Omega Seamaster 300M James Bond 60th Anniversary 210.30.42.20.03.002 42mm

Omega Seamaster Diver 300 M “60 Years of James Bond”

Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002

Introduction

Six decades after Sean Connery first ordered his martini, Omega marked the milestone with a blue-dial Seamaster Diver 300 M that nods to 007’s 1995 comeback while running on a movement light-years ahead of the quartz worn in GoldenEye. Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002 keeps the scalloped bezel, wave dial and helium valve that define the modern Seamaster, yet replaces the date aperture with a pure, lollipop-seconds display and hides a spinning gun-barrel animation behind its sapphire case-back. The watch is equal parts fan service and technical showcase, staying true to the series’ tool-diver roots while celebrating cinema’s longest-running spy.  

From 1948 dress diver to 1993 wave dial

The Seamaster story began in 1948 as a lightly sealed civilian all-rounder. In 1957 Omega split the range, creating the Seamaster 300 for professional divers with a screw-down crown and broad-arrow hands. Those early references proved the brand could match Swiss rivals for underwater reliability, but the modern identity of the line dates to 1993. That year Omega launched the Seamaster Professional 300 M with an etched wave dial, skeleton hands and a conical helium-escape valve at ten o’clock—features that would become shorthand for the collection. Pierce Brosnan wore one in every Bond film from 1995 to 2002, cementing the watch’s pop-culture standing and boosting sales in a decade when mechanical watches were clawing back relevance.

The road to Master Chronometer status

Omega’s upgrade path for the 300 M has followed a tight feedback loop between divers, desk-divers and movement engineers. In 2006 the Co-Axial calibre 2500D replaced the ETA-based 1120, extending service intervals. Ceramic bezels and dials arrived in 2012, solving the problem of aluminium fade and scratching. The decisive step came in 2018 when Omega relaunched the Diver 300 M at 42 mm, pairing ceramic wave dials with the in-house calibre 8800. Achieving METAS Master Chronometer status meant timekeeping within 0/+5 seconds per day and magnetic resistance to 15 000 gauss—ten times the level that once crippled traditional lever escapements.

Case and bezel

Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002 shares the 42 mm dimensions and 300-metre rating of its stable-mates but switches from zirconium-oxide ceramic to oxalic-anodised aluminium for both dial and bezel—a deliberate call-back to Brosnan’s 1990s spec. The bezel insert carries a luminous “60” in place of the usual inverted triangle, signalling the anniversary without turning the watch into a billboard. Scalloped edges remain for grip, and the unidirectional action clicks through 120 firm detents. Case thickness is 13.2 mm, capped by a box-profile sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective treatment. Crown flanks taper outward, allowing a gloved diver or an actor on set to screw the stem home without stripping threads. At ten o’clock sits the trademark helium valve; the modern version still screws down but is conical rather than cylindrical, a profile better at shedding knocks.  

Dial and hands

Omega chose aluminium because its specific oxide layer takes a deep, Royal-Navy blue that echoes the 1993 original yet gains sharper laser-engraved waves. Applied hour markers are rhodium-plated and filled with Super-LumiNova that glows green, while the minute track glows blue for instant orientation in murky water. The skeleton sword hands, themselves a nod to the 1957 SMP300 broad-arrow set, have been widened fractionally for readability. Instead of the date at six, the dial is perfectly symmetrical; the lollipop sweep seconds introduces a playful accent and drives the moiré animation on the case-back.

The Bond case-back

Flip the watch over and a sapphire window reveals the calibre 8806 behind a micro-structured metallised film. As the seconds hand turns, the gun-barrel spiral and 007 silhouette appear to rotate—an optical trick that needs no extra gearing or energy. Reference numbers, depth rating and Master Chronometer text are etched on the steel rim, leaving the animation uncluttered.  

