WCU #52: Understanding the New 2021 Omega Seamaster 300

[Music] hello watch enthusiasts and welcome to watch chronicler unscripted the podcast available for soundcloud spotify itunes and of course there's a full video on youtube in today's episode i'd like to speak about the new omega c-master 300. now the seamaster 300 has always been a bit of an unusual product in the omega collection in fact it was one of my favorites when released in 2014 and has remained one of those watches which you really appreciate and respect but never really ever considered buying which is perhaps an obvious demonstration of why omega felt they needed to update it this year in 2021 on a personal note i actually feel quite pleased that this watch is being updated this year simply because i predicted earlier in the year when i was considering what might be released this year so i'm actually rather thrilled that i was right but omega have really gone a long way with this watch and in a more subtle way than you might first expect the watch has new dimensions although whilst it remains the same diameter the case is entirely new it also has a new dial construction new hands a new crown a somewhat new movement and unifies design features with other watches in the omega collection like the aquaterra and its new crown design perhaps most surprisingly omega has actually chosen to release an entirely new material for this watch for the 10 000 or so pound higher level model which sits below gold offerings and above steel ones and this version is produced from an alloy of gold and copper to produce sort of a golden and bronze mix and i'll explain this later on in the podcast because i think it's very much worth noting not only because it represents the beginning of a new material and indeed collection of watches potentially in the future from omega but also because that watch has unique features and unique design elements but the result is a brand new collection of watches which represent a very very different face to this inherently vintage offering from the seamaster collection in a strange way it even seems like omega has made the seamaster 300 an anachronism if compared to the original 1957 version upon which this watch andy this collection is based because this watch is more of a sea master 300 if it were made in the 1940s which is a bizarre consideration but also one which is very interesting in essence therefore it seems that omega has taken a leaf out of tudor's book with the creation of the black bay so look forward to all of that in today's podcast before i begin remember that you can catch all of these podcasts as well as full reviews articles and much much more on watch chronicler.com the real center of the watch chronicle experience of the watches we all love also follow us on instagram to always know about the latest videos podcasts and other content which may be of real interest now to understand what this new 2021 seamaster 300 really is i could simply rattle off the specifications and be done with it but i think that's too simplistic and approach you see since 2014 the seamaster 300 has evolved enormously it's evolved into a more vintage offering a more modern offering and an assortment of pieces and nuances which have to be compared against each other to really understand where they are today so i think it's worth starting in 2014 when the first seamaster 300 of this vintage style was reissued now 2014 was actually quite an important year for omega because it was two years after the release of the judah black bay and therefore the craze for vintage inspired watches particularly from larger brands was becoming serious this was also a year after omega launched their first anti-magnetic coaxial caliber in the form of the 15 000 gauss aquatera in 2013 and so it made sense to combine these two influences to create a vintage inspired dive watch one also has to remember that in 2012 the sea master 300m that say the pierce brosnan era james bond watch had been updated but it still used an older movement and so aside from the planned ocean no other dive watch from omega had their new in-house or fully in-house movement you could say and the format chosen was that of the 1957 sea master 300 that's say the first of omega's dive watches and a very elegant piece too with an unprotected crown straight lugs very fine bezel and broad arrow hands as a side note the format of the later seamaster 300 from the 1960s with its lyre twisted lugs and bolder dial is echoed in the omega seamaster planet ocean which of course we're all familiar with and sizing wise this piece was rather modest at 41 millimeters wide but with 21 millimeter lugs and a 15 millimeter thickness it was always a bit of an awkward piece for a lot of people to wear ironically of course that's actually the sizing which the new rolex submariner has chosen to take so clearly they did have some good ideas apart from that thickness which was a problem the watch also had a very lustrous approach with polished center links on the bracelet polished tops to the lugs brushed sides in a polished bezel speaking of the bezel the insert chosen was quite a modern choice it was a thin liquid metal ceramic bezel insert which is say a ceramic bezel insert with metal forced under pressure into gaps in it to form essentially indestructible numerals the luminous pit was also placed at 12 o'clock and it was a generally very understated very delicate style in terms of design this watch also had a subtly domed sapphire crystal which really was a very fine dome nothing like you'd see on a tutor black bay for instance beneath this you had a doll which was a near facsimile of the ones seen in 1957 with triangular tooth shaped markers around the dial and very clear crisp white arabic numerals around the dial now these originally did have serifs and they chose to do away with these for a more modern look on this watch but the format in terms of font and placement on the dial was spot on this also wasn't a ceramic dial as seen on later omega dive watches but rather a matte black or matte gray form the surface the doll was also laser cut so the indices would be sunken into the dial that say they weren't a sandwich doll so you didn't have a separate plate underneath the dial but these laser cut recesses allow for superluminova to fill the dial text had been altered somewhat it has to be said when