More than 25 years ago, Omega?s Seamaster 300 marked an important milestone in the brand?s underwater history. In this feature from our March-April 2019 issue, we check if the 2018 model is as professional as the one that once saved a British spy?s life.
The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Co-Axial Master Chronometer (Ref. 210.32.42.20.06.001)
In 1993, the watch world was undoubtedly marching to the beat of a different drummer. The same year, Intel started to ship the first Pentium chips and Swatch launched the Trésor Magique, the first Swatch with a platinum case, at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for a price of $1,618. At the height of the Swatch craze, the volume of exports of ?non-metal watches? from Switzerland had risen to a high of CHF 798.7 million (which, in theory, would have represented more than 20 percent of the Swatch Group?s gross sales in 1993), before falling sharply until 2000, according to the annual reports of the Group and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH). In other words, in 1993, the world was more in love with the Swatch than ever, but people were also starting to get ready for the triumphant return of the mechanical wristwatch. The bezel and dial are made of ceramic and the wave pattern is now laser engraved.
The Swatch Group?s Omega was determined to be prepared for this trend reversal. In spring 1993, the Bienne-based brand released the Seamaster Professional 300, both as a three-hand watch and as a chronograph model, which bec...