No Time to Die is the next James Bond film due to hit cinemas in April 2020. The 25th instalment of the hugely popular James Bond saga, actor Daniel Craig limbers up for action in his fifth performance as 007. Although there was speculation that Spectre would be Craig’s last Bond role, he’s back to save the world taking orders from M (Ralph Fiennes), the head of MI6.
With just six months before the official release date, Omega capitalises on Bondmania to introduce a limited-edition of 7,007 Seamaster Diver 300M models for diehard fans of the world’s best-loved secret agent. Ostensibly aimed as celebrating the 50th anniversary of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the 1969 Bond film starring Geoge Lazenby as James Bond, the watch is customised to the gills with Bond paraphernalia.
The fascination with everything that Bond touches has not abated and dedicated websites let you know where to buy his suits, his swimming trunks, his Aston Martins and, what concerns us, his watches. Although Sean Connery’s Bond started life wearing a Rolex Submariner, Omega’s line of Seamasters have been timing Bond’s escapades since 1995 with the film Goldeneye.
As befits a spy who is all brawn and brains, a rugged watch is a fundamental piece of kit. Given its resilience, water-resistance and rugged good looks, Omega’s Seamaster has been the watch of choice for all post-1995 Bonds. In fact, just recently, the Seamaster enjoyed another stellar moment when a specially developed ultra-deep Seamaster accompanied the crew of the Five Deeps Expedition to the deepest part of the five oceans (10,928m in the Mariana Trench) setting all sorts of depth records and more importantly, surfacing unscathed and in perfect functioning order.
Read more about James Bond's 007 Rolex watches here
Capable of fathoming depths of 300 metres, the 42mm brushed stainless steel case of the Seamaster Diver 300M is fitted with a helium escape valve at 10 o’clock and has a black ceramic bezel with a white enamel diving scale to time immersions. Despite its impressive underwater credentials, the case back is not sealed and the sapphire crystal offers a view of the powerful Omega Master Chronometer Calibre 8800 beating below. This is all pretty standard fare with the Seamaster Diver 300M, but what distinguishes this as a special Bond watch is the yellow gold plaque placed just below the helium valve on the side of the case, engraved with the limited-edition number of the watch out of a total of 7,007.
Orbis non Sufficit
The swirling pattern depicted on the black PVD and black ceramic dial is, as any Bond fan will know, a laser-engraved representation of the iconic gun barrel sequence that has appeared at the beginning of every James Bond film since Dr No in 1962. For absolute fanatics, the 9mm diameter of the bullet is faithfully replicated in the centre of the dial.
Another nod to James Bond is found on the 12 o’clock hour marker. Mentioned for the first time in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Service, Bond’s family coat of arms bears the motto Orbis non Sufficit (the world is not enough). This is not the first time the Bond family crest pops up on the dial of a Seamaster: in 2015 the coat of arms was emblazoned across the entire dial of the Aqua Terra 150M. The Bond coat of arms on this limited-edition Seamaster Professional 300M makes a slightly more subtle cameo with a chevron and three circles.
The prominent 18k yellow gold hour markers are filled with Super-LumiNova that glows with a long-lasting blue lume in the dark. The only way to spot the next Bond secret signature, which is hidden on the 10 o’clock hour marker, is in the dark when the blue lume reveals the number ‘50’ in its centre.
The central hour and minute hands are also crafted from 18k yellow gold, filled with lume and skeletonised but the minutes hand glows green to match the dot on the unidirectional diving scale that indicates immersion times. But there is more... Every seventh day of the month, the number seven appears in the date window with the same font as the 007 logo!
A high-performance engine
Under the sapphire crystal caseback, that bears a metallised gold and black engraving of the Bond coat of arms, ticks the state-of-the-art automatic Omega Master Chronometer Calibre 8800 with Co-Axial escapement and a robust 55-hour power reserve. In addition to being water-resistant to 300m, the watch can deal with a serious amount of magnetism, up to 15,000 gauss.
The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a limited edition of 7,007 watches and comes with a black rubber strap. The watch is presented in a black box with gun barrel patterns with an additional stainless steel bracelet and tool to change the strap. At time of publishing, the watch retails for £5,220.
