Omega Embraces Tradition With the Seamaster Aqua Terra
Things have gone a little gaga in the world of watches lately.
The most acclaimed new designs have tended to be the ones that shout the loudest. There have been quirky asymmetrical case shapes (Audemars Piguet; Toledano & Chan; Anoma), a rainbow of colourful dials (TAG Heuer; Zenith; Oris) and watches named after fruits and pizzas (Studio Underd0g).
By far the biggest watch trend of 2024 has been a revival of the blingy gold aesthetics of the jet-set 1980s.
Just about the last thing you’d want to be in this heady environment is a monochrome steel sports watch, once the de facto style for men.
Except that isn’t quite the whole picture.
Earlier this year, Omega debuted a version of its Speedmaster “Moonwatch”, arguably the ur-steel sports watch, with its traditional black dial replaced by one made of white lacquer. It blew up.
Now Omega has repeated the trick, this time in reverse — debuting a black-lacquer dial on its Seamaster Aqua Terra. That watch is also a classic steel sports model, part of Omega’s dive-watch family, but with the diver elements (clicky bezel; chunky girth) slimmed down and smartened up. Daniel Craig wears Aqua Terras in Skyfall and Spectre.
The new watch comes in three sizes: 34mm,38mm and 41mm. It features a new bracelet, with rolled links and a clever sliding system that lets you adjust on the fly. And it runs on Omega’s top-notch coaxial master chronometer movement.
It’s a handsome thing indeed. A serious watch that has no truck with funny shapes or shouty colours. A classic, without the twist.
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