Being one of the 14 landlocked countries in Europe, Switzerland isn’t perhaps an obvious destination to take a Seamaster. But you don’t need a sea to be a master mariner – because Switzerland was actually the first European nation ever to win the America’s Cup yacht race, in 2003. And the Swiss seafaring tradition proudly continues, with Switzerland’s Alinghi boat – now sponsored by Red Bull –one of the frontrunners for the 2024 race, which gets underway from Barcelona in autumn. The official timekeeper for the 37th America’s Cup is also Omega. So it all makes sense now, doesn’t it?
Omega Seamaster 300 - Credit Guest Author
First, a quick recap of the specification and story behind my Seamaster: the latest arrival to my collection. It's a brand-new Seamaster 300 in blue, 42mm, with the calibre 8800 movement and (unusually for a dive watch) a display caseback – making it to my mind, the archetypal modern Seamaster and a perfect foil to my much older Seamaster from the late 1950s; back when it was a dress watch: (https://www.watchgecko.com/blogs/magazine/the-origin-of-the-species-a-1950s-omega-seamaster).
Omega Seamaster 300 - Credit WatchGecko
As you can probably tell I’ve always had a thing for Seamasters, especially as a James Bond fan, and I’ve lusted after this latest version for a long time. That dream became a reality when I secured a fantastic deal in Dubai for a new example last November, bringing it home and then squirrelling it away until December 25, when it miraculously re-emerged as rather special Christmas present.
After Christmas in the UK, when it had its first proper outings, it was off to Switzerland a couple of days later for a New Year break and some skiing, along with other winter activities, in the picture postcard village of Gsteig.
Omega Seamaster 300 on WatchGecko Vintage Tropical Style FKM Rubber Watch Strap
The Seamaster is an ‘everything watch’, which is one of the reasons I wanted one so much. As we’ve seen, it mutated from a dress watch to a dive watch throughout its illustrious history, and like the equally archetypal Rolex Submariner, it’s never lost that polyvalence; feeling suitable for every occasion yet bringing a touch of adventure to even the most banal engagement.
I flew to Switzerland on British Airways, yet even this routine flight to Zurich felt a bit like something straight out of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” – one of my favourite Bond movies that I thought a lot about during my trip to Switzerland.
And that’s the power of the Bond-Omega franchise: it makes even an overweight, middle-aged man such as myself feel a bit like Sean Connery, and my Fiat Punto (transport for the week) like a Bentley Continental.
Once I got to my destination, Gsteig – right next to Roger Moore’s favourite hangout at Gstaad – the Seamaster of course fitted in perfectly with everything I wanted to do, feeling just as at home in a remote chalet as in the famous Hotel Olden restaurant (which is owned by Bernie Ecclestone, another famous resident of Gstaad). No jeans or snow boots are allowed in his restaurant, but Seamasters are of course welcome anywhere. Gstaad itself is predictably dripping with watch shops, mainly Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Chopard, and most people there seem to be wearing something quite impressive. In one bar alone, I spotted two Richard Milles.
Another obligatory stop-off was the Gstaad Classic Car auction, where among the incredible 50 or so cars to go under the hammer was a 007-edition Aston Martin Vantage, complete with skis on the back. Just 100 of these models were announced in August 2020 to celebrate the forthcoming ‘No Time to Die’ movie and they featured a whole host of goodies: such as a dashed yellow diffuser inspired by the hazard stripes on the film car’s rockets, 007 branding, and an embroidered radio station frequency on the sun visor – 96.60 (FM) – which was the Russian police frequency Bond used to aid his escape in The Living Daylights. Not to mention cross hairs etched onto the car’s paddle shift gear levers, which allude to the Aston’s missile guidance system (sadly deleted in roadgoing trim).
The Aston fetched 205,000 Swiss Francs (around £195,000), having retailed for £161,000 when it was new a couple of years ago. Those looking for something more affordable at the auction had the choice of a couple of automotive-themed watches: a 2013 limited-edition IWC Ingenieur ‘Silberpfeil’, which raised 5000 Swiss Francs, and a Certina DS Podium BMW Sauber F1 Limited Edition, which had a reserve of just 800 Francs.
Beautiful as the IWC was, I would have swapped neither (nor both) of them for the Seamaster, which is rapidly turning into my everyday watch of choice. I learned to love it more and more during my time away: it’s prestigious without being flashy, classic without being old-fashioned, beautifully readable thanks to the skeletonised hands and distinctive red-tipped ‘lollipop’ seconds hand, and just as impressive at night as it is during the day, courtesy of the beautifully contrasting lume. With its signature wave pattern, it couldn’t be anything else but a Seamaster, and even though 42mm sounds quite big on paper, in reality it’s the perfect size once sat reassuringly on your wrist. To say I love it is an understatement.
This might sound like blasphemy, but I can’t help thinking that it’s everything the Submariner used to be, before Rolex’s icon somehow took on a life of its own that set it apart from normality. Whisper it quietly, but I probably prefer it to the Sub right now. And I certainly don’t see it leaving my wrist any time soon…at home or abroad.
