Omega Seamaster 300, the 2014 re-issue. I knew I had to have one, and picked up a stainless black version last December from a fancy boutique in San Francisco (They gave me a leather passport holder and a toiletry bag..). Since then I have had it on every day, and it has been running fairly accurately; fast 108 seconds in 60 days (1.8 sec/day). I have worn it on camping trips, (chopped wood for the camp), to Death Valley (282 feet below sea level), to the Grand Canyon (0 deg F), mushrooming forays, fancy concerts, business meetings etc. Recently, I even had it on throughout the duration of a week-long snorkel/dive trip on the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. It goes effortlessly from boardshorts to the boardroom, as the saying goes. This versatility is the reason I believe divers are so popular these days. Here are a few shots from the last week. Sorry for the amateur picture quality and small lense distortions, they are either just smart phone shots or dimly lit GoPro frame grabs. Snorkeling Hanauma Bay, a perfect thing to do After a full day on the beach I threw on a silk shirt and made a salty appearance downtown Honolulu at a Cuban restaurant’s tenth anniversary party. Many a Mojito and shots of rum all around. Good day. Finally, the watch in its natural habitat, tracking bottom time. I was part of an “advanced cert only” boat, and the operator provided three tanks for subsurface activities. The whole experience was great, but the highlight of the day for me was the wreck on the first dive.... ...where my dive buddy lit these white tips up at 94’ on the bottom with his light. Note to self: get a dive light. I had an uneasy feeling the whole upside-down wreck was resting on the handrails. Here I am trying to impress a conch with my new watch. It seemed very unimpressed to me, showing no signs of excitement. This is my typical experience with most people these days too. The watch fit over the 5/3mm suit with the extendable clasp, and the micro-adjustments are very convenient day-to-day up top. I was supposed to take my girlfriend surfing after the dives, but was exhausted and we went on an exotic fruit farm tour instead. Finally back home in the kitchen after my adventures. I have good things to say about the hour hand advance feature, it makes changing time zones a breeze. The watch only tells the time; it can’t cook, or give me the date, but I do find it suits me very well.
Nice! Is that a diver trick with the nylon string holding the bracelet together in the event a springbar fails?
Thank you for sharing that!!! Great photos of the watch in its intended environment. I lived on Oahu for quiet some time, used to hike Hanauma Bay and Coco Head almost every other day. Brings back memories. Here's some pics of Hanauma Bay for you I actually proposed to my wife up there on the ridge next to the VOR/TAC on the 090 radial. And here's a coupe of Coco head from our place. Good times.
Thanks all. Yes. And I took it a step further by essentially using the bit of kite string as a NATO bracelet, with an adjustable fisherman's knot to take up the slack after fitting the watch clasp. I felt the need for the extra security because the bracelet was an unknown factor, as I had disassembled it myself by fiddling with all those little screws. It turned out to be unnecessary, as the bracelet held, even in the ferocious shore break of Yokohama Beach. As an aside, I further the review by bringing up overall readability underwater. I found it somewhat surprisingly good. My regular dive watch (MKII Blackwater, oops pictured is my modified O&W M1 in Belize) is fitted with Omega inspired Ploprof hands, with the fantastic minutes sword hand. The orange hue is one of the most visible at depth, where most others fade to brown or blue (see the ROYGBV color chart at 100'): As you can see, orange stands out quite well during dives, but also screams a bit when back up top. I feel the slight angles of the Seamaster hands shine reflected light and enhance readability surprisingly well. If you care to see what I'm talking about, the pics I posted in the original post demonstrate this effect. Please note the bright orange bezel on the Suunto Zoop in the original post, pretty much brown down there.
Nice to see a divers watch being used properly. I have a feeling that most of these are desk divers. I usually use my Seiko SKX007 when diving, mainly because all my other divers are vintage
Great review and great pics. +1 on seeing a divers watch actually diving - hands down my favorite review and pics to see. My Aquaracer 500m chrono served me well in Belize (my first foray into serious watches). Had my SMc 300m snorkelling last year, but yet to take it deep. Roatán next year, I'll make an underwater review attempt
Since this watch came out I've been drawn to it and thought it would be the modern Omega I would buy if in the market. It has beautiful vintage styling combined with modern technology. Great post and photos! It's very nice to see just how versatile this watch is.
Yeah I love the fact you actually took it diving. Speaking for all of us desk divers, I got a little nervous when I saw how far down you actually took it, lol. It looks great!
The really nice thing about this watch is that it really CAN go from the sporting excursion to the board room seamlessly!
Look like this should be the nice tool watch as it is expected and designed . How easy will it be scratched on middle link of bracelet ? I believe that you can reply clearly after putting it to full duty like those.