Omega Seamaster James Bond and Spectre: Has 007 Joined the Dark Side?
There’s a new James Bond Omega Seamaster. Actually, there are several. There is, however, one fairly important ingredient missing from Omega’s latest 007 extravaganza. James Bond.
We don’t have a new Bond. We don’t have a new Bond film around the corner. And five years after Daniel Craig rather conclusively checked out in No Time To Die, we’re still waiting to discover who will next be ordering the vodka martinis.
Yet here we are.
Omega has unveiled its new Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond and Spectre collection, bringing 007 and his old adversaries together for the first time. And while the timing initially feels slightly peculiar, October 5 is Global James Bond Day, commemorating the premiere of Dr. No in 1962.
Omega and Bond have also now been together for more than 30 years, following Pierce Brosnan’s first appearance wearing a Seamaster in GoldenEye.
So perhaps the timing isn’t quite as strange as it first appears. But it does raise a bigger question. Do we really need another Bond Seamaster?
Bond versus Spectre
The two watches most of us will actually be interested in are the stainless-steel James Bond and Spectre editions.
Both use the familiar 42mm Seamaster Diver 300M case, measure a not inconsiderable 14.23mm thick and house Omega’s METAS-certified Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8806 with 55 hours of power reserve.
Both are also supplied on Omega’s brushed steel mesh bracelet. So if you were hoping all the teasers were pointing towards the next generation Seamaster Diver 300M, perhaps smaller, slimmer and significantly redesigned, I’m afraid Tomorrow Never Dies.
Underneath the Bond theatrics, this is very familiar territory.
The blue James Bond model uses an aluminium wave-pattern dial with a Grade 5 titanium bezel, while the 12 o’clock marker incorporates the Bond family coat of arms.
It’s handsome, very handsome, actually.
But put the two watches next to each other and there’s only one I’m interested in. The Spectre.
Welcome to the dark side
The Spectre edition is comfortably the standout of the two.
Omega has replaced the familiar wave dial with a blackened, grained surface, surrounded by a black ceramic bezel. The whole thing is monochromatic, restrained and just that little bit sinister.
It looks great, and more importantly, there’s no enormous 007 logo plastered across the dial.
No gun barrel. No Spectre octopus, (apart from the god awful rotor) Nothing screaming LOOK AT MY JAMES BOND WATCH every time your cuff moves. Thank the Lord.
From the front, you could quite easily mistake this for a particularly well-specced standard Seamaster Diver 300M.
And I mean that entirely as a compliment.
For years, some Bond editions have suffered from trying far too hard to remind you of the connection. Easter eggs are fun. Giant logos considerably less so.
This feels different. The Spectre association is there if you know it, but it doesn't dominate the watch. It’s the sort of restraint Omega should exercise more often.
And then you turn it over.
Oh, Omega.
Nobody does it better. Until they put an octopus on the rotor
The sapphire caseback reveals Omega’s Calibre 8806 and attached to the winding rotor is an enormous Spectre octopus.
Why?
After showing so much restraint on the front, Omega appears to have reached the movement and thought, “We’d better put a bloody great octopus somewhere.”
I know it’s hidden on the back. I know it’s supposed to be a bit of fun, and I know some Bond collectors will absolutely love it.
But for me, it cheapens what is otherwise an extremely sophisticated looking Seamaster. A tiny Spectre emblem engraved discreetly onto the movement or caseback would have been enough.
Less is more.
Ironically, Omega seems to understand this perfectly when designing the dial and then completely forgets it when designing the rotor.
The blue Bond version is even more theatrical, with a huge gun-barrel rotor dominating the movement. Again, I understand what Omega is trying to do.
But sometimes the best Easter eggs are the ones you have to find.
£7,200. Really?
Then there’s the price. Both steel watches are £7,200 in the UK.
And this is where I massively struggle.
Omega makes exceptional watches. Its movements are technically impressive, its finishing is excellent and the METAS Master Chronometer certification remains meaningful. But £7,200 is a lot of money for a steel Seamaster Diver 300M.
Especially when this isn't a new Seamaster. We're still looking at the familiar 42mm architecture. It's still 14.23mm thick. It's still powered by the Calibre 8806.
Yes, the dial is new. Yes, the bezel is different. Yes, you get the mesh bracelet, and yes, there's an octopus stuck to the back.
But £7,200?
At that point I stop looking at the watch and start looking at what else seven grand buys.
That's dangerous territory for any manufacturer.
Luxury watch prices have become increasingly difficult to rationalise over the past few years, and Omega certainly isn't alone in pushing them upwards.
But there comes a point where heritage, marketing and another variation of a familiar watch can only carry you so far. Which leads to my biggest issue with Omega at the moment.
How many Seamasters do we actually need?
Omega makes too many watches.
There. I said it.
At the time of writing, Omega’s online catalogue shows around 65 Seamaster Diver 300M configurations, depending on how individual bracelet, strap and material references are counted.
Sixty five. That's bordering on obscene.
Choice is good. But there comes a point where choice becomes clutter.
Blue, black, green, ceramic, steel, titanium, gold, two tone, rubber, bracelet, mesh, America’s Cup, Bond, another Bond...
