Why I think the Aqua Terra is the real Seamaster
Of the production lines Omega has in their line up I find the Seamaster line to be the most puzzling, or intriguing, one. And in my book it took Omega more than 50 years to come up with a watch that fulfilled their initial slogan of beeing a watch ”For town, sea and country”.
The Speedmaster and Constellation both seems to found their purpose right from the beginning. The Speedmaster was spot on from the start and a platfom for multiple iterations. Either as variants of the original or as a two counter. The Constellation line has been a dressy high performance watch from the beginning. They have developed over time and maybe lost, according to me only, some of it’s initial charm but the DNA from earlier years is obvious.
So why do I find the Seamaster line so fascinating? Well, the name refers to water and I guess most of us see a Seamaster as a diver today. And why not. There is two iconic, or at least well known, divers. The 300M and the Planet Ocean. And the name Seamaster fits right in. But the initial slogan make me think more of a ”do it all” watch. I could see that slogan refering to an Explorer type of watch. A watch that fit in every situation. The first Seamaster in 1948 was more like a dresswatch. It had quite fat lugs which gives it a more robust look. To me it seems suitable for both town and country but it gives me no vibes of the sea even if it had a fair amount of water resistance.
From it’s start the design of the Seamaster has been all over the place. It’s like Omegas internal incubator to see what they come up with and how it will fly. And over the years the Seamaster line has given us some beautiful watches. But there is no straight line. I have a few that find great but I wouldn’t consider them as do it all watches. Either dressy, as most of mine are, or sporty like the Chronostop.
The divers has been a vital in the Seamaster line since 1957 with the introduction of the Seamaster 300. Over the years there has been many iterations of divers since then until today. And the name Seamaster is very suitable. But these divers don’t live up to the slogan. They are for the sea. Compared to the Speedmaster Omegas development of their divers has not been a straight line. Their Heritage catalogue is an example of that.
(*not my picture, nor my watch*)
The De Ville is an Seamaster spin off. From 1967 it became it’s own line. Before that the De Ville name was an add on to the Seamaster used for the more delicate designs.
There is one model of today that live up to the do it all ambition and that is the Aqua Terra. Even the name fit the slogan well. Introduced in 2002 and design has stayed unchanged since then. Omega found a design that works and only made minor update since . For me this is the proper iteration of a Seamaster. How it was ment to be. The Seamaster name was not best choise. That is more suitable for divers. In the Aqua Terra Omega has a true do it all watch ”For town, sea and country”.
(*not my picture, nor my watches*)
I collect new as well as vintage. I have a weak spot for 50s and 60s Omegas. Besides from those I consider myself allround.
As a Seamaster DeVille owner I can say that it is all "Town". I don't know why it took so long for Omega to see that the Seamaster line could not be all things to all people.
As a Seamaster DeVille owner I can say that it is all "Town". I don't know why it took so long for Omega to see that the Seamaster line could not be all things to all people.
If the Seamaster wasn’t such a established name Omega should create an Aqua Terra line and leave Seamaster to the divers. Similar to what they did to the De Ville.
Spot on, agree . I'm proud owner of the 300 ( don't like the indices on the Diver, too generic) & a first run quartz Aqua Terra ( was my Dad's). The 300 I use as a dressy watch, my AT works as a posh G-Shock - so it is indeed master of "town, sea & country"
Excellent write up. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I hadn't thought about it until prompted by your post, but the Seamaster actually predates the invention of what we now think of as a "dive watch." So when you look at the very early Omega Seamasters, they look much more like Seamaster Aquaterras than Seamaster Professional 300m's.
Spot on, agree . I'm proud owner of the 300 ( don't like the indices on the Diver, too generic) & a first run quartz Aqua Terra ( was my Dad's). The 300 I use as a dressy watch, my AT works as a posh G-Shock - so it is indeed master of "town, sea & country"
Congrats to the 300. A stunning looking watch. It’s own design language and no copycat.
Excellent write up. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I hadn't thought about it until prompted by your post, but the Seamaster actually predates the invention of what we now think of as a "dive watch." So when you look at the very early Omega Seamasters, they look much more like Seamaster Aquaterras than Seamaster Professional 300m's.
They screw up the name but gave us some beautiful watches on the way.
Congrats to the 300. A stunning looking watch. It’s own design language and no copycat.
Thank you, I Love them both 😉👍
It bothers me that the Aqua Terra and Yatch-Master don't have more water resistance.
They are severely overestimating my boating abilities.
Agree with @Komboloi , I never really thought about this until your post but the conclusions are spot on. The AT is a great watch that is mostly marketed for Muggles as a GADA. They're always beautiful in person and I've been close to pulling the trigger on one many times.
Anticipating your next question, I’ll point you to this guy…he’s the real Railmaster.
It bothers me that the Aqua Terra and Yatch-Master don't have more water resistance.
They are severely overestimating my boating abilities.
They are not designed for you after a beer bath
Agree with @Komboloi , I never really thought about this until your post but the conclusions are spot on. The AT is a great watch that is mostly marketed for Muggles as a GADA. They're always beautiful in person and I've been close to pulling the trigger on one many times.
Me too. I was, and still are, waiting for the 38mm green teak board version
Anticipating your next question, I’ll point you to this guy…he’s the real Railmaster.
See, another model now nursed under the Seamaster umbrella.
