Tantalum made its OMEGA debut in 1993. It quickly earned a unique place in the Seamaster’s design history. This year, this lustrous material is making a stylish comeback, showcasing its distinctive blue/grey tones while beautifully blending with the other precious metals on OMEGA’s latest dive watch.
Named after Tantalus from Greek mythology, tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-greyish metal that is highly corrosion-resistant. Its inertness makes it a valuable alternative to platinum. Its main use today is for electronic equipment such as mobile phones, video game systems, and computers. Aside from its inertness, tantalum is dense, ductile, very hard, easily fabricated, and highly conductive to heat and electricity. OMEGA harnessed the power of tantalum and used it to grace their watches in 1993. The latest Submariner Diver 300M Chronograph is the latest timepiece to be adorned with this material, and is accompanied by two other precious metals: 18K Sedna™ gold and grade 2 titanium.
The 18K Sedna™ gold bezel ring features a laser-ablated diving scale, while the polished blue ceramic [ZrO2] dial sports laser-engraved waves. The subdial rings have touches of 18K Sedna™ gold as well. OMEGA’s 44 mm Master Chronometer is a Numbered Edition, which can be found on the base of the bezel and the middle links of the bracelet.
18K Sedna™ gold is OMEGA’s own version of rose gold, with their own special blend of materials. It is an alloy blended from gold (at least 75%), copper for color, and palladium for stability. The result is a unique reddish tone that is warm and particularly long lasting. It is an alloy that is more resistant to discolouration than the standard 18K red gold normally used in watchmaking. Its name, Sedna, is taken from an orbiting dwarf planet described as one of the reddest in the solar system.
The third material is titanium, which can be found on the bracelet, mixed together with tantalum and 18K Sedna™ gold. OMEGA uses grade 2 titanium. This alloy is light, extraordinarily corrosion resistant, biochemically inert and able to withstand extreme temperatures. Grade 2 titanium is heat treatable, which means it gains additional strength via the heat treatment process.
The back of the watch displays an OMEGA Seahorse that has been laser-engraved and white lacquered on the sapphire crystal. Through the glass is a clear view of the OMEGA 9900 calibre, a self-winding chronograph movement with a column wheel and CoAxial escapement. It is a certified Master Chronometer approved by METAS, and has magnetic field resistance reaching 15,000 gauss.
With a water resistance level of up to 300 meters, the OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph is the watch for ocean adventurers. It includes OMEGA’s patented extendable folder rack-and-pusher with extra diver extension. It is placed inside a special presentation box in the style of a water-resistant chamber.
