Omega Seamaster 300m GMT 50th Anniversary

I'm not ashamed to admit it but I love my Omegas. I have a few of them now but the one that surprises me more than any of the rest is my 2534.50.00 Seamaster GMT from 2006.

I'll admit it, I've always loved the Rolex root beer GMT and in this post crypto boom world I was searching for one that would fit my needs and my budget (not easy). Unfortunately living in Australia my options for root beers was very limited but I did find one, a 1971 GMT Master root beer but at $21,000 AUD (roughly $14k USD) without the bracelet it was a case of look but don't touch.

I was aware of the 2534.50 but only in a peripheral way. I had instantly dismissed it because of the black/silver faceted bezel. I really didn't like it and put it out of my mind. That all changed when I saw this beauty.

I imagine that I'm a lot like you guys with a dedicated "Watches" bookmark folder in my browser and I had not long before started collating all of my watch resources into a folder for easy recall. One particular night I was engaged in collating my list of Australian based European watch dealers into this resource when I stumbled upon my 2534.50.

The first thing that got me was the ghost bezel. No longer the stark industrial black and silver of it's release, but rather a thing of aged timeless beauty. I watched it (lol see what I did there) for a few weeks to make sure that it was love at first sight and not lust. As the weeks went on I realised that this watch was occupying my waking thoughts in a way that some others that I was actively looking for didn't. I resolved to make it mine and after contacting the dealer by e-mail initially I took it to the next level and made a time to speak with the dealer. A brief negotiation and this reference was on it's way to my sub-tropical home as the latest member of the crew.

Upon arrival it was exactly what I was looking for and after a bit of wrist time I realised that this reference by Omega is a certified neo-vintage classic and for several reasons of which I will list below

• Readily available on the used market for around $2k USD

• 41.5 mm case

• Solid tool watch design

• Full 300m water resistance (on par with the SMP300)

• No helium escape valve

• Thin case (even with a nato strap it still is thinner that current model SMP300s)

• Generation 1 wave dial (same as the Bond seamasters)

• Sword hands. Yes the iconic Omega sword hands of the late 1960s

• Lollipop seconds hand with red tip

• High visibility red GMT hand and GMT dial markings

• 50th Anniversary Hippocampus caseback

• 10-15% the cost of a Rolex GMT Master II

• Lume. Hands down the best lume of any watch I have ever seen or owned. There is something about the classic big triangle at 12 and large lumed indices that harken back to the classic era of the Seamaster 300 from the late 1960s.

If you are new to Omega, GMT's or collecting in general and you don't have "f*ck off" levels of money to spend or even just want a great GADA daily then I think you could do a lot worse for your money than an Omega 2534.50. This watch thrives in a small collection and is a magnificent statement piece. I wore it to my local Omega Boutique recently when I was looking at the new white dial Speedmaster and the manager (who is also my old SA from my previous OB) eyes bugged out of his head when he saw it. He begged me not to replace the ghost bezel. I assured him that will never happen.

I strongly believe that this reference is going to be a future classic as many of the specs of this watch are elements that many online are screaming out for a return to. The very laundry list of complaints about modern Omegas are addressed by this watch and I reckon if Omega went back and revisited this reference with their designers the next iteration of the Omega GMTs they would find a market ready and waiting for them. Omega GMTs have become very fancy statement pieces these last few years and what their catalogue really lacks is a stainless steel GMT tool watch.

I love my 2534.50 and I hope I've helped open your eyes to this fantastic GMT Master alternative.