Trevelyan's Mainframe / FILE: OMEGA, Seamaster Professional Diver 300M [Thirty years removed]

It seems you have stumbled upon the first stylepiece entry in this mainframe... good for you.

Though, unlike the files you've come across thus far, this one comes with a few extra tricks up its sleeve. As stylish as they may be, they’re twice as deadly. You must browse with caution. Your codes to access this file check out and you may proceed onward. The following data is what we have on the Omega Seamaster Professional 300M, the diver watch, thirty years removed from its GOLDENEYE appearance.

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Operative: Janus

File: OMEGA Seamaster Professional Diver 300M

Report From: London

Lat: 51.5072 N

Long: 0.1276 W

[ BEGIN TRANSMISSION ]

TREVELYAN:

Let us begin with some typical, baseline knowledge of MI6's favourite watch model...

If James and I both still agree on something, it’s that Omega builds a damn good timekeeper.

The refreshed Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Quartz model launched in 1993. Two years later, it would be featured in GOLDENEYE and was marketed as a professional diving watch, sporting an impressive 300 metres of water resistance. Paired with the pressurized casing, the second crown (positioned at ten o'clock) acts as a helium release valve, allowing helium out of the watch while wearing it during deep dives. This specific model is also outfitted with a deep blue dial, quartz calibre, phosphorescent hands, and a stainless steel body. Suffice to say, the base model of this Seamaster series had quite a bit of hidden gadgets... a real bang for your buck, if you catch my meaning.

All this out of the box, far before reaching the halls of Q-branch, mind you!

However, once old Q got his hands on it in 1995, such resourceful things as a cutting laser and remote mine detonator were housed in this Seamaster's bezel and body. Saving Bond’s life on a few difference occasions, more than I'd like to admit. GOLDENEYE would mark the first film Agent 007 would sport an Omega brand timepiece and as a matter of fact, he hasn’t looked back since.

This is thanks, in part, to the film's costume designer, the lovely Lindy Hemming. According to our data, it was her that originally suggested the switch from Rolex to Omega, further helping push Bond into a new and fresh direction stylistically for the 1990s. Simply put, it was a more understated piece, something fit for work, that also had deep ties to military service within the British SBS (Special Boat Service).

"I was convinced that Commander Bond, a naval man, a diver and a discreet gentleman of the world would wear the Seamaster with the blue dial." - Lindy Hemming (via omegawatches.com)

For James Bond's cinematic return in 1995, it was out with the Submariner, in with the Seamaster! Hemming's rich research paired with EON Productions' interest in launching Bond's style into new-yet-familiar territory made for a perfect fit. Pierce Brosnan's Bond was to officially wear a Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M Quartz in his debut.

I daresay blue also seems to suit Bond well, doesn't it?

Q's laser cutter, housed in the dial of Bond's Seamaster, being put to use in GOLDENEYE.

After serving him well in 1995, Bond would again opt to enter the field wearing an Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M for 1997’s TOMORROW NEVER DIES. According to our notes, the Seamaster chosen for that film was the automatic chronometer version of his previous timepiece, just slightly different from the quartz. Nonetheless, the model was fully loaded, this time boasting an integrated detonator in the watch's dial and a small, detachable charge.

Similarly, in 1999’s THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, Bond would once again don the same watch model as before. However, this version would save Bond’s life on two separate occasions, utilizing two different functions. After being caught in a small avalanche and buried in several feet of snow, our mainframe suggests that Bond’s Omega Seamaster had no difficulty illuminating the space with a high-intensity, lighted bezel. This would be enough to help Bond and his companion regain their bearings and escape from underneath the snowfall.

With that said, more information on said female companion is desperately needed. Her and Bond were able to escape a formidable branch of the Russian Special Services, something our very own operatives have been unable to accomplish, on occasion. Her last documented location was in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, within Le Casino L'Or Noir. Interestingly enough, the owner of the establishment is former Russian mafia member, Valentin Zukovsky... an old friend. See her file and the attached photographs for more details, will you? She remains as a person of extreme interest.

Without straying, let us continue with the watch gadgets.

Later on in the film, Bond would find himself trapped in a silo bay. Lucky for Bond, housed in his Omega Seamaster Professional was a grappling hook with fifty feet of high-tensile micro-filament wire. With the mere press of the crown, the hook is revealed. Once the hook is fired and firmly attached to a secure grappling point, the bezel then turns in the opposite direction, and is able to support Bond's weight. Thanks to Q's retrofitting, Bond's Seamaster was able to lift him up and out of the bay and back into the action. Quite handy, that blasted little thing is!

By 2002, our mainframe suggests that Bond would be equipped with a timepiece outfitted similarly to his previous three. The Seamaster 300M automatic chronometer featured in DIE ANOTHER DAY would again take claim to a remote detonator in place of its helium valve, operated by turning the stainless steel bezel. Reports and diagrams suggest that a laser cutter hidden in the crown of the watch could also be activated.

