Omega vs. Fake Rolex – the rivalry between the two Swiss industry giants has not just existed since yesterday and manifests itself in various taunts such as the water resistance banter around the Mariana Trench (who has the longest, deepest timepiece?). And of course in the diving watch classics that the two watch manufacturers put into the race – the flagship models Omega Seamaster Diver 300m and Rolex Submariner (Date or No Date). In this article – after a brief delve into the history of the Seamaster and the Submariner – I will let the two models compete against each other… Ring free!
The Story – Rolex Submariner vs. Omega Seamaster
The first-ever Omega Seamaster is based on the design of military watches developed and delivered during World War II based on the requirements of the British Ministry of Defense (MoD). Between 1940 and 1945, OMEGA supplied more than 110,000 timepieces to the Royal Air Force and Navy. The first Omega Seamaster from 1948 was essentially a civilian version of these watches, but had little to do with the diving watch design that characterizes the watch today. Nevertheless, thanks to O-sealing rings, the water resistance was very good for the time at 6 bar or 60 meters.
It was only 9 years later, in 1957, that the first Omega Seamaster 300 with the caliber 501 was brought onto the market – now positioned as a real diving watch thanks to the rotating bezel and double crown seal. Curious: Officially, the first Seamaster 300 was not waterproof up to 300 meters, but “only” up to 200 meters. Why? Nobody really knows that. One story is that “300” simply sounds better than “200”… 😉
Over the decades, Omega has repeatedly breathed new life into the Seamaster series with fresh models. The design has changed noticeably. Fundamental to the design of today’s Omega Seamaster 300m is the Omega Seamaster Professional (SMP), which Pierce Brosnan wore on his wrist for the first time as James Bond in Goldeneye in 1995 (of course with all sorts of agent features such as a laser beam, which unfortunately are the same as the civilian version was withheld ;-)).
The screen appearance helped the Seamaster achieve its breakthrough – the automatic (Ref. 2531.80.00) and the quartz version (Ref. 2541.80.00) of the SMP had already been brought onto the market two years earlier. Characteristic: The wave pattern on the dial, which is still popular today.
Incidentally, since Goldeneye, no other watch brand has come onto the secret agent’s wrist: the watches from manufacturers such as Seiko, TAG Heuer and Rolex previously seen in the films have since become a thing of the past.
Today there are a number of subcategories in the Seamaster model series, including, for example, the comparatively modern-looking Planet Ocean (since 2003), the beefy Ploprof (since 1970) or the Seamaster 300m. Omega wouldn’t be Omega if a barely manageable number of limited editions didn’t come out of Swiss production. At the end of 2019, for example, a Seamaster special edition was released with all sorts of references to James Bond.