Long Term Review of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m Co-Axial

Boy has it been awhile since I’ve written a review of a wrist watch. Probably since about 2012 – over a decade. That was the year I sold the watch discussion forum I used to own called WATCH TALK FORUMS (which still exists…though as a shadow of its former self). That’s the year I walked away from watches…as a business and as a hobby. Interestingly enough, the last professional watch review I did was for Omega – it was the newly released James Bond “007” Edition of the Seamaster with the then new ceramic bezel and raised metal markers.  It was a harbinger of what was to come.  I remember thinking “I may have to pick one of these up down the road.” 

After the sale of WATCH TALK FORUMS, I dove head first into some other interests like showing and training Rottweilers, and competitive shooting. I continued to wear and enjoy my modest little collection of mostly Rolex watches. But I didn’t follow the industry or what was happening in the watch world for over a decade. Then one day I found myself on the Hodinkee website, looking at watches. Why? Who can say. But I was curious about the latest version of the old Omega Seamaster Professional – AKA, the Bond Seamaster (so named because Pierce Brosnan wore both quartz and mechanical versions of this particular iteration of the Seamaster in several Bond films). I had owned several in the early 2000’s. The older, original Seamaster Professional was always considered a step below the industry standard for luxury diver style watches – the Rolex Submariner. It was good…but always fell short of the Rolex counterpart. Rolex had, at the time, the in-house Rolex caliber 3135. Omega had the caliber 1120 which was basically a spit shinned ETA 2892. The Seamaster had the quirky helium escape valve on the side of the case, and the Bond version of the Seamaster Professional (SMP for short) had polarizing skeletonized hands. The bladk dial reference 2254.50.00 version of the SMP had sword hands which were quite popular in the enthusiast community – perhaps even more so than the blue Bond version. I do wish they’d bring back those sword hands…<sigh>. In any event, the SMP never stuck with me – it always felt like a Chevy to Rolex’s Cadillac…the Submariner. But having been on a steady diet of Rolex watches for over a decade, I was hungry for something…different. Almost on a whim, I ordered a “new in box” pre-owned Diver 300m. I was quite curious how the watch had evolved during my decade long Rip Van Winkle siesta from watches.

The new version (reference 210.30.42.20.03.001) sports what Omega calls an in-house caliber – the caliber Omega 8800. It sports the same Co-Axial escapement (invented by George Daniels) That Omega has been putting on their movements for about 25 years – since it first debuted on the Omega Caliber 2500 around 2000. That movement was a high beat movement with a beat spreed of 28,800 BPH. Omega then determined that the optimal beat speed of a movement equipped with the Daniels Co-Axial escapement was the unusual 25,200 BPH – so Omega released a revised version of the Omega caliber 2500 called the 2500C with the slower beat speed. The movement has continued to evolve into what is now the Omega caliber 8800 – which is visible through the sapphire display back on the Diver 300M:

It’s a new movement from the ground up, and is now considered “in house” and not just a modified version of SWATCH GROUP sister company ETA’s movement.  If so, why when I pull the crown and wind the movement does it feel exactly like old ETA 2892 based Caliber 1120?  I’ve said it for years – I don’t see the Co-Axial escapement as the miraculous innovation that it’s cracked up (marketed) to be – it’s always felt gimmicky to me.  And mine runs slow – not outside of COSC Chronometer parameters of -4/+6 seconds per day, but short of the new METAS Master Chronometer Certification. (0/+5 seconds per day).  Speaking of certifications, Omega has updated one of the lesser known benefits of owning an Omega watch.  Back in the day, when you bought an Omega, you could fax or email a request to get the actual COSC certificate for your watch – I seem to recall there being a modest fee to cover postage, and it took about a month to get the certificate.  Now, as the old saying goes, “there’s an app for that.”  Just go to the Omega app, scan a QR code on your Master Chronometer card included with your watch, and PRESTO!  You can see and even print the METAS Master Chonometer certificate for your watch.  It’s pretty slick and something that us watch geeks just eat up:

I’m coming up on two years of ownership for my Seamaster, and I love it far more than I thought I would – much more than the original Bond Seamaster Professional I used to own.  Like many things over the past decade (cars…houses…my mid-section…) the dimensions of the 300m have increased – the diameter has grown to 42mm.  I never thought I could pull off a watch that big, but either my tastes have changed or the watch just wears smaller than the measurements suggest.  I think it looks great on my wrist:

It’s received a tremendous amount of wrist time – more than I thought it would.  Blue is one of my favorite colors so it tends to dominate my wardrobe.

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate about this watch is just how robust it is.  After two years of at least twice weekly wear, the ceramic bezel of course looks brand new.  I’ve complained in the past that Omega’s practice of anti-reflective coating both the underside and topside of the crystal means you can develop wear scratches of the coating on the surface of the crystal.  True enough, though admittedly I’ve not developed any noticeable scratches on the coating of my crystal.  One of the things I loved about the old Seamaster Professional watches I owned two decades ago was that the surface of the watch which typically shows the most wear on any watch – the clasp – was easily brushed out with a Scotch Brite pad.  The current clasp is similarly easy to maintain.  Beyond that, if you look closely there are a few wear marks/scratches on the case and bracelet, but the Seamaster bracelet hides wear better than most metal bracelets in this segment. 

The Seamaster 300m maintains the soul and spirit of the old Seamaster Professional, or SMP as we watch nerds used to refer it it.  But everything looks and feels a level or five more premium.  The laser cut ceramic dial…the raised metal markers…even the bracelet is nicer.  And the sapphire display back is a welcome addition, though I thought the decoration on the old caliber 1120 in the SMP was more aesthetically appealing.  Just a matter of taste.  Many of the eccentricities of the old SMP remain too…like the protruding helium escape valve that protrudes opposite the crown side of the case.  The non-tapering, five link bracelet.  To me, these give the Diver 300m distinctive charm.  Of course, the dimensions of the Diver 300M aren’t the only aspect of the watch that has increased over the last decade…so too has the price.  The retail price is now, as of this writing, $5900.00. A lot of money to be sure, but nearly half of what Rolex is charging for the Submariner these says ($10,250).  And unlike the Rolex Submatiner, the Omege Seamaster has a variety of obtainable color ways including white, black, green, and of course the classic Bond Blue which I own.

I did some videos on this watch when I first purchased it – here’s my unboxing video:

Here’s the video review I did:

Finally, here’s a comparison I did of my Seamster 300M and the older Bond Seamaster Professional: