Omega Seamaster Diver 300m 210.32.42.20.03.001 Review

Omega's 2018 Seamaster Diver 300m is Omega's most recent Seamaster. It's only been available for a short while but it is already a customer favorite. The watch holds true to the classic features that set the 1996 Seamaster apart and ahead of the game. Like the entire line, this watch is brimming with the class and nostalgia of its forbearers while bringing to the Seamaster family some new elements of its own.

The lengths that Omega went to keep all the functionality while providing us with the luxury that this piece in cases, is astonishing. The 2018 Seamaster Diver 300m has maintained the line's original water resistance, caliber accuracy, and higher than imaginable, functionality under pressure.

Omega has even managed to keep the Anti-magnetic components, protecting its accuracy in magnetic fields as high, and even higher, than 1.5 teslas. Though this luxury timepiece is commonly found on the wrist of the business professional, it could be worn and trusted to function perfectly by a deep-sea dive-welder working a thousand feet below the ocean's surface. Once again, Omega has ensured all the famed functionality while at the same time, they have created spectacular art.

Omega opted to go with what many call the scalloped-cut bezel. The bezel is monodirectional with a polished blue ceramic finish with a seamlessly included white dive scale in hardened enamel. Omega has added the textured edge to help the wearer the watch, grip and use the dive scale bezel function while diving. The ceramic and enamel make the bezel just as scratch resistant as the sapphire crystal lens it encircles; and while this design feature causes the watch's overall profile to luster and shine, it becomes very slippery when wet. Omega used this geometrical shape, or "scalloped-cut bezel edge," to add more texture for a better grip. And just like all things Omega, though the feature serves a practical function, it also adds an element of stylishness, depth, and dimension.

With this watch, one feature transitions into the next like it were meant to be aerodynamic. There's nothing that can be said about the expressive weight and sturdiness of the piece. It needs to be held and felt to truly understand the perfect gravity and balance of this watch.

The way the bezel encircles the domed crystal lens is only one example of this symmetry. The piece is as fiercely functional as Seamaster collectors have come to expect from the brand. To help power this resilience, the watch comes with the familiar helium escape valve and screw-in self-locking crown as part of its decompression system. Each 2018 Omega Seamaster Diver 300m can handle much more exposure to oceanic work than those who own one would likely ever subject it to. Still, it's nice to know that if worn in a deep-sea submersible, even with internal equalized pressure in an artificial helium atmosphere, this watch would function perfectly. This is one of the reasons why ocean rig and oil explorers favor this line.

The environmental elements that this watch can withstand are mind-boggling. It's almost like each new variation of the Seamaster line, Omega challenges it itself to create an even more intrepid timepiece. Omega's competition uses the common misleading language of "Up to." Omega uses the terminology of "More than." The 2018 Seamaster is water resistance "more than" 300 meters. The 2018 Seamaster can withstand "more than" 1.5 teslas. The list goes on. One thing is for sure, this watch is built to withstand whatever its possessor dares throw at it, maintaining its alluring beauty all the while.

● Case: stainless steel

● Bezel: blue ceramic under white enamel diving scale.

● Dial: polished blue ceramic inset laser-engraved waves.

● Hands: raised, rhodium-plated inset with white Super-LumiNova.

● Caliber: OMEGA Master Chronometer 8800,

● Case-Back: Exhibition in liquid clear sapphire crystal.

Admirers of the Seamaster line can't get enough of the sapphire crystal transparent case back. This is known as the exhibition Case-Back. It allows the possessor to peer into the clockwork. The first thing the admirer notices when peering into the clockwork is a free-moving half-circle hitch weight mechanism. At first glance, it appears to be purely an aesthetic feature. It is in fact the self-winding free-sprung balance that automatically winds the caliber as the wearer of the watch moves about.

This piece also features the OMEGA Master Chronometer 8800 Calibre and can be wound by the crown. Though it contains Omega's self-winding balance and might maintain its charge for much longer than the manufacturer's advised duration, it’s rated at 55 hours.

Omega went with comfort and style opting to use a 42mm steel case on a striated rubber bracelet strap. It measures 22mm between lugs and the manufacturer marries the edges into the body of the cases with a gentle curve against the brush polished metallic sheen. The dial color is blue conveying an aquatic allure that is eloquently offset with two points of red--all in motion set below a domed sapphire crystal lens.

Omega has certainly done the Seamaster line proud with the 2018 Seamaster Diver 300m edition. There's more to this watch than words can explain, so don't hesitate to call if you have any questions.