Omega’s New Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m 75th Anniversary

Next up in the suite of watches Omega have released to celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the Seamaster is the new Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m. The Planet Ocean takes the design philosophy of the Diver 300m and pushes the limits further with increased water resistance. As with the other celebratory models, the focus is squarely on an aquatic blue design.

Interestingly, while the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean has that higher 600m water resistance compared to the other Seamasters, it’s actually smaller at a diameter of 39.5mm. Although, while it might be fairly small for a dive watch, it still has the bold design of a larger piece with broad, sweeping surfaces. That strong aesthetic is also seen in the chunky unidirectional rotating bezel with summer blue ceramic insert.

The highlight of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m watch, and what makes it stand out from existing Planet Oceans is the dial. For one, it’s a summer blue gradient and for two it has lovely vertical brushed finish. If it were a touch subtler it might almost qualify as a linen texture, which now that I think of it, would be an awesome pattern for a watch like the retro Seamaster 300. However, the pattern on this watch makes the dial look more like the kind of footage you see of divers near a cave entrance that’s full of silt with shafts of light filtering through.

Elsewhere on the dial, the central hands are all blue, as is the lume used on the hands and hour markers as well as the date window at 3 o’clock. At 6 o’clock you can see the inscription of 600m/2000ft denoting the water resistance. Oddly, 600m isn’t as jaw-dropping as it used to be considering that Omega launched the Ultra-Deep with 6,000m resistance, but it’s important to maintain perspective and realise that 600 is still impressive.

Below the dial, and protected by a commemorative steel caseback, is the Calibre 8800. It’s the same movement as used in the Diver 300m 75^th anniversary model, although it’s a slightly different version as the date window here is at 3 o’clock instead of 6. It has a 55-hour power reserve and is METAS master chronometer certified.

Interestingly, at £6,800 it’s the exact same price as the anniversary Seamaster 300. That leaves you with the choice, are you going for the retro charm of the 300 or the improved water resistance of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. I’ve already made it clear that I’m a sucker for the 300 but I can appreciate the arguments in favour for the 600m.