Great write up and your spot on, for me the aqua terra is one the ultimate versatile watches ever released,smart,sporty and capable. If I had a choice of only one watch it would be the aqua terra. And your right omega have certainly played about with the seamaster range. But for me I always describe the aqua terra as an aqua terra, not a seamaster. For me the seamaster is the dive watch side of the family.
Great write up and your spot on, for me the aqua terra is one the ultimate versatile watches ever released,smart,sporty and capable. If I had a choice of only one watch it would be the aqua terra. And your right omega have certainly played about with the seamaster range. But for me I always describe the aqua terra as an aqua terra, not a seamaster. For me the seamaster is the dive watch side of the family.
True, but it’s like the engineers didn’t meet up with the market department. To choose the name Seamaster (which is a great name for divers) for a watch that was supposed to fit in every occasion is not an example where they thought it all thrue.
This sucks. I agree with you 100% and can't add a single intelligent thought to what you said. Taking my smart ass wit and moving on to the next thread.
Overall I think Omega need to clean up their product lines, I mean come on! Seamaster 300m diver, seamaster gmt, seamaster aqua terra, seamaster world timer, seamaster railmaster
Overall I think Omega need to clean up their product lines, I mean come on! Seamaster 300m diver, seamaster gmt, seamaster aqua terra, seamaster world timer, seamaster railmaster
100 %. To their defence they don’t put the Seamaster logo on their Railmaster. But they do hide them under the Heritage folder.
Owning both Seamaster and Aqua Terra Omega watches, I would agree that the AT is really a watch that can fit any occasion. I love both, but the AT can definitely switch between formal, casual and everything in between.
100 %. To their defence they don’t put the Seamaster logo on their Railmaster. But they do hide them under the Heritage folder.
Yeah, they do make the Railmaster kind of hard to find. I have one and love it. It makes a great travel watch, which is the role it primarily plays in my collection.
Great piece! The seamaster has been SO many different things just in the 70s alone...it’s crazy and one of the things I love about omega.
But the earlier models definitely give off a robust everyday watch vibe and since the general every day watch was fairly dressy and conservative back then, that’s what we got. And the aqua Terra is definitely stylistically the descendant of those early pieces.
I Love that one with the blue vertical lines. A customer walked in and was wearing one and I complimented him on it and he said, “yeah it’s the only only watch I have…I mean why would I need anything else…” Bless his heart 😂.
But seriously it’s a great one watch collection.
Haha, you are right, just sell it🤓
I always love seeing your vintage Omegas! Great articles and great points! I think even Omega agrees with you since with their recent iterations of the Aqua Terra, they literally came out with dial colors to match the sea (aqua) and land (terra) with blues/greens and reds/golds, etc. It definitely is a GADA watch and a great example of a 1-watch collection. I have several friends and colleagues that have the Aqua Terra and they aren’t watch enthusiasts and don’t have multiple watches and prefer to just live a simpler watch life.
I always love seeing your vintage Omegas! Great articles and great points! I think even Omega agrees with you since with their recent iterations of the Aqua Terra, they literally came out with dial colors to match the sea (aqua) and land (terra) with blues/greens and reds/golds, etc. It definitely is a GADA watch and a great example of a 1-watch collection. I have several friends and colleagues that have the Aqua Terra and they aren’t watch enthusiasts and don’t have multiple watches and prefer to just live a simpler watch life.
Thank you! I’m glad you appreciate them and see their beauty the same way as I do. There is such a variaty out there. Something for everyone. I can fully understand your friends having the Aqua Terra as a one and done. It fulfill the criteria.
I think so because I have a photo album of all my cars over the years, and in the history of my life, that is my car collection. So for watches, I think you can have a 1-watch collection in the sense that your historical collection is now down to 1 watch at the moment, but it’s still part of your overall collection of watches you experienced over the years. To me it’s about the collection of experiences. I don’t think I have to physically own them all at one time to be a collection. Same with different houses I’ve lived in over the years. Or collection of memories of vacations I’ve experienced. Also, I think I could use that phrase in the sense if I currently have just 1 watch that I wear all the time, even if I have multiple watches in a draw somewhere that may have been part of my daily collection, but they are broken or retired not to be worn again. I know it doesn’t seem logical, but then again this is definitely an emotional hobby! Maybe secretly by saying that, it’s temporary because I know I’ll get another one in the future!
I really like the AT, and I agree with your comment, this is the real town, sea and country watch. Let me add one more thing this should be the real 007 watch, it looks great with suit not out of place like the 300.
Nice write up!
I’m not an omega fan so no skin in the game here. But yeah, always seemed a bit confounding to have Seamaster Aqua Terra and Seamaster Railmaster and Seamaster Seamaster. And have parallel Planet Ocean which sounds even more nautical for me.
I really like the AT, and I agree with your comment, this is the real town, sea and country watch. Let me add one more thing this should be the real 007 watch, it looks great with suit not out of place like the 300.
Bond version?
Nice write up!
I’m not an omega fan so no skin in the game here. But yeah, always seemed a bit confounding to have Seamaster Aqua Terra and Seamaster Railmaster and Seamaster Seamaster. And have parallel Planet Ocean which sounds even more nautical for me.
All great watches but the family name is confusing.
Bond version?
Maybe not the gold version, yes the leather strap to dress it up, and a nato strap to swim, 😉.