Duel of the classic diving watches: Fake Rolex Submariner vs. Omega Seamaster Diver 300m

Omega vs. fake rolex – the rivalry between the two Swiss industry giants has been around for a long time and is manifested in various squabbles such as the water resistance skirmish around the Mariana Trench (who has the longest, deepest timepiece?). And of course in the classic diving watches that the two watch manufacturers are putting into the race – the flagship models Omega Seamaster Diver 300m and Rolex Submariner (Date or No Date). In this article, after a brief dive into the history of the Seamaster and the Submariner, I’ll let the two models compete against each other… Ring free!

The story – Rolex Submariner vs. Omega Seamaster

The very first Omega Seamaster is based on the design of the military watches that were developed and delivered during the Second World War based on the requirements of the British Ministry of Defense (MoD). Between 1940 and 1945, OMEGA delivered more than 110,000 timepieces to the Royal Air Force and Navy. The first Omega Seamaster from 1948 was basically 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-rings, the water resistance of 6 bar or 60 meters was very good for the time.

It was not until 9 years later, in 1957, that the first Omega Seamaster 300 with the caliber 501 was launched – 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 to 300 meters, but “only” to 200 meters. Why? Nobody really knows. 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. However, the design of today’s Omega Seamaster 300m is based on 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 spy features such as a laser beam, which was unfortunately not available in the civilian version ;-)).

The big screen appearance helped the Seamaster to make its breakthrough – the automatic (Ref. 2531.80.00) and the quartz version (Ref. 2541.80.00) of the SMP had already been launched two years earlier. Characteristic: the wave pattern on the dial, which is still popular today.