Omega has always had serious credentials in the diving watch department. Its ever-popular Seamaster collection has a comprehensive range of designs, each with its own distinctive purpose and style, from super professional to classic elegance. To celebrate Seamaster’s 75th anniversary this summer, the Swiss watchmaker has spruced up the range with a “Summer Blue” refit of seven models and 11 pieces overall (taking strap options into account). It’s like a blue tonal colour chart tracking from bright sky blue to inky blue-black, reflecting the water resistance of each watch in the depths.

Omega has been a major presence in this segment of the watch market for almost a century; the Marine, its first diver, was launched in 1932. Its patented double case, sealed with cork to keep water out, with its strap with adjustable clasp and diver’s extension proved its capabilities when it was tested at a depth of 73 metres n Lake Geneva. Five years later it proved completely waterproof when tested under laboratory conditions at a depth of 135 metres. Throughout World War II, advances were made in water-resistance, anti-magnetism and robustness, and Omega delivered more than 110,000 watches to the Ministry of Defence for Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots.

After the war, the progress made in military pieces was applied to the commercial sector and elegant cases designed in which to house the tough, effective, mechanisms, leading in 1948 to the launch of the Seamaster collection. It was described as a watch for ‘town, sea and country’, and has evolved with a sea-going bias ever since, with models for every level of marine activity, from surface swimming to scuba diving – and beyond.

These are the professional spec, depth-defying watches used in ocean exploration, containing serious engineering that allows the watch to withstand crushing underwater pressures. The name of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep is no hype: with its blue-black dial, the darkest of the range, it has water resistance to a level of 6,000 metres. Given that humans can dive to about 1,000 metres with the relevant equipment, oxygen and, crucially, much training and experience, this is bumping-on-the-ocean-floor deep, where few creatures live, but plastic litter lurks.

It’s a scene discovered with sadness by retired US Navy commander and equity fund founder Victor Vescovo, friend of Omega. He made history in 2019 when he piloted his submersible down and down again into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean to reach Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth at nearly 11,000 metres. On this voyage he was accompanied by prototype Ultra Deep watches, which impressively survived the pressure. To celebrate the achievements of Vescovo and his team, the dial on the new version of the Ultra Deep features a map of the ocean floor where Vescovo piloted his vessel. And in suitably hidden-depths style, UV light reveals a circled area and a handwritten text saying ‘Omega was here’.

Also in the impressive lineup is the storied PloProf, short for Plongeur Professionnel, the French for “professional diver”. This distinctively designed sturdy asymmetric piece is all muscle. There’s no helium escape valve as Omega boffins came up with an innovative method of attaching the crystal to the robust monobloc case. It was the watch worn by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and the underwater research company Comex for their renowned deep-sea experiments 50 years ago. The 2023 version keeps the 1970s looks but is powered by its up-to-date Co-Axial chronometer movement for serious underwater functionality.

Other favourites in the collection include the Seamaster 300M, the go-to watch for James Bond since Pierce Brosnan strapped one on in 1995’s GoldenEye. Daniel Craig sported a sand-coloured version with mesh bracelet in the most recent Bond outing, No Time To Die. One of the most popular watches in the world, it’s in good company as it’s also a favourite with the Prince of Wales. The anniversary version of the Diver 300M has a blue ceramic dial, with raised indices filled with light blue Super-LumiNova. The most stylish at the shallower end is the pair of Aqua Terra models, evoking a sun-drenched sea surface with sky blue reflections: dressy but ready to dive down to 150m.

Each watch benefits from Omega’s powerful chronometer movements and each makes a splash with a striking decorated caseback, featuring the new Seamaster emblem. It’s an update on the original ’50s motif, which was inspired by the sculpted characters of Neptune’s seahorses that embellish Venice’s gondolas. The new Seamasters now display a relief of Poseidon, Greek god of the seas, holding his trident, alongside two seahorses, a powerful statement – a deity with depth.