ReviewOmega Seamaster Diver 300M ‘Commander’s Watch’ Limited Edition: An In-depth Review

One of the high profile launches of this summer was surely that of the Commander’s Watch by Omega in London. No watch associated with James Bond- the world’s favourite spy can be kept low key. This one was no exception. The launch of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” Limited Edition was in order to commemorate Bond’s long association with the Seamaster line in movies, as well as the long relationship with the Commander.

The use of the Seamaster was recommended by Lindy Hemming, who was the costume designer for Bond flicks like Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, and Casino Royale. Says Hemming, “I fought for Bond to wear an OMEGA watch because I wanted to change to a watch that I felt was appropriate for a naval commander to wear … my father had been in the RAF but was friendly with navy men and I remember as a child one often visiting us, and he always wore this OMEGA, which fascinated me – this unusually sporty design that looked as though it was built for purpose.”

Going back in history a bit, James Bond has been portrayed as holding the rank of a Commander in the Royal Navy in the books. His full title would be Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR (RNVR is for Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and CMG refers to his membership in the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George). While in the movies there have been varying interpretations of Bond’s military rank but in the books at least, it was not an honorarium but a reflection of Bond’s service during World War II, in the Royal Navy.

Though there has been some inconsistency in the portrayal of Daniel Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale where he is referred to as an ex-SAS officer before joining MI6, but in You Only Live Twice (Sean Connery), The Spy Who Loved Me (Roger Moore), and Tomorrow Never Dies (Pierce Brosnan), celebrating the 50th, 40th, and 20th anniversaries respectively, Bond is portrayed as a Royal Navy Commander, true to his portrayals in the books.

About the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” Limited Edition:

The new Commander’s watch is technically the same as the other Seamaster 300M Diver’s watches. This watch is available in a 41mm case and houses a Omega Calibre 2507 movement from the 2500 family, with a co-axial escapement. The main difference comes with the colour scheme, as the watch salutes the ensign colours of the British Royal Navy with touches of white, blue and red throughout the watch. The suave yet robust stainless steel case features a blue ceramic bezel with Omega’s signature Liquidmetal® diving scale and red rubber covering the first 15 minutes. Liquidmetal® is a special alloy made of Zirconium, Nickel and others that offers malleability. The watch comes with a NATO strap in blue, red and grey; and follows a 5-stripe pattern with a polished buckle.

The dial of the watch is in polished white ceramic and includes 12 blue indexes. “Seamaster” is written in red and the dial features blue skeleton hands. The most stunning element on the watch face is the 007 gun logo counterweight on the central seconds hand. Another highlight is the red coloured number 7 in the date window, while all other numbers are in blue.

The watch comes in a yellow gold model as well, which has a ceramic bezel, white ceramic dial, and Omega Ceragold™ numerals and markers. Ceragold™ uses a special method of decorating ceramic watch parts with 18K gold.

On the wave-edged caseback, the stripes of the Commander’s naval insignia are featured on the rotor of the new calibre 2507. There is also a central 9mm “bullet” design adding the 007 touch. The stainless steel model is limited to just 7,007 pieces, and only 7 pieces in gold.

OMEGA watches were once issued to military divers around the world. In fact, the brand delivered more than 110,000 watches to Great Britain’s Navy during World War II. This, no doubt, adds to the folklore of Omega and Bond’s relationship over the years.

The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” perfectly represents Bond’s Royal Navy characterisation over the years and is a diving watch in vibrant blue, red and white, a ceramic dial and a NATO strap. Most importantly like all Bond watches from Omega, this one is a limited edition and will vanish off the shelves faster than you can imagine.

Retailing at ₹311,500, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M ‘Commander’s Watch’ Limited Edition is now available in ‘limited’ quantities at Ethos Watch Boutiques.

What did you think of this James Bond inspired timepiece? Let us know in the comments section below.