Somewhere in Biel there must be a Monday morning meeting where somebody asks: “Have we tried this Seamaster with a slightly different dial yet?”
Omega has one of the richest back catalogues in watchmaking. Few manufacturers can call upon names as important as Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation and De Ville.
It also has enormous technical resources. Which is precisely why the constant stream of variations and re-releases can become so frustrating.
I want to see more creativity from Omega. Fewer watches. Better defined collections.
And when the time comes to redesign something as important as the Diver 300M, actually redesign it.
Make it slimmer. Perhaps make it smaller. Revisit the bracelet. Look at the proportions. Move the design forward.
Give us something that makes enthusiasts walk into an Omega boutique and immediately recognise that they're looking at the next generation of the Seamaster.
Because changing the dial, bezel and colour combination again isn't really enough.
Not anymore.
Perhaps the Seamaster needs an editor
The irony is that the new Spectre demonstrates just how good Omega can be when it simplifies things.
It's arguably one of the best looking modern steel Diver 300Ms the brand has produced. The monochromatic design works.
The no-date layout works. The mesh works visually, even if that bracelet won't suit every wrist, and the lack of obvious Bond branding on the dial definitely works.
So why couldn't this simply have been a new Seamaster? Remove the Spectre association. Remove the octopus rotor. Bring the price down.
And offer this as the cleaner, more enthusiast-focused Diver 300M within a considerably tighter collection.
Would I like it more? I think I would, and perhaps that tells you everything.
Omega doesn't need more Seamaster references. It needs an editor.
So why release a Bond watch now?
This is the other question hanging over the collection. Why now?
There is no Bond film imminent. There is no Bond actor currently announced. There's certainly no new 007 standing next to an Aston Martin with this watch strapped to his wrist.
Omega's official explanation revolves around the longstanding relationship with the franchise and the new Bond versus Spectre concept.
Fair enough.
But let's not pretend there isn't another reason. Bond sells watches.
Omega has spent more than three decades building an association between the Seamaster and arguably the world's most famous fictional spy. That relationship has enormous commercial value.
Why leave it sitting dormant simply because Hollywood hasn't decided who gets the tuxedo next?
Global James Bond Day gives Omega the perfect opportunity to put 007 back into the shop window without needing a film.
Is that cynical? Perhaps.
Is it a cash grab? Maybe a little.
But Omega is a business, not MI6.
I don't particularly object to a manufacturer making something because people will buy it. The question is whether the product is good enough to justify its existence.
And frustratingly, the Spectre almost is.
Then things get slightly ridiculous
If £7,200 isn't enough Bond for you, Omega has another option.
Two limited-edition sets, each restricted to 77 examples, pair a numbered steel watch with a platinum-gold version.
The platinum Bond receives a white-gold dial with a blue PVD gradient and gun-barrel pattern, while the Spectre version gets a dark grey gradient dial decorated with, yes, more octopus.
The sets also include a NATO strap, strap-changing tool, cufflinks, cord bracelet, loupe, travel pouch and card holder.
The price? £75,300.
At which point we've left MI6 altogether and moved into the hollowed-out volcano. They're collector pieces and undoubtedly Omega will find buyers for them. But at over seventy five thousand pounds for the full Bond experience?
The World Is Not Enough, apparently.
Is the Spectre the best Bond Seamaster yet?
This is where things become interesting.
Because despite everything I've just said, I really like the Spectre.
It is comfortably my favourite of these new releases and one of the most attractive Diver 300Ms in the current collection.
But is it the best Bond watch Omega has made? I'm not convinced.
For me, the White dial, black bezel Seamaster remains my absolute favourite.
That watch felt genuinely different.
More importantly, it felt like a watch designed for Bond rather than a watch designed to remind you of Bond.
The new Spectre is arguably cleaner.
It might even be prettier.
But underneath the new clothes, there's still an awful lot of the existing Seamaster.
And that matters.
The Spectre feels like an extremely good version of something we already know.
There is a difference.
The Watch Brothers verdict
The strangest thing about Omega's new Bond collection is that the villain wins.
The blue James Bond edition is a handsome watch, but given the choice I'd take the Spectre without hesitation.
The black grained dial is superb. The monochromatic aesthetic suits the Seamaster beautifully and the absence of ridiculous 007 branding on the dial makes it considerably more wearable than some Bond editions of the past.
Then Omega goes and sticks a giant octopus on the rotor. Come on, Omega. Less is more.
And that's perhaps the phrase I'd apply to Omega's wider catalogue too.
Less is more.
Fewer Seamaster references. Fewer cosmetic re-releases. Fewer excuses to revisit the same basic watch.
Give us more creativity instead.
Omega has the history, engineering ability and design talent to produce genuinely exciting watches. It doesn't need to keep raiding its own back catalogue or adding another reference to an already enormous collection.
The Spectre proves the frustrating part.
When Omega gets it right, it gets it very right.
I just wish we'd had a little more For Your Eyes Only and a little less Never Say Never Again.
Would I buy the Spectre?
At a more sensible price, without the octopus and perhaps after Omega had trimmed about 40 references from the catalogue?
Absolutely.
At £7,200? That's where Spectre and I may have to become The Living Daylights.
Okay, that last one doesn't work. But you get the point.