compared to the original given that omega and seamaster were both seen at the top of the dial with seamaster in beige and movement details placed below on the bottom half of the dial speaking of movement details there was something worth noting about the movement in this watch this watch used the omega caliber 8400 which was based on the 8500 the movement seen in the first of omega's watches to have their own entirely in-house designed movement what was different about the 8400 in this watch was that it offered antimagnetism on a serious level through a lot of silicon components in the escapement the springs the balance wheel this watch was able to resist fifteen thousand gals or one and a half tesla way beyond anything else on the market and while some things had surpassed that such as some iwc pieces in the 80s those weren't very well constructed and simply weren't conceived for daily wear importantly this was also a movement from omega's higher level of coaxial movements that's to say that in years after this the 8800 series movement was released as a smaller alternative with a shorter power reserve and a lesser feature set because this watch had a 60 hour power reserve and independent hour hand so you could jump between time zones without actually stopping the watch and the final detail to note and the reason why i was fairly convinced this watch was going to be replaced this year was the fact that the dial read master coaxial chronometer now in real terms that meant absolutely nothing it meant the watch was tested as per kosk certification criteria in terms of time keeping but these criteria simply weren't up to the level of accuracy seen from for instance rolex and also not any sort of representation of just how good these movements were subsequent seamasters have had the designation of coaxial master chronometer i know it's a very minor wording change which means these watches are tested by metas which is a much more rigorous testing setup and also much more accurate one but the watch released was an interesting hodgepodge of new and old the bracelet for instance was comprehensively new all solid beautifully articulated and also introduced omega to the micro adjustment clasp in a modern sense and that you would press a button and be able to retract or extend the bracelet by a few millimeters i don't know if this was the first watch to feature it but certainly it was one of those which introduced this to the seamaster collector at large but the problem with this watch was that it combined a lot of new and old in a potentially difficult way to sell you see the dial had a lot of false patina on it where the colour of the subalu manoeuvre was concerned which was a very deep sand color but the rest of the watch actually felt comparably modern so i suspect that might have hindered this watch's sales particularly in its later years of production after the update of the seamaster 300m where the price difference was considerable and i can see why someone might be reluctant to spend more on the watch which on paper is more simple this semi-modern influence was reinforced you could say by the 2015 cmas 300 spectre edition released in a very large it has to be said limited run of 7007 pieces this watch was essentially identical functionally this watch was the same it had the same movement the same construction all of the same mechanical elements the real change here was seen to the dial and the bezel the dial had the same black grained effect but added somewhat different hands the hours and the minutes remained the same but the white lance hand of the standard watch was replaced by a white lollipop hand which was similar to those used by omega in the late 1950s and a thoroughly appealing design one which has reappeared on this latest watch and i think with very good reason because it's a beautiful design and one which omega deserves to be able to present the 12 on the doll was also replaced with an enormous and very modern omega logo and the associated text grew as well to fill out the top of the dial much more considerably than on the standard watch additionally this watch offered a nato strap as the bond option to coincide you could say with omega's offering of such straps for their other models too now the biggest change on this watch however was the change to the bezel you see to fit with the international traveller style of that bond film the bezel was replaced with a 12-hour bezel so essentially a semi-gmt bezel to be able to track other time zones and this was a very successful watch and remains a very desirable one and the funny thing is this is a more modern interpretation of the seamaster 300 and i think the success and popularity of this design says quite a lot about what didn't quite go right with the 2014 edition in 2017 came the final you could say pre-2021 seamless 300 and in many ways this was a completely different watch to the two which has preceded it certainly it had an entirely new case the case was 39 millimeters now with 19 millimeter lugs and how we love omega with their unconventional lug widths the watch had a more vintage style crown with a much more simple much more traditional form and a solid case back which is nicely decorated with the hippocampus which obviously wasn't seen on the open case back version from 2014 and 2015. what you have to understand about this watch though was that it was designed to look exactly like the model from 1957 and as a result it had a bezel which was aluminium and also which was an entirely different design with a much more old-school format and indeed an unsuccessful format because it was dropped after just a few years in the late 1950s and very early 60s for quite a lot of people i know this was seen as rather an unappealing design element personally i didn't like it at all but i respected omega for bringing back something which wasn't necessarily the most refined design in the world a similar attitude of similar design but comprehensive change was seen on the dial the design was much flatter there was a matte dark gray color to the doll rather than a black color and the indices seemed much flatter too the white arabic numerals remained but now with serifs as per the original and these were closed in format so the the six and the nine were closed as per the original and not as you will see as seen on the 2021 version the original text and logo