Rather run-of-the-mill up until this point, no?

Things began to change in the Omega lineup featured in the Bond films, starting with 2006's CASINO ROYALE.

Well, the file picks back up with 2006’s CASINO ROYALE operation, thus marking the ushering in of a new chapter for MI6. The dear role of James Bond would see a change of hands, but not of wrists. The timepiece chosen for this mission would again be an Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M, but this time, it would come fashioned with a Co-Axial escapement. The tried and true blue dial, unidirectional rotating bezel, screw-down crown, helium escape valve and three hundred meter water resistant technology would complete this model's package. Otherwise, it was completely gadget-free! Brave new world and all that, I suppose...

We know better than that here, don’t we?

Our opposition finally learned their lesson in CASINO ROYALE, though. In an effort to keep enemies on their toes, a second watch would be featured for Bond for the first time in decades. Sharing the spotlight with the battle-tested Seamaster, featured for the first time, was the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Co-Axial chronometer.

The main difference between the Planet Ocean and the 300M lie in the lines, water resistance, and power reserves. The Planet Ocean is known for having a sportier look, featuring a larger case, broader hands, and a knurled bezel. Not to mention, its higher water resistance of 600 metres, as compared to the 300 metres of the Professional Diver! Between these changes and a slightly longer power reserve, the Planet Ocean was considered a formidable upgrade by MI6 standards.

Much to no surprise, 2008 would mark the official end of James Bond wearing an Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M model on screen for over a decade. QUANTUM OF SOLACE would see the Omega Planet Ocean replacing the Professional Diver's for the outset. Her Majesty’s loyal terriers had decided to change with the times, opting for the newer, more robust Planet Ocean.

Here I was beginning to think they’d never catch on!

Several Omega watches would be featured between 2008 and 2015, but 2021 marked the cinematic return of the Seamaster Professional Diver 300M for that year's film, NO TIME TO DIE. This 42mm version of our beloved watch was dressed in Grade 2 Titanium, with an upgraded battery alongside many of the very same options that put it on Bond's radar back in 1995. One of these options would have been useful to kill a couple of nanobots, but the user of the watch seemed to forget about it (much to my pleasure, I must add).

Side notes on the Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M include several data entries provided over the years. Firstly, models within the Omega Seamaster line have been produced since 1948. For the 40th anniversary of James Bond films in 2002 alongside DIE ANOTHER DAY, a commemorative edition of the Omega Seamaster Professional was made available in limited numbers. The watch was identical to the basic Seamaster Professional Diver 300M, except for inscribed 007 logos within the blue dial of the watch's iconic face and one also machined into the caseback. The band also had 007 inscribed on the clasp.

Omega would go on to release a special model of the Professional Diver to coincide with the release of CASINO ROYALE, as well. The variant would feature the 007 logo on the second hand and the rifling pattern on dial of the watch face, representing the opening gunbarrel sequence of the classic James Bond movies.

A 50th anniversary of James Bond films commemorative edition of the Omega Seamaster was also released in 2012 alongside SKYFALL to help celebrate fifty years of cinematic 007. It featured a black dial decorated with the 007 logo in a diagonal pattern, a red number 50 on the dial, and a date window at the 3 o’clock position.

Most recently, the 60th anniversary of James Bond was celebrated with a commemorative Seamaster in 2022. This special watch featured the iconic blue aluminum dial matching that of the watch in GOLDENEYE, a number 60 in place of the typical inverted triangle on the bezel, brushed stainless steel housing and matching mesh bracelet, and a unique green illumination of the number 60 and the minute hand, making them stand out from the regular blue glow of the rhodium-plated hour markers.

Impressively enough, the Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M would sit proudly on Bond’s wrist for five consecutive films over the course of eleven years, even returning to form in 2021 for another crack at Bond's timepiece of choice.

We have reason to believe that the old Professional Diver may make a triumphant on-screen return in the future. Nothing is certain yet, of course, however several moles within MI6’s global operations seem to suggest this to be the case.

When this generation's Bond fans think of a watch, they undoubtedly think of this one. It was the stand alone watch featured in 007 games and movies for over a decade. Truly an iconic run for a watch. The model has more than proved to serve Bond well, and blueprints to it (and more recent, alternate models) should be checked over thoroughly before you continue on. Know your enemies and the time they keep is key... besides, those fools in Q-branch make it easy enough for us, don’t they?

Keep an eye out for these timepieces, as any models recovered could mean saving a life down the line for a fellow Janus Special Forces operative.

That’s the long and short of this one, old boy. It is our hope that as more information becomes available on such gadgets, it will be added to this file. The continued success of this organization depends on it.

Now, stop watching the clock.

You have your orders…

and time is ticking against you.

-TREVELYAN

 [ END TRANSMISSION ]

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