between the new Summer Blue Diver 300M and Seamaster 300, I am still picking the more prominent, bolder, and less expensive (yet more capable) Diver 300M. Even with the anniversary price bump for the Summer Blue at €6,700, it’s still cheaper than Ben’s €7,900 Seamaster 300. Despite the smaller 41mm diameter of the Seamaster 300, the 300M is even 0.3mm thinner at 13.6mm thick. It’s a minor difference, yes, but considering the smaller diameter, the proportions of the Seamaster 300 feel top-heavy and not as comfortable on my 17cm wrist. Over to you, Ben!

Ben: Omega Seamaster 300

Thanks, Daan, and I am glad you support at least some of the Seamaster 300’s differences to make my part easy. While the Diver 300M has been synonymous with Bond since the ’90s, at least the 300 featured in one Bond outing, Spectre (2015). It’s not the best movie, admittedly, but I can boast that the Diver 300M is not the only star in this fight. The bracelet feels far more refined and classier on the 300. I also appreciate the exuberance of the Diver 300M’s bracelet, but many wearers opt to swap it for something more restrained or get the rubber strap instead. By contrast, the 300’s steel bracelet is comfortable and classic, nodding to the ’57 original. Although you don’t have the dive-suit extension (for wet or dry suits) on the Seamaster 300, the “push” extension adapts to wrist fluctuation.

Where this gets personal are comments about it being bland compared to the Diver 300M. I say this as I own the 2021 black-dial reference 234.30.41.21.01.001. While it’s not as colorful as the Summer Blue version I’m bringing into the Sunday Morning Showdown ring, neither version is boring. The 300 is more subtle, I’ll grant you that, but the intricate details and Omega DNA are all present and correct. For starters, you may not like the brushed steel slab sides of the case, but Omega worked tirelessly to squat the bezel ring down and raise the glass. This 3D layering approach gives the profile a nice snug feel for my 18cm wrists, which I can appreciate does not work for all wrist sizes. The lug polishing on top also blends into the bevels, which is another level of refinement over the Diver 300M.

A subtle refinement

Now that I’ve addressed some of your criticisms, Daan, it’s time to get fierce. Now, you won’t see any HEV hate here. I’m sure the Fratelli will fill that gap in the comments, but I don’t support removing the helium escape valve from the Diver 300M. If anything, I find the Cyclops on the Rolex Submariner Date far more unsightly than the HEV crown, regardless of its usefulness. My demerits of the Diver 300M relate to its shiny, slippery bezel. Seriously, even with dry fingers and guitar-sting calluses, I cannot easily turn that bezel. The scallops are not grippy enough to get traction, let alone under the waves with dive gloves. For most landlubbers, it’s probably not a factor how rotatable the bezel is. But as a core function on a dive watch, I am surprised Omega has not addressed this on any of the subsequent models since 1993.

Omega also uses the shiniest ceramic possible on the Diver 300M’s bezel. Sure, it’s flashy by the pool but rather annoying when using the scale. The intention of the 60-minute scale is for decompression stops, but I find myself using it for parking meters, cooking, and all sorts of other things, which is why I need a readable scale. My Seamaster 300, at least, uses a matte ceramic bezel, with the bonus of Super-LumiNova on the scale numerals. Grand Feu enamel will have an everlasting luster on the Diver 300M, but it might as well be blank in the deep, dark sea. The Seamaster 300’s sandwich dial construction creates an excellent depth without the unnecessary texture of the Diver 300M’s wavy pattern. This simplified layout with minimal text only denoting the Omega branding and model name allows the gradated light blue/dark blue dial to shine through.

Letting the blue come through

With its seven lines of text, date window, and wavy pattern, the Diver 300M breaks up the lovely dial color, preventing it from displaying the Summer Blue’s full potential. The 300’s symmetrical round case and conical crown silhouette may not be as recognizable as the Diver 300M, but its simple nature showcases all those glorious azzurri colors. Caliber 8912 is also a step up from the Diver 300M’s 8800, with 60 hours of power reserve versus 55 and a jump-hour function for crossing timezones. The 8912 mechanism is the same one that powers the deeper-diving Ploprof and Planet Ocean Ultra Deep, which come in at double the price.

Despite the 300 reviving a design stretching back to 1957, the Diver 300M is probably the more popular watch. I don’t have Omega’s sales numbers for each model in front of me, but I’d wager the brand sells far more Diver 300Ms than 300s. But in this new Summer Blue 75th-anniversary guise, the Seamaster 300 is the one I’d go for out of the two. If I didn’t already own the Seamaster 300 in black, I would be putting my name down straight away for this blue version. In comparison, my problems with the Diver 300M prohibit me from lusting after it.

Final bout

But these, dear Fratelli, are only our thoughts. Now you have the details and pictures, so vote for your favorite Seamaster below and voice your reasons in the comments section!