Movement: calibre 8806

The 8806 is a no-date sibling of Omega’s 8800. It beats at 25 200 vph and stores 55 hours of power in a single barrel, wound by a bi-directional rotor on ceramic bearings. A free-sprung balance with a silicon hairspring sits under a full balance bridge for shock resistance. Twin mainspring-barrel teeth mesh with a co-axial escapement that halves the sliding friction found in Swiss anchor designs, extending lubricant life. Each finished calibre endures ten days of testing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology: six positions, two temperatures and magnetic exposure to 15 000 gauss, after which performance must remain within five seconds daily variation. Those figures matter to divers carrying compass equipment or commuters ringed by laptop magnets alike.  

Bracelet and clasp

Rather than the familiar five-link steel bracelet, Omega equips this edition with a stainless-steel mesh—echoing the lightweight titanium mesh on Daniel Craig’s No Time to Die watch but rendered here with polished and brushed facets for visual contrast. The folding clasp hides a push-button slider that grants six millimetres of on-the-fly micro-adjustment, a welcome upgrade over the pin-and-hole system found on earlier bracelets. A quick-release spring-bar lets owners swap to NATO or rubber straps without scratching lugs, and the 20 mm spacing means aftermarket options are plentiful.

Wearing experience

On the wrist the watch stretches ~50 mm lug to lug yet contours comfortably because the first bracelet link folds straight down. Mass is roughly 145 grams on mesh—lighter than the standard Diver on its solid-link bracelet, heavier than the titanium NTTD model. The combination keeps the centre of gravity low enough to avoid bracelet-slide yet provides the reassuring heft of steel. The slim bezel teeth bite into neoprene and denim alike, and the domed crystal refracts a subtle blue halo at the dial’s edge under direct sunlight, reinforcing the marine theme without gimmickry.

Legacy of the 007 partnership

Omega took over Bond timing duties with GoldenEye at the urging of costume designer Lindy Hemming, who argued that a naval-officer-turned-spy would plausibly wear a Royal Navy-issue diver. Brosnan’s quartz Seamaster appeared in four films, each time tweaking the gadget load-out but keeping the blue wave dial. Daniel Craig’s tenure introduced co-axial movements, ceramic bezels and eventually a titanium piece that Craig helped design. Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002 distils that journey into one meta-tribute: Brosnan’s dial colour, Craig’s mesh bracelet, the lollipop seconds found on vintage military Omega divers and a case-back that literally plays the opening credits.

Comparison with the core Diver 300 M

Set alongside the standard 210.30.42.20.03.001, the 60-year Bond diver trades ceramic for aluminium, deletes the date, swaps the bracelet and introduces the animated case-back. The movement is otherwise identical; accuracy, resistance and service intervals remain unchanged. The aluminium bezel is fractionally lighter, and some purists will welcome the softer sheen that develops minor nicks gracefully—an aesthetic impossible on ceramic. By retaining the regular screw-in spring bars rather than adopting the quick-release push-pins of the Aqua Terra, Omega signals that this variant is meant to be used, not merely displayed.

Omega’s current Seamaster strategy

In 2023 Omega celebrated the Seamaster’s 75th anniversary with an 11-piece “Summer Blue” line. Yet the brand chose to unveil the Bond 60th edition nine months earlier, reinforcing how tightly the Diver 300 M’s fortunes are tied to cinema’s secret agent. Omega’s co-axial Master Chronometer programme has reshaped expectations for magnetic immunity across the industry, and the Seamaster family now ranges from the 150 m Aqua Terra to the 6 000 m Ultra Deep. Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002 sits dead-centre in that spectrum, pairing everyday dimensions with capability that covers 99 percent of recreational diving.  

Final thoughts

Reference 210.30.42.20.03.002 packages six decades of Bond mythology, three decades of Diver 300 M design and Omega’s latest Master Chronometer tech into a single 42 mm case. By choosing aluminium over ceramic, a lollipop hand over a date and a mesh bracelet over the familiar five-link, Omega has built a variant that feels familiar yet fresh. The watch is unapologetically cinematic—just flip it over to see the gun-barrel swirl—but every flourish serves a practical or emotional purpose. For enthusiasts who grew up with Brosnan’s blue wave or Craig’s tactical titanium, the 60-year Bond Seamaster offers a tangible bridge between screen legend and real-world engineering.

Near new with no discernible marks or scratches on either case or bracelet. Effectively unworn.

Pristine and near new.