Celebrating the Seamaster, the Paris Olympics and new tech – the best of Omega in 2023

Fergus Nash

Every watchmaker has their fans and haters, but Omega seem close to having universal adoration. They have something for everyone without compromising their brand identity, which has remained consistent for as long as wristwatches have been a thing. They’re a pillar of Swiss watchmaking, a gem of the Swatch Group, and we expect greatness from them in every release. In all honesty, 2023 hasn’t seen Omega do anything too crazy akin to collaborating with Swatch, but they’ve expanded on their most loved collections in fun and interesting ways, while also introducing a fun new tech piece for the future.

Omega Seamaster Summer Blue collection

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Omega Seamaster, it wasn’t enough to just release one, two or even three new watches. Omega doubled down, rendering every kind of watch in the entire Seamaster series in a new Summer Blue gradient colour. That’s 8 watches, and 11 references if you include the new strap alternatives. The effect is slightly different across each watch, but they all range from a pastel blue in the centre to a deep navy around the perimeter. It helps to highlight each watch’s unique texture, from the wave dial of the Diver 300M, to the vertical brushing of the Planet Ocean, to the stormy seas of the Ultra Deep.

Omega Seamaster 300M 60 Years of James Bond Edition

Although the enhanced wave pattern of the modern Diver 300M looks fantastic with its laser-etched ceramic dial, there is a large group of people who will always defer to nostalgia. First introduced in 1995 by Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in GoldenEye, the deep blue, small-wave pattern dial has been absolutely iconic and recognisable even to non-nerds. Although it’s technically one year late, this special edition was created to mark the 60th anniversary of James Bond in film. It resurrects the ‘90s dial pattern, while retaining the emboldened features and case of the modern references.

Omega Speedmaster Super Racing

While the Omega Speedmaster has forged a strong connection with the moon and space exploration in general, it’s easy to forget that it was originally designed as a racing chronograph. With some design references to its racetrack inspiration, the Omega Speedmaster Super Racing is also their most accurate watch to date. The dial sports a chequered-flag motif for the minute tracks, and a honeycomb dial which nods at the Bumble-Bee colour scheme of an anti-magnetic Aqua Terra from 2013. Powering the watch is the new calibre 9920, using something called the Spirate System to guarantee an accuracy within -0/+2 seconds per day.

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Paris 2024

Following the official colour scheme of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, this Omega Seamaster Diver 300M has got to be one of the most sophisticated-looking Seamasters released since the 1960s. The gold and white compliment each other so well, and the wave dial’s depth has been reversed and polished for an even more luxurious lustre. It’s not too obviously an Olympic special edition if you were to buy it for the looks alone, although you can spot the Marianne flame logo towards the tip of the seconds hand.

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Dark Grey

Omega are no strangers to ceramic, but in an age where many luxury brands have produced ceramic cases, they’ve taken things a step further. Typical ceramic cases are already much lighter than stainless steel, however Omega have developed a new kind called Si3N4 which half as heavy yet again. The general size of the watch and the need for a movement with titanium components means that it still weighs 107g on the rubber strap, but its ingenuity and spectrum of greys makes for a compelling release. It also features the new Spirate System for higher accuracy,  and the sapphire caseback reveals the dark look of the calibre 8906 Ti.