New material for the new representative of the Seamaster collection.

 

The Omega watch brand's oldest collection which can be traced back to the 1948 Seamaster line is now divided into a number of different lines, with historic models set apart from all the rest. We're talking about the reissue of the Seamaster 300 from 1957. That year was a milestone for Omega, when the watches that would define the brand's design and course of development the manufacture in Biel would take were unveiled: the Seamaster 300, Speedmaster chronograph and Railmaster watches.

 

This line is a fusion of history and modernity, where traditions meet unconventional solutions. This was the line that showcased dive watches that were vintage in terms of their style, yet with dials made of malachite or lapis lazuli and a Ceragold diving scale on the bezel. The new Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold added to the line this spring is no exception, encased in a material called Bronze Gold. It's a retro model more than anything else.

The watch dial is a sandwich-type construction with neatly cut-out triangular indexes and Roman numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock. The dial is surrounded by the traditional rotating bezel for dive watches. The 1957 watch was actually Omega's first watch with a tachymeter diving scale on the bezel. It now features brown ceramic insert. But the main feature here is the case material itself. Omega's continued experimentation with gold has resulted in the alloy they're now presenting as Bronze Gold.

 

The company describes the shade as somewhere in between the 18-karat Sedna gold and Moonshine. Sedna is an alloy of gold, copper and palladium which was introduced to the Omega Constellation collection in 2013. It was also used in a diver model in 2019, when the Seamaster 300M was released in a Sedna case. Moonshine gold was introduced in 2019, used in the Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Moonshine Gold Limited Edition.

 

This alloy combines yellow gold with palladium. Not only does the resulting alloy possess new properties (it offers high resistance to the fading of color and lustre over time), it's also a more subtle and paler shade than the yellow gold we're used to. Now they've been combined to create a new alloy. The alloy is hallmarked as 9-karat gold (i.e. unlike 18-karat gold, it's not 75% gold but 37.5% gold) combined with palladium and silver. The process is currently underway to have it patented.

 

Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold
Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold
Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold
Omega Seamaster 300 Bronze Gold

Now they've been combined to create a new alloy. The alloy is hallmarked as 9-karat gold (i.e. unlike 18-karat gold, it's not 75% gold but 37.5% gold) combined with palladium and silver. The process is currently underway to have it patented. This innovative material's main advantages are its unique shade and high level of corrosion resistance without verdigris-oxidation. Enriched with noble elements, the bronze forms an area of surface corrosion called a patina, which actually protects the underlying metal and prevents further corrosion.

The dial itself also happens to be made of bronze, the only difference being that the more conventional CuSn8 alloy has been used there. Hidden inside the Bronze Gold case is the METAS chronometer certified Omega Co-Axial Master Chronometer Caliber 8912. Two barrels mounted in series ensure a 60-hour power reserve. Moreover, the movement is equipped with a free-sprung balance wheel and a silicon balance spring.