The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond 60th Anniversary watch hands-on

The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M celebrated the Olympics, timed the start of yacht-sailing regattas and has been the chosen partner to lots of professional scuba divers. However, it took centre stage once associated with Ian Fleming’s character. Here is the only 007-approved wristwatch; while we have seen several actors playing Her Majesty’s service agent for the last sixty decades, be sure a Seamaster will hold its place as the Bond watch for a long time, including Daniel Craig’s replacement, whose cycle ended with “No Time To Die”.

007 has turned sixty

Last October, the production company celebrated its sixtieth Anniversary; if we exclude George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton, whose performance is all but memorable, the 007 series has crossed its path with actors like Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

“Bond Girl” and “007” are part of our everyday language, and so is the Bond watch to watch enthusiasts and not; since 1995, an Omega watch has been uniquely associated with James Bond and always appears during the most thrilling scenes, where its Q-packed features save 007’s life during the most daring near-death action.

We believe that Omega is engineering a thirty-anniversary Bond Watch (2025); in the meantime, we can’t stop highlighting that the current Seamaster Diver 300M comes in two different lineups, one linked exclusively to the partnership. The upgrade started with the 2021 “007 Edition” in grade 2 titanium, whose development process involved Daniel Craig himself.

Omega Seamaster and 007: the Bond watch

By signing such an exclusive partnership with EON Productions, Omega secured a strategic “product placement”, being the unique player in a scenario that included direct competitors on the likes of Rolex and Breitling, to cite a few, thus ensuring the collection to approach a wider audience while taking the most out of the brand’s unstoppable technical development exemplified by the Master Chronometer certification and an array of in-house materials and patents.

Scrolling back to 1995’s first edition, we admit we don’t like all the Seamaster limited edition models released so far, some of them looking too marketing-ish and not as sophisticated as the target customer. The Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond has grown up and is far more appealing than ever before, and 2021 marks this subcollection’s cornerstone.

The 60-year commemorative model pictured here is the 007 Edition’s steel option and draws inspiration from the 90s original models, equipped with a blue bezel and dial; in short, it is a 2022 take on the original Seamaster Diver 300M from the past.

The bezel’s graduated inlay and the dial come in oxalic anodized aluminium, and the former houses the number “60” instead of the lumed triangle for the first time. It still glows green alongside the green-lume-matching skeletonized minute hand.

The watch exudes vintage and modern traits; the domed sapphire crystal and no-date wave-patterned dial are classier than on a standard Seamaster and are a nod to the past. Vice versa, the mesh bracelet is, despite its DNA, utterly contemporary as it is the fully anti-magnetic self-winding movement visible through the case back.

The case

Here is the quintessential Seamaster Diver 600M design, with the screwed-in Helium escape valve prominently placed at ten; it is form rather than function, and the collection’s trademark as it is the flat bezel with its twelve hollowed sides.

Measuring 42 mm across and 14,3 mm in thickness, the Bond Watch is all but a skin diver, but the clever design offering knurled lugs help the case look sleeker and visually slim it down, as they do on a Speedmaster.

The new bracelet is a mechanical marvel and wins hands down against the original “five links” Seamaster one in weight and comfort. Placed one along the other, the new one saves up to 20% (156g Vs 194g), and the flat pinching-free bracelet gently tapers the wrist, requiring a few seconds of adjustment.

It is undoubtedly the best Milanese bracelet in build quality and comfort in its product category, yet it might be further improved: the clasp is top-notch but too thick once secured and is missing a micro-adjustment mechanism. Finally, it looks mainstream compared to its ordinary integrated-design sibling.

The celebration

The magic happens as you flip the watch over. It houses the 007 opening theme’s bubble-shaped design on the outermost ring, and James Bond holds its gun in the middle while changing its appearance as the second hand is ticking. Below is the anniversary insignia, hence the historic “007” logo inscribed into the number 60.

The entire design is reproduced on the sapphire crystal via a metallization process and appears floating within the glass. The glass has an outer bevelled edge; I understand the mechanical movement is part of the game, but I think it makes the whole design too busy and affects the patented “moiré” animation placed in the centre.

Once secured around the wrist, you’ll experience superior comfort, to such an extent, in my case, that I had to check my wrist every now and then.

The details

It’s all about the details. We took our cameras as close as possible to bring you the finest and hidden elements. The blue dial holds rounded and baton hour markers and deserves much praise for the brand’s effort to raise the bar; the domed glass creates a lovely view of the white Super-Luminova™ filled hour markers.

From above, you can spot the hollow to house the ordinary bracelet, we assume. With a lug-to-lug width of 20mm, you can hopefully swap the Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond 60th Anniversary OEM bracelet with the ordinary one anytime.

The icing on the cake, we love the laser-engraved Omega hallmark, which we guess is an attempt to fight counterfeits.

Final thoughts

I have witnessed the Seamaster Diver 300M collection’s evolution since 1995 up to the most recent 2018 re-edition and always praised the model for being a consistent, more accessible alternative to the eagerly-wanted Speedmaster, whose awareness has always stood in a class apart.

The Omega 007 project has finally given the Seamaster the deserved credit, and the latest editions offer unique storytelling, whose turnaround began, as said, with the Grade 2 Titanium 007 Edition.

This commemorative version in steel is brilliant as it broadens the audience since titanium might still be a polarizing option. The Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond 60th Anniversary is, in brief, a sophisticated sports watch, hard to classify, and offers professional diving capabilities inside an all-rounder watch in steel. The retail price is 9,100 Euros.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Editorial team @Horbiter®