While headlines focused on the celebrity guests that joined Omega to champion the 75th anniversary of the Seamaster in Mykonos last week, behind the A-list roll call was something that we rarely see from brands: a comprehensive line-up of all the current Seamaster models brought together by a single colour palette.
Ambassadors from the worlds of sport, entertainment and exploration milled with the assembled press, but the real stars of the show were the eight models in the Seamaster Summer Blue collection. Presented under the theme of “Precision at Every Level”, the timepieces are ready to cover any water-related eventuality from a dip in the local pool to a full seabed descent.
For anyone in Mykonos who missed the obvious connection, Omega president and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann explained the choice of location for the reveal. “We are on one of the most iconic islands in the whole of the Mediterranean,” he said, “and, while we are Swiss, I feel we are a little at home here because our name and our logo are all about Greece.
“Greek mythology has been a foundation of most cultures in the world and Omega is proud to be associated with this. And equally proud of Seamaster which is a legend in its own right, linked to precision with adventure and with a lot of incredible stories all of its own.”
Gregory Kissling, VP of product development, picked up the story, describing how a colour theme had been developed in varying shades of blue, the hues darkening depending on the model.
“We have developed a new colour coding named Omega Summer Blue,” he said. “The lightest models are the Aqua Terras with their water resistance of 150 meters and this gradually darkens all the way up to the Planet Ocean ultra-Deep, which has 6,000 metres of resistance.”
Mr Kissling went on to describe one more unifying theme of the collection. “Another common point is the closed caseback that features a commemorative emblem that celebrates the legacy of the Seamaster line,” he said. “Poseidon (son of Cronus, the Greek god of time) is featured with his trident, navigating the surface of the ocean with two seahorses.”
Poseidon’s importance to the collection was echoed by Mr Aeschlimann who said: “This year, we are celebrating 75 years of Seamaster history and it is still a huge success, as well as being the biggest line in our collection. It is dedicated to the ocean – from the high seas to deep below.
“In Greek mythology, Poseidon, one of the 12 Olympians, resides over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses and is the protector of seafarers. He is also the god of Seamaster, and for so many years he’s been there protecting us, bringing us a lot of luck and we salute him. So, with the anniversary Seamasters we are celebrating him.”
The Poseidon logo will be exclusive to the Summer Blue collection which, although not limited and part of today’s core range, is already rumoured to have a certain shelf life. With some models in the range already proving elusive, potential buyers should be encouraged to dive in and not wait too long.
All of the watches in the collection are master chronometer certified by METAS (the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology).
Aqua Terra 38mm
The steel-cased Aqua Terra 38mm has a water resistance of 150 meters and is linked to the latest Aqua Terra Shades collection with a new bracelet design, polished case and an Omega Summer Blue lacquered dial with slight gradient effect on the outer edge and indexes shaped like the hull of a sailboat.
Aqua Terra 41mm
The stainless-steel Aqua Terra 41mm, also with a 150 metre water resistance, continues the Summer Blue colour coding with a sun-brushed finish to its dial and the signature ‘teak deck’ pattern.
Aqua Terra Worldtimer
Launched in 2017, and with a water resistance of 150 metres, the 43mm World Timer features a central titanium world map, an outer ring showing 24 global cities and a hesalite glass inner ring providing a 24-hour scale with light blue indicating daylight hours and dark blue showing night.
Seamaster 300M
Diving deeper, we get to the 300M – first seen in 1993 and now an ocean icon thanks to it becoming the watch of choice for James Bond in 1995. With its hallmark features – distinctive diving scale, skeleton hands, raised indexes and helium escape valve – this is where you can really see the deepening shades of the blue dial and the new blue ceramic bezel.
As Mr Kissling said, there is also “a touch of metiers d’art” thanks to the diving scale, which is made with Summer Blue Grand Feu enamel. The dial is made in ceramic, with the signature waves laser-cut and sun-brush finished. Omega has also introduced a new type of Super-LumiNova in the Summer Blue shade.
Seamaster 300
The vintage style of the collection and one that is a standout in Summer Blue, the 41mm Seamaster 300 was launched in 1957 as part of the tool watch Trilogy that also comprised the Railmaster and the Speedmaster. The bezel is in blue ceramic and there is a retro sandwich dial with gradient effect and evergreen lollipop seconds hand.
Planet Ocean
Next we dive to 600 metres with the Planet Ocean in 39.5mm. The face of the watch is getting darker with a new deeper blue ceramic bezel and dial that is also produced in ceramic with a vertically brushed finish. The Planet Ocean was released in 2005, taking its design cues from the Seamaster 300 it has always been a watch for serious divers.
Ploprof
If we multiply the water resistance of the Planet Ocean by a factor of two, we get 1,200 metres, which brings us to one of the most interesting products in the Summer Blue collection: the new generation PloProf. The third incarnation of what is arguably one of the most iconic dive watches of all time, the Proplof was created by an engineer not a designer.
Developed in the late 1960s and commercialised at the beginning of the 1970s, the watch was used by Jacques Cousteau and by COMEX. The original had a water resistance of 600 meters and, thanks to the monobloc case construction and special seal for the crystal, a helium escape valve was not necessary. The new model respects the exact dimensions of the original but, thanks to the use of proprietary O-Megasteel, has a water-resistance of 1,200 metres.
Planet Ocean Ultra Deep
Finally the Summer Blue collection takes us into the abyss with the Omega Planet Ocean Ultra Deep and its astonishing water resistance of 6,000 meters, based on the watches that submariner and explorer Victor Vescovo took to the deepest point on Earth in 2019.
Mr Vescovo had an Omega concept watch strapped to the outside of his submersible when he dived to Challenger Deep, the watch surviving a depth of 10,935 metres. Of the three concept pieces made by Omega, Mr Vescovo kept one and has since taken it down to Challenger Deep 11 times.
In recognition of Mr Vescovo’s feats, the dial of the watch features an image of the Challenger Deep that involved 1 million sonar points to reproduce the topography. The darkest watch in the collection, the black ceramic bezel and deep blue lacquered dial reflect its marine credentials.
WATCH FACES AT THE SEAMASTER LAUNCH IN MYKONOS
