Omega Celebrates 75 Years of the Seamaster with the New “Summer Blue” Collection

The Seamaster turns 75 this year, and if you thought Omega was going to let the anniversary pass without a major celebratory release, well, needless to say you’d be sorely mistaken. Today, the brand unveiled an 11 watch collection, covering the expanse of the Seamaster range to pay tribute to all aspects of what many would argue is a brand within a brand. More than anything, the new suite of Seamasters is a reminder of the diversity of watches made with the “Seamaster” name on the dial. Even more than the Speedmaster, the Seamaster collection represents the core of what Omega is as a brand today, a fully integrated manufacture that makes tech forward, accessible, heirloom quality watches for every possible scenario. 

Omega has developed a remarkably coherent conceit behind this release, which they are subtitling “Precision at Every Level,” a reference to the brand’s high spec METAS certified movements and the range of depths Seamaster watches are certified to. The idea here is that Omega is using a shade of “Summer Blue” on each dial, but in lighter or darker gradients depending on the depth rating of the watch. The Aqua Terra, rated to 150 meters, has a dial that appears light blue with a subtle gradient effect, but once you get down to the depths of the Ploprof and Ultra Deep, the dials get darker with a more pronounced gradient. The blue used here is distinct from other shades of blue used throughout the Omega catalog, so these watches should be immediately recognizable to collectors as part of the anniversary collection when spotted in the wild. 

Starting with the Aqua Terra line, we get four watches in total. First, the relatively new 38mm version with “sailboat” hour markers along with 41mm versions on both a strap and steel bracelet. The latter both incorporate the horizontal dial texture that has become the Aqua Terra’s signature, resembling the teak deck of a luxury yacht. Also part of the Aqua Terra lineup is a new version of Omega’s Worldtimer, which was just updated with green and titanium versions a short time ago. The Worldtimer can be had on either a bracelet or a strap, and features the same laser-ablated dial details as its siblings. All of the Aqua Terras share a similar light blue dial tone and moderate gradient that is reflective of the 150 meter water resistance of these watches. The Aqua Terra starts at $6,400.

With the Seamaster 300, the diver modeled on the original “professional” dive watch launched by Omega in 1957, we see the depth rating double, and the dial gets darker and a bit moodier as a result. The overall tone is darker and now has a noticeable gradient, but there is still a great deal of light blue incorporated into the dial, specifically in the hour markers and numerals found in the dive bezel. These accents in baby blue provide a nice contrast to the almost black tones found at the dial’s perimeter. Omega is also using a new light blue shade of Super-LumiNova on the 300 (and on the other watches in this collection) to aid visibility in low light conditions. The Seamaster 300 retails for $7,400. 

The Seamaster Diver 300M is the contemporary incarnation of Omega’s classic dive watch, and sports the same water resistance and thus the same medium blue hue as the 300. Like the Aqua Terra, the dial here is executed with the signature texture that the watch has come to be recognized by, in this case a dramatic laser etched wave pattern on a sheet of polished ceramic. The complementary bezel is also ceramic, and the watch will be available on either a bracelet or the excellent Seamaster rubber strap. On said strap, the 300M lists for $5,900 and goes up to $6,300 on a bracelet. 

With the Planet Ocean 600M we begin to get into Omega’s professional and more experimental Seamasters. These are watches that are as much about showing off the incredible tech that Omega can leverage as they are about practicality, but that’s a huge part of their appeal. The Planet Ocean is rated to an absurd 600 meters of water resistance, but modeled on the design language of the ultra practical Seamaster 300 when it made its debut in 2005. The 39.5mm Planet Ocean has the appearance of a “normal” dive watch, but is just a step or two above. The darker blue tones are becoming more noticeable here, and they appear on dial with a subtle vertically brushed texture. The Planet Ocean’s retail price is $7,400.

If the Planet Ocean 600M is the serious diver for people who want to look like they’re wearing a normal diver, the Ploprof is the serious diver for people who simply do not care about such pedestrian concerns. With a 1,200 meter water resistance, the Ploprof’s dial is nearly black except at the center, where a shaft of light blue peeks out. This is perhaps Omega’s most technical and intimidating watch, with an unusual asymmetrical case defined by its push-button bezel locking system. The case has a monobloc construction crafted from Omega’s new O-MEGASTEEL alloy. The Ploprof is a cult favorite that is rarely updated and (we assume) produced in relatively small numbers, so a new version in blue is almost certainly going to be a huge hit with a very dedicated niche group of collectors. The retail price on the Ploprof is $14,300.

The 45.5mm Ultra Deep is Omega’s deepest diver by far, with a rating of an almost incomprehensible 6,000 meters. I’ll be honest here and say that in these Omega supplied photos, I don’t notice a huge difference between the gradient effect and color tone of the Ultra Deep as compared to the Ploprof. But for the Ultra Deep, Omega has created a dial that reflects the ocean floor itself, with a texture that is a precise representation of Challenger Deep as mapped by the Five Deeps team that initially tested the Ultra Deep Professional, which you can more about here. To drive the point home, Omega has included an Easter egg of sorts in the form of a map only visible when hit with a UV light that reveals the precise location and depth of the Five Deeps dive. The retail price on the Ultra Deep is $13,000. 

And that’s that. Every Seamaster, revamped in Summer Blue with tones that reflect their aquatic nature. Another notable aspect common to all of these watches is the caseback, which is a throwback to the original design from the 1950s featuring Poseidon with his trident and a pair of seahorses. The same design is featured on every watch in the Summer Blue series, which means that all of these watches have closed basebacks, hiding the METAS certified movements from view. 

For much more information on all of the new Summer Blue Seamasters, head over to Omega’s website