was also retained a very simple design with omega and seamaster 300 and the hands were finished differently the hands now had curved polish over the top of them rather than a clear bevel as seen on the previous version and smaller loom plots were used the second hand too was unluminous and polished where the movement was concerned omega had to choose a smaller movement and so chose the somewhat less technically advanced but more compact 8806 for this watch still in the house and comparable to the movement you see in a modern sea master 300m this movement didn't have the independent hour hand and also had a shorter 55-hour power reserve but retained the same beach rate and also the same fantastic innovation as seen on the big brother movements all in all this watch was released in 3557 pieces in addition to 557 in a trilogy format with a number on the dial bought in addition to the associated rail master and speedmaster that year so having discussed the previous iterations of the seamaster 300 and models which weren't desperately popular certainly they weren't popular in relation to the massive growth of interest seen for other omega models what is new on this 2021 version well the diameter has remained the same at 41 millimeters which is a very reasonable size and one which fits most wrists but the thickness has been decreased enormously from 15 millimeters to 13.85 millimeters and this is important because the crystal is brand new the crystal is no longer slightly domed it's heavily double bubble domed over the surface of the watch like a tudor black bay or such a watch of that type to give a much more vintage much more characterful feel something which is less of a somewhat austere balance of new and old but much more of a spirited return to lost time let's say the bezel grip is also new and finer despite looking similar to the previous version and the crown is now cupcake shaped you could say in relation to other models in the omega line like those seen on the seamaster aquaterra collection which has seen a new crown with this particular shape and the case back is new as well because since the release of the 2017 model naiad casebacks have become very popular in the omega line with water resistant models and essentially this is a caseback which doesn't screw on in the conventional sense but which acts as a sort of bayonet set up so you push the uh the case back in and then twist it so that it always lines up correctly with the rest of the watch the bezel on this watch is also very new or rather very old you could say because i make have thrown away the ceramic insert of the previous version entirely and they've given up its enormous scratch resistance the high-tech element of a liquid metal bezel and instead have produced an anodized aluminium bezel now aluminium is arguably the most practical solution for a bezel insert because if it dense you can replace it very easily or if you damage it during use it won't shatter but it'll remain in place until you have the opportunity to fix it but it isn't scratch resistant in the same way which ceramic is and isn't seen as a high-tech material and i would agree with that analysis however a vintage watch does need a certain characterful element and since we've seen the success of this on the no time to die seamaster 300m released last year perhaps the year before actually it's difficult to tell now the movie has been so heavily delayed we have an anodized aluminium bezel insert and omega have also taken the opportunity to fill it with super luminova where previously they would have had liquid metal numerals so now the whole thing is luminous in addition to having an oxalic coating which so they tell us is a highly scratch resistant coating to make it tougher than the traditional aluminium bezel insert of course only time will tell once these pieces have been worn very heavily but it's certainly interesting to see omega going back in the previous direction for the sake of giving the watch a warmer more vintage style appearance this also presents the argument that oming has decided that in reality technical advances are not necessarily necessary they may bring greater resistance to a watch may make a watch seem more cutting edge but actually what sells watches for omega on the whole is whimsy it's nostalgia for a past time in a way which i don't think is true for modern rolexes so it's very interesting to see them play to this even more with the aluminium bezel insert personally i'd still rather have the ceramic one but that's just me there is a lot of change here but arguably the biggest change is the dial you see the dial opening is now larger at 30.4 millimeters rather than 29.5 and this may seem like a negligible change but the reality is the proportions change the appearance of watch profoundly firstly the hands are now narrower and they have a circular central section with a more quaint narrow metal shaft instead of the much cleaner lines of the previous version which personally i also prefer there's also new branding on the which i think is fantastic this watch now simply reads omega seamaster 300 admittedly with a modern font and leaves no further information under the eye all the rest is on the case back which i think is much better because fundamentally this is designed to be a vintage inspired watch and not a modern technological one maybe the most obvious change is the new second hand which takes the popular lollipop hand of the specter seamaster 300 and replicates it but without offending the owners of that limited edition watch by producing it in polished metal rather than in white which i think is a very well judged move finally we have the dial itself which is a 1940s style sandwich dial where you have an upper section and a lower section in two separate pieces the front piece is also new in the sense that aside from having those cutouts to show luminova from the back plate of the dial this watch has cut out arabic numerals at each quadrant of the dial and this is something which simply wasn't the case on the original there's no argument it wasn't the case on the original and also the choice of font is entirely new it has open six and nine numerals and these are not historically accurate but still have an element of historical whimsy which shows that omega wants to produce less of a vintage remake and more of a heritage face for the whole