Photo courtesy of Omega
The Swiss watchmaker dives deeper into the Seamaster’s legacy for the model’s Summer Blue Collection
Watches serve a simple function, which is to tell time. Despite its candid purpose, the watch has had a long history of being synonymous with adaptation. Like with the many technologies borne from the pressures of economic, political, or cultural advancement, watches have adapted to resist the elements that its wearer may face.
For Swiss watchmaker Omega, the brand has built a legacy of crafting timepieces that have adapted to its environment. Finding itself on the wrists of the British Royal Air Corps, and on astronauts during the moon landing, Omega succeeded in creating pieces that can function in the atmosphere and on the frontlines. However, Omega also sought to conquer the nautical depths as well.
Tested beneath the surface of Lake Geneva, the Omega Marine was able to withstand the lake’s water pressure and was touted as the world’s first diver’s wristwatch released to the general public. Since then, the Marine has spawned multiple successors to its line of diver’s watches. The Seamaster Summer Blue collection pays tribute to its history of ocean-tested performance through the release of seven special editions of the Seamaster line.
The first in the collection is a rerelease of the Seamaster Aqua Terra and the Aqua Terra Worldtimer. The base Aqua Terra is being updated alongside three new cases in 38mm or 41mm diameters, while the Worldtimer features an embossed image of a globe at the center of its watch face and global destinations across its outer display.
Commemorating the original Seamaster, Omega also unveils the updated Seamaster 300. The watch now boasts the industry’s highest level watch movement, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer 8912. Using a similar watch movement, the Seamaster Diver 300M features a helium escape valve and diving scale, and has been newly equipped with ceramic dials and a gradient finish at its center.
The Seamaster Planet Ocean is a step up from the earlier Seamaster models, being submersible 600 meters underwater. The special edition is now being released in a 39.5mm diameter and stainless steel casing.
A timepiece capable of withstanding deep sea pressure, the Seamaster Ploprof is a piece for the most seasoned divers. With a glass fixed to the case and taking cues from the original model, the watch’s bezel ring is replaced with a sapphire crystal to mirror the look of its earlier iterations.
Bolstering their legacy of adaptation, the Seamaster Ultra Deep had been recognized for remaining functional at a depth of 6000 meters within the Mariana Trench. The new edition of the Ultra Deep features a modification of the watch face to mirror the map points of Challenger’s Deep, and has the words “Omega Was Here” etched onto the dial’s detailing to commemorate the record-breaking expedition.
For the Summer Blue Collection, Omega tracks the trajectory of the Seamaster and its history of adaptation through the lens of diving. Common to each model, special editions of the Seamaster are recolored in Omega’s Summer Blue and are adorned with a commemorative caseback featuring sculpted representations of Neptune.
For more information on the release of the Summer Blue collection of the Omega Seamaster, visit their website.
