Technically, my first watch was a Rolex Explorer II. But, I consider the Omega Seamaster my true first. Here’s the story behind why.
I’m a pretty cut-and-dry kind of guy. As such, I’m okay with owning labels. I’m a dog lover. A millennial. An Episcopalian. And, I’m a watch man. If a fire broke out in my house, I’d grab my dog and my watches.
More importantly, I’m an Omega man — no, not Charleston Heston in the 1971 film The Ωmega Man. (You might ask how I, a millennial, am even familiar with that film. The answer is The Simpsons spoof.)
Even more, I’m an Omega man against the counsel of my father. I love the brand’s story. I love how they reeled during the quartz crisis, while Rolex put up an admirable stiff-upper-lip front. And I love the James Bond Omega Seamaster.
I enjoy it when a watch says something about who the wearer is and who he wants to be. The Seamaster does that for me.
Table of Contents
Omega Seamaster: I Loved You Before I Met You
The third and last time I’ll mention my millennial status is here. Because, my watch journey starts with the N64, a hallmark of my generation.
Many would argue that the GoldenEye game is one of the best shooter games ever. Frankly, I think it’s partly why I’m such an excellent grouse hunter.
In the game, Pierce Brosnan wears a pixelated version of the Omega Seamaster in the GoldenEye film. You use it to activate a laser beam from the lume pip on the watch’s bezel.
Even in blocky ‘90s graphics, I was captivated by that round yet polygonic bezel and the strapped-on aesthetic of the bracelet.
Then when I saw it in the actual film, the wave dial defined and the bezel edges dimensional, I knew I wanted it.
Bucking Legacy
On my 14th or 15th birthday, my mother bought me a white gold cross necklace and my father gifted me the Polar Rolex Explorer II. This was technically my first watch.
It’s not that I didn’t love it. It’s beautiful and that GMT hand really pops against the white dial. And it’s still my second favorite watch to this day. I just think my father was more enthusiastic about me receiving it.
Like any former ‘80s New York investment banker, he was a Rolex man. His father was a Rolex man. They both wore 18k gold pie-pan Day-Dates with a black dial, which simply isn’t my style. My old man knew this.
Still, by going for the sporty, white dial Explorer II, he thought he’d prove to me that there’s a Rolex for every gent. After all, it sits on the opposite side of the design spectrum from their Day-Dates.
Here’s a quick aside about my parents: They’re both proud Yale legacies, the men on my mother’s side having been going since “the invention of Yale.” When I told my father I wanted an Omega, I wouldn’t see him that disappointed in me again, until years later, when I chose to attend Harvard.
Finding my Watch Identity
As any good father does, mine would eventually allow me to explore my individuality. He agreed to acquire the GoldenEye Seamaster for me. Sort of.
In an attempt to thwart my enthusiasm for the watch, and perhaps to prove to me that the Seamaster was but a mere quartz toy, he got me the 28-millimeter Seamaster.
The girl version.
This, of course, backfired. No watch fit my skinny teen wrist so well. Moreover, I fell in love with the decorative clasp and the applications that shone like gems. The men’s version, at the time, had simple raised indices.
After months of shamelessly wearing the women’s Seamaster, my father caved, and let me have a mid-sized 36-millimeter Omega Seamaster.
My grandfather, a man from a generation not afraid of a small watch, took to wearing the 28-millimeter. So in a way, I retroactively changed our legacy from being a Rolex family to a Rolex and Omega family. At least, that’s how I tell the story.
I’m like Henry VIII. But instead of converting a nation to a different religion, I converted my family to a new watch brand (I’m Episcopalian, remember?).
Why I Love the Omega Seamaster
When my grandfather passed, he left me his, formerly my, 28-millimeter Seamaster. Now I wear the 36-millimeter as my everyday watch, and the 28-millimeter as a dress watch. It’s certainly small enough, and the applications add a dressy sparkle. And hey, it’s certainly far less flashy than my pa’s Day-Date.
Of course, one reason I’m such a Seamaster fan is the James Bond connection. Bond brandished a quartz Seamaster in GoldenEye.
Unbeknownst to us at the time of the film’s release, this moment would become the The Great Seamaster Switch of 1995 (trademark: me). Bond would, from then on, wear only Omega. For decades prior, as most of us know, he wore mostly Rolex.
I brought Omega into my Rolex-loving family, just like GoldenEye brought Omega into the Rolex-dominated Bond franchise. Is this parallel fully blown up, exaggerated, and overserving myself? Yes. But that’s the grown-up version of playing superhero.
And as a writer and lover of stories, I enjoy the role the Seamaster plays in the film. Yes, it’s involved in some cool explosions and action moments.
Beyond that, it’s worn by Bond as well as the villain, former MI-6 agent Alec Trevelyan, creating symbolic parallels between the two.
By the way, check out the scene in the film when Alec and James compare Seamasters. You’ll see that brilliant lume on full display.
In the greater history of the brand, the Seamaster was a return to form of sorts. Spooked by the quartz revolution, the Seamaster faced an identity crisis. Compare this to the Submariner, who weathered the storm, staying true to itself, never going quartz and never giving in to design fads.
Seamaster sublines from the ‘80s were repackaged, redesigned, and facelifted beyond recognition.
The GoldenEye Seamaster is arguably the plant that grew from that pot of dirt. I sure do love a good comeback. Today, that wave dial design is definitely on the Mount Everest of dive watches.
I know it’s not the most advanced watch. Some might say it’s too obvious. Others might think I’m crazy for wanting a quartz Seamaster over a Polar Explorer II.
But to me, being able to wear the ‘90s quartz Seamaster, and choosing it over far more impressive timepieces, is my grown-up self telling my N64-loving kid self that he made it.
What was your first watch? Or perhaps more importantly, what was the first meaningful watch you wore? I’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get curated content from us!
Leave a Reply