Have you ever seen something and wanted it instantly? This was the case with the Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial last year at Basel. A friend sent me a picture from the Basel show and bam…I got to have it. The only thing I needed to do was decide which one. As I’ve noted a few times over the years I love modern versions of vintage watches. So this has me written all over it. It seems that Omega has been hitting this sweet spot for me quite a bit lately since I’ve also succumb to the Ploprof, and Mark II. This 41mm homage to the original 1957 300 is spot on.
I chose the two tone version after seeing it at the Omega event last July. This Seamaster 300 MC has a sand-blasted black dial with 18K Sedna gold hands coated with patina look Super-LumiNova. The 18K Sedna gold bezel has a Ceragold ring and diving scale in the ceramic insert. The 41 mm stainless steel case is mated with a stainless steel and 18K Sedna gold bracelet. The 8400 Mater Co-Axial movement can be viewed through the transparent caseback. This movement is COSC certified and is designed to be anti-magnetic to field greater than 30,000 Gauss.
So now it’s time for a bit of Omega terminology. Sedna gold is the name OMEGA has given to a new alloy that blends three elements: gold, copper and palladium. It is an 18K rose gold, meaning that it has a minimum gold content of 75%. Omega Ceragold is the first product to allow the decoration of ceramic watch parts with 18K gold. The process used to create a ceramic bezel with gold numbers and scaling results in a finished product that is smooth to the touch.
Just to get it out of the way these would not my first choice of vintage Seamaster 300 hands. I find the large arrowheads a bit overwhelming. I prefer the sword hands that came a few years later I believe. These use the two color lume setup from the PO series where the hour hands lume color is blue like the dial markers, and the minute hand is green and matches the pip dot in the bezel. Speaking of the dial I love the sandwich look with the vintage tinted lume. It’s mesmerizing and works very well with the gold elements. The friend who originally sent me the Basel picture just acquired the SS version of the 300. He called me the other day and commented how stunning the watch is. Omega did well.
Having received my first magnetized watch a few months before the getting the 300 I can see how much a great feature having a antimagnetic watch can be. You can read the Watch Time tests on this movement but the general gist is there has not been a field anyone has been able to generate that can affect this movement. In addition their test of the movement yielded nearly zero variance per day. It was one of the most accurate watches they tested.
The bracelet on the 300 caries on the micro adjust ratchet that first appeared on the Mark II. The two-tone on my has a very formal look to it. I’m also glad that Omega has given up on the pin and collar bracelet sizing replaced by the heavier floating pin with cap screws.
The 300 has become my night out on the town watch of choice. It goes well with suits, jeans or shorts. It kind of flies under the radar, yet it looks make me happy. I guess that is all that matters in the end is how the watch makes you feel.