seamaster collection which i think is a successful move but certainly not something for someone who wants something historically accurate furthermore the bracelet is new with polished outer links instead of polished center links although i must say these are going to collect scratches just as much as the previous versions and the bracelet now tapers to 16 millimeters at the deployment which creates a more delicate feel where materials are concerned there's a lot to think about here because omega have entirely removed the titanium option from this watch and pricing is fairly reasonable you see with the previous generation of seamaster you would pay between 5 000 and 5280 pounds for the steel version and 6950 for the titanium model for the new model this is somewhat different because prices have risen slightly to 5280 pounds on the strap and 5 560 pounds on a steel bracelet but fundamentally the arrangement is different because the titanium option has been removed entirely and now you simply get options for a blue or black version in steel and then of course the unique new material for just under ten thousand pounds and the new material is an individual and unique one it's called bronze gold and that really is essentially what it is because it's 50 copper which in in essence is what you need to produce bronze which you would alloy with another metal usually tin or aluminium for example and this watch is also 37.5 gold ie 9 carat so this watch is on paper a 9 carat gold watch or a bronze one depending on how you want to look at it because in addition to copper you have palladium and gallium added which change the color and a bit of silver for patination of the case over time so you have an odd material because it can't quite decide if it wants to develop a beautiful patina like bronze or if it wants to remain precious and beautiful forever like gold now in a lot of countries nine carat gold isn't classed as gold and this is an interesting quirk to this watch so i'm not sure how you should address it whether you should look at this watch as something of a meeting ground between these two interesting materials or whether you should see it as a more subtle way to wear a gold watch or perhaps long-lived way of wearing a bronze one i don't know the bronze gold version is functionally the same except that it has some elements retained from the previous generation notably it has a ceramic bezel insert instead of aluminium it also has a bronze dial which is oxidized to the brown color it is with a german silver base onto which the superluminova which shines through is painted the final touch differentiating this is a lance second hand which is paired with a much more extensively brushed case to give a very different aesthetic and a very different look and oddly i'm not sure if i like it or not but certainly it's very very different inside this watch is a very similar movement to the 8400 in the last generation notably it's a revision of the 8900 series movement which has the same architecture as an 85 and 8400 except which is now meta certified so this is a no date version of that watch and there is then the 8913 which is the gold version with some gold elements within the movement and what's really interesting here is that that movement is now seen in the previous generation precious metals seamaster 300 which remains in the omega collection which strikes me as a very interesting comparison that you do still have access to that older watch if you're prepared to spend 24 000 pounds or above on any of the versions of that with a gold or platinum case in addition to a dial which is produced from various semi-precious stones so what does all of this mean for omega what have they understood about their heritage about their way of designing watches which presents the future for their vintage-inspired master 300 well i think that omig has realized that in order to create a good heritage watch which conjures up all the romanticism of a past perhaps even the semi-fictional one it has to overplay pastiche without simply recreating what was around previously so the 2014 version was a mix of faithful replica and modern watch thus reducing the audience it was realistically going to appeal to by splitting it and that's a role for the inherently old-fashioned but still current speedmaster professional not the deliberately vintage seamaster 300. if you wanted something modern with vintage touches ultimately you could just buy a planet ocean the 2021 version however understands that it's the feel of a vintage watch which matters above all else and so ultimately the exact details don't really matter so much of course there are plenty of watches for which a faithful replica is perhaps the best way to experience the watch like for example a doxa sub where straying from the original actually tends to reduce the appeal of the timepiece because the original was so well designed by contrast the seamless 300 is more of an iconic ancestor to a watch than the watch praised for its exact design so i think what omega have done with this new collection is very clever they've created a whimsical fiction for people to enjoy on the wrist with the same sort of charm as you get from a tudor black bay which isn't in any way a vintage remake but has the spirit of its ancestor within its design let me know in the comment section below on youtube what you think of my understanding of this watch and how you see this watch in relation to what we've seen before from omega also remember to follow us on whichever podcast player you enjoy using to always catch the latest episode of watch chronicle unscripted thank you very much for listening and watching this is armon from watchchronicle.com out

Channel: WATCH CHRONICLER

Views: 38,991

Rating: 4.8241043 out of 5

Keywords: Omega, Omega Seamaster, Seamaster, Planet Ocean, 2021 Omega, Omega Speedmaster Professional 2021, best vintage dive watch, Omega Seamaster Spectre, Omega 007, James Bond Omega, Omega Seamaster Professional, Omega Seamaster 2021 review, Rolex Submariner, Tudor Black Bay, Black Bay Fifty Eight, watch review, dive watch, Omega co-axial, Breitling Superocean, Superocean Heritage, Oris Divers Sixty Five, Longines, Legend Diver, Doxa, SUB300, Aquastar, Deepstar, Omega Seamaster Trilogy

Id: 7eCsrjuBxNE

Length: 23min 39sec (1419 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 26 2021