Ornatus-Mundi introduces the OMEGA Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Rio 2016, a special edition celebrating the Olympic Games. This article explores the watch's design, its place within the storied Seamaster lineage, and community reactions to its distinctive aesthetic. Ornatus-Mundi's detailed historical overview provides crucial context for appreciating this modern commemorative piece.
As one of the main sponsoring partners for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, OMEGA has presented one additional commemorative watch to celebrate this global sportive competition, the new
OMEGA Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Rio 2016:
Actually, the OMEGA Seamaster Professional Diver 300M is the most recent addition to a landmark lineage of famous toolwatches:
- First presented (almost) 60 years ago (in 1957), the (then) Seamaster 300 was an instant success amongst amateur and professional divers and special forces such as the UK Royal Navy
- 11 years later, the French COMEX underwater exploration firm partnered with OMEGA to achieve a diving record of 365m, again with a Seamaster 300
- 1970 saw the birth of the Seamaster 600 'PlopProf', featuring a characteristic monobloc steel case and a specially hardened glass; it became the tool of choice of Jacques Cousteau
- In 1981, Jacques
Mayol, a French free diver famously known as the 'dolphin man', was first human to reach the depth of 101m, with an OMEGA
Seamaster 120M (then a new reference) as timing tool
- The Seamaster Professional 300M launched in 1993, introducing the current design concept. It was also the first diving chronograph water-tight up to 300m depth. It has been a proven classic ever since
- OMEGA increasingly focussed on environmental partnerships and concequently, in 2005, developed the Seamaster Planet
Ocean 600M, entirely equipped with co-axial escapements
- Another such effort is the GoodPlanet cooperation established in 2011, which yielded in the 2012 award-wining namesake environmental awareness film Planet Ocean. Special models were created as well.
All of them are presented in the following collage (starting from top left to bottom right, only the Planet Ocean is positioned at bottom):
The Seamaster predates the co-axial era at OMEGA by decades. It came in Valjoux 7750-based chronograph form as well as in quartz-driven watches. The numerous
James Bond 007 special editions are legendary.
The
current design language with the 12-edged bezel and the characterstic bracelet was
introduced in 1993. In these fast-paced times, the continuation of such a model is a real rarity. For there to be so few significant changes on the exterior certainly attests to the successful initial design. There were more changes on the inside, but I'll discuss that further, later in this article.
The watch looks surprisingly contemporary and fresh still today. The only real hint of its age might be the bracelet, which speaks the more playful construction language of a decade that passed already. Nevertheless, it is both robust and comfortable, which are attributes that count most on a tool watch.
The polished
black ceramic bezel ring includes a diving scale filled
with white Super-LumiNova and numerals filled with red, blue, yellow and
green lacquer, all representing
the colours of the Olympic rings.
On the black dial, you'll find a dark wave pattern that is inspired by the sidewalks of
Copacabana beach. Many happy memories for me...
The pattern is flat and not sculptured, which clearly emphasises the applied OMEGA logo as well as the thick printing on the dial. Note as well the angled hands.
While we watch enthusiasts rejoice about a display back, we should not forget that the Seamaster 300M is developed as a tool watch. Thus OMEGA's decision to go with a straightforward solid back. Usually the Seamaster carries a nicely engraved styllised seahorse as namesake icon, instead in this limited model the designers opted for the
Rio Olympics logo.
The logo is highly polished, and its shine is further made stronger through the fine mesh-like surface treatment. The back bezel is engraved with the edition number.
NOTE: despite the '2016' engraving on the casebook, the actual correct limitation is higher,
3016 pieces to be precise!
Behind the case back OMEGA placed a
Cal. OMEGA 2500, Omega's
co-axial version of the ETA 2892-A2. It is
chronometer-certified and comes with a
free-sprung balance. Nothing special (in today's movement stable at OMEGA), but a reliable and technically still interesting movement which carries all recent technical innovations (save for the superlative antimagnetic properties of its METAS-certified Master Chronometers) of the brand:
So how does this feel? I have to say that I really love it - but be aware! In the pictures below I am certainly dressed not casual enough to let the watch shine. But it is indeed a fantastic compliment to my wrist, and I marvel at the subtle colouring spices which are visibly effectful.
OMEGA's Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Rio 2016 is a toolwatch with a twist, a nice melange of seriousness, toughness and playfulness. The Olympics are an epic event which I think will evoke positive feelings of global understanding, ambition and sportivity everywhere.Thus, I think the appeal of the watch won't wear off quickly. The Seamaster offers a well-balanced mix of elements invinting closer looks frequently.
However, be aware of your wrist size. With a cicrumfence just slightly smaller than mine, the watch easily appears to be oversized despite its rather standard
41mm diameter, as the following image on Oliver's wrist demonstrates.
So, in the end there is not much to say - I love this watch, and even my girlfriend does not really understand me... But, its a classic, aptly modified, for an event which celebrates open-minded competition, in a country which is very dear to me (Brazil). Horologically, the timepieces offers the bare essentials OMEGA has on offer, and this says a lot.
The Seamaster 300 Professional is the Submariner in OMEGA's stable - nothing more, nothing less. In terms of watchmaking even a bit above. I would say. A watch I'd wear happily on a daily basis - thus very, very well done, OMEGA!
More on the watch on
OMEGA's homepage.
Thanks for reading,
Magnus
P.S.: The first image as well as the last wristshot are courtesy of Oliver (small-luxury-world)
