Referred to by Omega as Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M James Bond, the Seamaster ref. 232.30.42.21.01.001 that was released in 2011 to replace the first generation of Planet Oceans 2500 —initially released in 2005— is in our opinion the best Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M ever released. Equipped with a massive 45.5 mm case in stainless steel and powered by the in-house Omega Calibre 8500 with Silicium Escapement, this is for sure one of the best daily beaters if you’re looking for a tool watch that is not necessarily your typical Rolex Submariner.
Now, the only bad and good part at the same time is that the Planet Ocean James Bond can only be found in the secondary market as the watch was discontinued a few years ago. Today, if you are looking to buy a brand new Planet Ocean 600M, you can only go with either 39.5 or 43.5 mm case sizes as the 45.5 mm is now only available in the Chronograph version of the Planet Ocean 600M.
The relationship between Omega and the James Bond franchise started in 1995 with the release of the movie GoldenEye when 007 started wearing Omega Seamasters. Robust, reliable and very virile are some of the attributes that make the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M the perfect James Bond watch.
Equipped with a Helium Escape Valve, a screw-down crown and a depth rating of 600 meters —2,000 feet—, the Planet Ocean 600M is an ideal diving watch that belongs in the sea as much as it does in on earth.
It’s highly legible matte black dial along with the markers and broad-arrow hands filled with superluminova guarantee proper readability under any lighting conditions. The applied highly polished Omega logo in conjunction with the numerals at 12, 9 and 6, give life to the dial by catching and refracting light. The superluminova combines blue for the hour hand and the hour-markers and green for the minute hand.
Its graphite grey unidirectional rotating bezel with light grey graduation for elapsed times is easy to grip even with gloves, and perhaps what we love the most, is that its color resembles those bleached out ‘ghost bezels’ from vintage diving watches where the sun and sea had taken the black color out of them.
The Omega Calibre 8500 features a Co-Axial escapement making it a very reliable chronometer. The Co-Axial Escapement was invented by George Daniels to reduce friction and improve accuracy and adopted by Omega in 1999. This escapement is the first non-traditional watch escapement to be developed in the last 250 years and we thank Daniels for that.
On this three level escapement, the anchor features a three-fork pallet rather than the usual two fork-pallet. Additionally, since 2011, the calibre 8500 was fitted with silicon technology and equipped with a Silicon balance spring. To mark this achievement, the case back of the watch features an engraving with the symbol and the atomic number of this chemical element as ‘Si14’. The movement is exquisitely finished for a mass-produced watch of this kind and at this price point.
Whether you want to feel like James Bond or you’re just wanting to enjoy a robust and durable watch that can take on the daily abuse of your office desk or your busy outdoorsy lifestyle, the discontinued Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M James Bond ref. 232.30.42.21.01.001 gives you the best bang for your buck in the secondary market. Few watches of this caliber and reliability can be purchased for under USD 4K.
The equivalent and readily available —brand new— 43.5 mm Omega Planet Ocean 600M ref. 215.30.44.21.01.001 in stainless steel with matching bracelet features now a black Liquidmetal bezel insert and is powered by the Omega Calibre 8900 for USD 6,550. To us, losing 2 mm on the case size makes a big difference —watch wears true to its size—, and we will always love the 45.5 mm discontinued model much more.
Long live the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M James Bond.
Last Known Sticker Price $6,600 USD. For more info on Omega click here.
