The Omega Seamaster dates back to 1948, but the Diver 300M launched in 1993. This version reflects the 2018 update done as part of the Seamaster’s 70th anniversary.

Diameter: 42.1mm

Lug-to-lug: 49.5mm

Thickness: 13.8mm

Lug width is: 20mm

The watch has 300 meters of water resistance.

This reference features a grey dial color. The dial is ceramic and rhodium-plated with a sunburst effect to achieve the grey color and how it plays with the light. The famed wave pattern is laser-cut into the dial. The hands are blued, a lollipop format for the seconds hand and skeletonized hour and minute hands, all of which feature Super-Luminova. The hour indices are applied and again filled with lume. A color-matched date window is at the 6 o’clock position. In terms of text beneath the 12 o’clock position is the Omega symbol followed by Seamaster in a script font followed by professional. Dropping beneath the center of the hands is the chemical symbol of the ceramic used for the dial (zirconium oxide), and below this is the notation that the movement is co-axial, followed by it being a master chronometer, followed by the water resistance of the watch.

As I stated earlier this watch is lumed with Super-Luminova. It all glows blue except the bezel pip and the minute hand, which are done in green.

The watch case itself is stainless steel and the dial is protected by a sapphire crystal. The bevels are polished and large portions of the case are satin brushed. Its sides are polished but the lugs and bezel are brushed. At the 10 o’clock position is the helium escape valve, long a staple of the 300M. This unscrews for saturation divers and there is a red ring when unscrewed to provide a visual aid to the wearer to know whether or not this is screwed down. The bezel has scalloped edges rather than coin-edge; I find this harder to grip especially on-wrist. The actual unidirectional bezel action is solid with no back-play. The bezel insert is ceramic and the diving scale is a white enamel.

Back to the case, the crown is at the traditional 3 o’clock position and features the Omega symbol. The crown has four positions. In position zero the crown is screwed down and has its maximum water resistance. Unscrew the crown and the watch is in position one, where it can be manually wound. In position two the date can be advanced. In position three the time can be set and the watch does feature hacking.

The bracelet has a rectangular, rather than rounded, with a mix of polished and satin links. Links are secured via two screws with a pin in between, a format I am not a fan of. The clasp offers both a diver extension and an easy-to-use incremental sliding micro adjust feature.

Flipping the watch over you can see another sapphire crystal revealing the movement, which is the caliber 8800. The 8800 is an automatic movement that uses a co-axial escapement. The movement has 35 jewels, beats at 3.5 Hertz, and offers approximately 55 hours of power reserve. As the dial noted this watch is a Master Chronometer and that is certified by METAS. You can actually look up the specific METAS results for each watch. The METAS certification means a lot of things, including resistance of up to a 15,000-gauss magnetic field, a 0-+5 seconds per day accuracy, and some other tests. METAS is a more rigorous standard than COSC.

Pulling up my specific METAS report, this watch rated +1.2 seconds/per day (out of a 0-+5 standard) on deviation of daily chronometric precision after exposure to 15,000 gauss, +1.6 seconds/day (out of a 0-+6 standard) on average daily chronometric precision, +5.8 seconds/day (out of a 0-+14 standard) on deviation of chronometric precision in six positions, and +0.1 seconds/day (out of a 0-+10 standard) on deviation of chronometric precision between 100% and 33% of power reserve.

So, what are my overall thoughts on this watch?

The positives:

• It’s quite accurate

• High comfort for such a heavy watch

• Great looking and easy to read dial

• Excellent lume

The negatives:

• Bezel is harder to turn than I would like

• Bracelet doesn’t taper

If looking in the luxury dive watch space I am not sure if any other watch packs as much in for the price-point. You get a serious depth rating, interesting in-house movement technology via the co-axial escapement, a highly legible timepiece, and all of it packaged in a way very unique to Omega.

I find the bezel harder to turn than I would like. It isn’t resistant to turning, it’s just that the scalloped edge style is hard for me to grip and I find my fingers slide on it a lot. While the bezel action is quite good (and this is the first watch I’ve had where I didn’t feel any backplay), I’d still rate my experience with the Tudor Black Bay’s bezel as superior both in ease of grip, clicking sensation, and sound.

Secondarily, while I think the bracelet is comfortable (especially given the sliding micro adjust to help out when one’s wrist swells) the decision not to taper means it is not as comfortable (or attractive) as it could be. All that said, the 20mm lug width means you can easily find alternative strap options.

And those are really my only notable negatives. The design language of the 300M does mean there are aspects that are just flat-out polarizing and potential owners need to resolve those in their consideration of the watch. Some people find the laser-cut wave pattern in the dial off-putting and ugly. Others cannot get past the decision to include a screw-down helium escape valve. These are aspects that scream Omega but for some they are just a bridge too far.