My brief and sordid affair with a hot young thing. (A treatise about the NTTD and Seamaster 300)

Some of you might have seen my poll last week asking if I should sell my 2022 Seamaster 300 in blue and buy a watch I had always lusted after, a NTTD Seamaster on mesh. I had an opportunity to buy an unworn, pristine example of the NTTD with box, papers, hangtag and a validated Warranty card for well below retail. The CATCH was I could not, in good conscience, keep two watches in my collection that were so similar and so expensive. There could be only one!

After a spirited debate the poll determined that YES I should cheat on my faithful 300 with the thinner, lighter exotic Bond watch. At some point in the discussion someone mentioned keeping both watches for short time... just until my heart settled on one or the other. That seemed like a perfectly reasonable suggestion. I live in The Bay Area... polyamory is a thing here... maybe the Seamasters could coexist... right?!?

Well... the affair is over. All three of us had fun but the Bond watch isn't going to be sticking around. So what happened in the last week to make me choose the 300 Heritage over the more expensive and coveted Titanium Seamaster? Right up until yesterday I was solidly leaning toward keeping the NTTD. I was happily wearing my new titanium watch while running errands and happened to find myself close by to my nearest Rolex AD. When I say "nearest" I mean its a two hour drive each way. I don't get over there often and when I do I am usually too busy to stop. Yesterday I had time, so I stopped in for a sparkling water and some watch conversation. While we were chatting about watches and waitlists (and how long before I got the call for a polar explorer) I noticed that they had a Pelagos FXD on display. Full disclosure I'm not a big Tudor fan. I respect them but they don't do much for me. The FXD has always been a passing interest of mine but nothing more. (That has changed, but more on that later.) While I sat there chatting about the benefits and drawbacks of grade 2 vs grade 5 and how thin, light and legible the FXD was I started thinking...

What was it that drew me to the NTTD Seamaster?

First of all the color. This watch is GORGEOUS. That "tropical Black" is actually a beautiful chocolate brown. Paired with that beautiful creamy lume and my heart skips a beat. This is the prettiest watch in the omega catalog. Full Stop.

Second is the material. I like titanium. I prefer grade two titanium because I like its warmer tones and brushed finish.

Third, the way I see it the NTTD Seamaster is the omega dive watch in its purest form. It is the thinest, lightest, smallest and least flashy of all of the Professional 300 Ms. It has an excellent movement, metal caseback, blinding lume and a fully lumed and properly delineated bezel. There is no flash to this watch and also no date. Its just pure dive watch. Take away all the Bond BS and marketing hype remove the Broadarrow mark from the dial and the fake serial number from the case back and what you are left with is arguably the best dive watch Omega has ever made.

The problem is I can't get past the Broad arrow. Metaphorically speaking that is. Visually it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I can't get past the Bond hype and it detracts from my enjoyment of this watch... Its not a real tool watch it just plays one in the movies.

My 300 is a better watch in many ways: The bezel is easier to turn. It has a more accurate movement with a longer power reserve. The broad arrow hands are easier to read.

It's worse in some ways: The thickness is kind of silly. The 21mm strap size.... Really?!? What was so important about that 1mm?

In every other way it is an equal to the NTTD. I am indifferent to the HEV. Lug to lug and case diameter all fall within my comfort zone.

Most important to me the 300 is under the radar. Its a sleeper of a dive watch. The Specs are among the best in the Omega lineup and most people don't recognize it as a Seamaster. While I was picking up the NTTD from my Omega AD I had the opportunity to try on the Ultra Deep. I casually mentioned "oh this has the same jump hour 8912 movement from my 300." and he stopped and said "What? No" and busted out the Dealer Catalog to prove me wrong. I was right and he was genuinely surprised. We kept chatting about it and he mentioned that there was an Anniversary Summer Blue 300 showing up in next weeks shipment and now he might just end up keeping that one for himself.

Lets jump back to yesterday and my two hour drive home from the Rolex/Tudor AD. The cruise control is set and my mind is wandering. As I drove I started thinking about what I was looking for in a watch: well made, under the radar, easy to read, tough, accurate, reliable but also simple and refined with clean lines. Did the NTTD check all of those boxes? For the most part. Did the 300? Yes.

The NTTD Seamaster is a fantastic watch but is it my "one and done?" No. Did I think it might be? Yes. What draws me to the NTTD is its elegant simplicity. When I tried on that FXD I realized that for all of its simplicity the NTTD is still too complicated and flashy for me. Its more tuxedo than tool watch. I would never be comfortable wearing it while splitting firewood or camping in the desert. The James Bond association would always be in the back of my mind; a distraction from the moment. The 300, on the other hand, never distracts. Its presence compliments the moment. I look down and think rugged tool watch not "Tinker, Renaissance Tinker"

On that note if anyone in the Greater Bay Area is interested in purchasing a like new NTTD seamaster with 3 and a half years left on the warranty shoot me a DM for details and pricing. Ill be posting it on Crono24 later this week but if I don't have to list it I'll pass on the savings to you.