Omega Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001

The Origins

Initially released in 1948 and based on watches used by airmen in WWII, the Omega Seamaster has become one of Omega’s best-known collections, and one of watchmaking’s most notable sports watches, specifically within the arena of dive watches. While it was initially a dress-style watch with thick lugs and a precious metal case, the Seamaster was designed to tackle casual daily wear while remaining functional for use in water with an impressive 62.5 meters of water resistance – which was by no means a slouch at the time. However, the modern Seamaster that we know and love today was born a short nine years later, in 1957, along with the Speedmaster and Railmaster, which complete Omega’s iconic ‘ 1957 trilogy’. 

Inspired to upgrade the Seamaster after they had 50 of the Seamaster’s original cases fitted with rubber O-ring gaskets and pressure-tested tested in 1955, Omega began to work with new materials and push their engineering boundaries. As a result, they created the Seamaster 300M, which featured a heavily luminescent dial and handset, a rotating bezel, a thick domed hesalite crystal, and double crown seals. Interestingly, while named the Seamaster 300M, the watch was originally only rated for 200m of water resistance, with Omega insisting that the watch could outperform the testing equipment. 

In the decades following, the Seamaster continued to evolve into one of watchmaking’s most impressive dive watches, with its debut in the 1995 James Bond movie ‘GoldenEye’ cementing its place in the world of iconic dive watches. Following several revamps since then, the Seamaster 300M is arguably one of the most capable dive watches on the market for the money, and the Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 quickly became one of the hero references within the collection when it debuted in 2022, 6 years after the current generation of Seamaster 300M was launched in 2018. 

The Case and Dial

Boasting the Seamaster’s signature 42mm stainless steel case, the Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 retains the bulk of the collection’s modern aesthetic with its twisting lyre lugs, undulating crown guards and love-or-hate-it helium escape valve at 11 o’clock, the ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 is unmistakable as a Seamaster. Add its ceramic bezel’s inscriptions and design to the equation, and there is no doubt, even from afar, what watch you are looking at. Offered on a green rubber strap, the ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 breaks from the aesthetic of its braceleted sibling with a design language that benefits from the wearability and casual sense that rubber offers. 

Beyond its construction, the ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 features the Seamaster’s latest dial design, which was launched as part of the collection’s revamp in 2018. Made of zirconium ceramic, as indicated by the stealthy “[ZrO2]” inscription just below the center pinion. Boasting a wavy engraving, applied luminous dot indices and the Seamaster 300M’s iconic skeletonized hands, the ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 adds an exciting visual flair through its unique shade of green that can transform from a dark forest green to a vibrant emerald and everything in between with the flick of your wrist.  

The Movement

Powered by the automatic cal. 8800, the Seamaster 300M boasts 55 hours of power reserve alongside Omega’s famed co-axial escapement and a bevvy of certifications such as its Master Chronometer certification awarded by METAS that states that it is resistant to magnetic fields reaching 15,000 gauss – an incredible feat. Additionally, the cal. 8800 also features a free-sprung balance with a silicon balance spring, automatic winding in both directions, and rhodium-plated finishing with Geneva waves which are proudly on display behind an exhibition caseback, an impressive technical feat due to the fact that exhibition casebacks create problems for watchmakers looking to create watertight seals at depths like the 300m that the Seamaster is rated to.

Celeb Love

Due to its iconic pairing with the silver screen’s favourite spy and its own historical importance as one of watchmaking’s best-known dive watches, the Seamaster 300M has been spotted on the wrists of hundreds of celebrities over the years with Gordon Ramsey, Tom Hanks, Joe Biden, Prince Phillip, George Clooney and many others spotted wearing different variants of the icon. While it was only launched two years ago in 2022, the Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 can join that list of Seamaster 300M variants spotted on A-listers, with Rory McIlroy donning the watch during a number of his golf tournaments. Granted, it hasn’t been spotted on all that many celebrities at the moment, given its popularity with the watch collection community and the iconic heritage of its parent collection, there is no doubt in our mind that the Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 will become an increasingly common sight on the wrist of celebrities over the next few years. 

Market Performance

Like a lot of Omega’s current production offering, the Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 struggled to maintain its initial hype after it was first launched. While it roared to life with a market value of around $6000, a $600 premium over its then $5400 MSRP, the ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 has since stabilized at a market value of around $4500, a negative price premium of around 19% from its current MSRP of $5600.

While this might not be the sort of investment-level performance that some other watches can offer, it does still present an opportunity for watch lovers, as collectors can gain entry into one of the most iconic dive watch collections’ newest variants in the color of the moment for just over $1000 less than its retail price. Sure, the opportunity to flip your watch straight after you buy it isn’t there, but you are readily able to buy a hell of a watch on the open market for a sizeable discount, and there is a lot to be said for that. 

Check out the live performance of Omega Seamaster 300M ‘Green’ ref. 210.32.42.20.10.001 on The Wristcheck Index